GIS5050 Module 4: Vector Analysis

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We're hitting the halfway mark of the Introduction to GIS course, and this week's lab is on vector analysis. We focused on running spatial queries in the first half of the lab and ran buffers in the second. I learned a lot about other ways of running buffers that I haven't yet to perform in my workplace, such as compound/multi-ring buffer. I can see how this would be useful in cases where certain distance thresholds must be met, like distance from road that is safe to build sidewalks or enough cushion for a safe bike lane, etc.

The map that was created this week centered around the buffer tools, where we had to take De Soto National Forest feature classes and find out possible site locations for future amenities, such as campsites, pavilions, and the sort. We did this by running various buffers on both the water and road feature classes and finding where the buffers overlapped, while also taking into consideration conservation areas, which are non-construction zones.

Screenshot of De Soto National Forest in Mississippi, featuring potential sites. They are colored by their hectare amount from lowest to highest.

As shown in the screenshot of the map I created above, the De Soto National Forest has varying degrees of potential, from low, medium, to high hectare site amounts, indicated by the dark gray, mild purple, and deep red respectively. When considering the symbology for graduated colors, the field chosen was area, specifically hectares, since we are trying to analyze potential areas for site construction, such as campsites, pavilions, etc. I chose 3 classes to have this simple tier from low to high and labeled them as such. I went with darker to brighter tones when selecting my symbology to emphasize to the audience the greater the hectare amount and possibly the greater the potential for construction in the red-zoned areas since it gave more area to build from. The gray helped contrast from the red completely and the purple acted as a good middle ground.

The fact that the high, red area is centralized from north to south down the waterway tells me this could be a good area for supporting a river activity, such as a tubing launch zone and an end pick-up zone to allow a tram to bring people back to the starting launch again. However, this idea would only be feasible if the water was safe and good enough quality to be used recreationally in this way.

Overall, another fun map and it was great to be able to utilize data outside of Florida for once!

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