GIS5050 Module 6: Georeferencing, Editing, & 3D Mapping

It's the last module before the final project assignment -- it's both exciting and a bit nerve-racking since the deadlines are coming up so fast!

Module 6 covered georeferencing, editing, and 3D mapping. Since 3D mapping was not a requirement, I didn't do it; however, if I have time later in the week, I'd like to make an addendum to this post and add my 2nd map deliverable if possible. As someone who hasn't made a 3D map, it intrigues me and would love the opportunity to finally get one underneath my belt.

Since the lab assignment focused largely on georeferencing and editing vector data, we worked a lot with satellite aerial imagery of the University of West Florida campus. We had to take 2 JPEGs of the north and south sides of the UWF campus and georectify them using different transformations -- the north aerial I performed in 1st order polynomial while the south aerial I did in 2nd order polynomial. Georeferencing was one of the first things I learned at my workplace, so I felt at home placing control points from the JPEG to the reference layers. Based on the georeferenced imagery, we then had to digitize another road, Campus Lane, to the roads feature layer and also the UWF gym to the buildings feature layer. We also had to add a photo link to the Eagle Nest feature and run a multiring buffer on it at 330 and 660 feet to indicate the protection zone area for the nest.

Screenshot of the UWF Wildlife & Infrastructure Map I created by georeferencing satellite imagery, digitizing a new road and building, as well as making deliberate design choices in my map layout.

Above is a screenshot of the map deliverable I did on the UWF Wildlife & Infrastructure, where it showed off the roads, buildings, and the eagles nest and its conservation zone. It was a little weird trying to think of how to layout this map this time around since the eagle nest was further east of the campus. However, it never hurts to ask for clarification. Like working with clients at work, it's best not to assume the expectations and misinterpret the intent of the map. So, going to office hours this week was quite beneficial, because it helped me solidify my layout in a way that I was content and proud of in the end. I had a great time trying to design everything to fit cleanly and professionally.

Hopefully, I can carry this confidence strong into the final stretch, the final project!

Update 10/08/2025:

I was able to create the 3D map of the UWF campus for the fun of it and also to get more comfortable creating 3D maps. Aside from ArcPro being extremely slow when exporting, which I can only assume it's because of how heavy the 3D data makes the program work, it felt awkward to try to design the layout in a literal new dimension. The 3D aspect was cool to see, but I still feel like I want to figure out what would be my signature "go-to" style for 3D maps -- I'm pretty comfortable when it comes to 2D representations. I don't know if this layout style will be the way going forward for my 3D maps; however, it was still enjoyable to fiddle around and try to make it look like a cross section of Earth, with the darker reddish-brown and green to represent ground compared to blue to evoke the sky. You can see my 3D map below.

Screenshot of my 3D map of the UWF Campus featuring buildings, roads, and the campus elevation. The digitized Building 072 and Campus Lane were highlighted in yellow to stand out amongst the other features.