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GIS Mapping: What is it?

ryan-frank | Aug 21, 2009 |

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GIS mapping is a term being thrown around a lot nowadays in the world of consumer electronics. GIS stands for "geographic information system" and it refers to any computer system that collects and analyzes data as it relates to its geographical context. GISs use data from land surveys, aerial shots, satellite images and other sources to come up with a visual, map representation of said data.

This layering of data on a map allows GISs to give us insights into a particular location that we might not have easily guessed otherwise. The data that one can feed into a GIS includes natural geographic features, like rivers, mountains, streams, etc; as well as man-made features and statistical information. Cases of influenza, bus stop locations, roads and highways, all can be input into a GIS. The result is a multi-faceted look at a geographical location. The kind of information that's put into a GIS will depend on the purpose of study being conducted.

For example, if you want to know the frequency of a certain crime in different parts of the city, you can input recent crime statistics into a GIS to produce a map representation of that crime in the city. Then, by studying the particular features of locations in the city where the crime is most common, you can begin to piece together a picture of what might be causing the high rate of this particular crime.

The success of GIS mapping relies on the fact that most sets of data have some kind of geographical tag attached to them. Whether it's a city, a zip code or an address, most data can be placed somewhere on a map.

Until recent years, GIS and topographic mapping were mostly employed by governments and large organizations. However, the ever increasing sophistication of cellphones, iPods, personal computers and other hand-held or portable devices has made GIS a more and more useful tool in the field of location based services (LBS) and consumer electronics. People with GPS-enabled devices can now easily find the nearest bus stop or gas station, simply by typing in their query.