History, definition and key themes of GIS
Overview and definitions
What do tasks such as creating or reading a map, using your GPS, acquiring and analysing satellite data, understanding the spatial distribution of an environmental phenomenon, or assessing the impact of a natural disaster, have in common?
They are all related to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Geoinformation Science!
A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a set of tools, techniques and computer systems for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth’s surface. Geographic information science (GIScience, GISc) or geoinformation science is the scientific discipline, surrounding GIS, at the crossroads of computational science, social science, and natural science that studies geographic information, including how it represents phenomena in the real world, how it represents the way humans understand the world, and how it can be captured, organized, and analyzed [1][2][3].
Discover the incredible power of GIS in the video below, where we explore how GIS transforms data into smart decisions, revealing patterns, connections, and insights that shape our world!
What does GIS do?
Data Management: GIS is a foundational system of record. You can store and integrate information from business systems and authoritative sources, magnifying data’s usefulness.
Mapping and Visualization: From digital maps and dashboards to satellite imagery, 3D, and real time — GIS brings data to life, helping us understand problems and solve them.
Spatial Analysis: Most data has a location component—everything happens somewhere. With spatial analysis tools, we find hidden relationships and generate new insights from data.
Communication: Maps and dashboards communicate complex ideas quickly. Science and data build common understanding, supporting collaboration and problem-solving.
Thus, if we want to describe what GIS is in a nutshell we could say that [4]:
“A GIS is an integrated system of computer hardware, software, and trained personnel linking topographic, demographic, utility, facility, image and other resource data that is geographically referenced”.
What is important to notice is that the core of a GIS is made of different but interdependent components, namely:
- Data: Records linking to a specific location through numbers (known as coordinates) that unequivocally encode their relative and absolute position on Earth, generally carrying also other attributes which describe the observed phenomenon (such as measures of an environment variable, time of occurrence of an event, etc.).
- Methods: Mathematical models and analytic techniques enabling to manipulate or derive information from data having a geographical or spatial aspect.
- Software: Written instructions (source code) that can be read by computers which implement methods and data handling procedures on spatial data.
- Hardware: Equipment to support the activities needed for spatial data collection, storage, processing, analysis, and display. This includes for example workstations to run GIS software, monitors to display maps, web servers for managing online GIS applications, and sensors (GPS devices, drones, satellite cameras, etc.) allowing to collect spatial data.
- People: Trained GIS professionals knowledgeable in spatial data collection, analysis and manipulation but also users (business operators, governments, educators, non-profit organizations, scientists, etc.) requesting and consuming GIS products.
- Network: Internet is key to modern GIS as it provides connections among all their components. Nowadays, spatial data, methods, and software can be accessed, shared and used through the Web. Communication between hardware devices and people mostly happens through the Web as well. The term WebGIS has been introduced to identify the ecosystem of online GIS procedures and applications.
History of GIS
| Year | Milestone | Description |
|---|---|---|
| – | The first maps | The roots of GIS go back hundreds, even thousands of years in the fields of cartography and mapping. Early maps are used for exploration, strategy, and planning. |
| 1854 | Early spatial analysis | In London, physician John Snow maps Cholera cases to trace the origin back to one water source. |
| 1960 | Geographic computer science emerges | Throughout the 1960s, computers advance significantly in technology, speed, and design, with IBM leading the way. Early concepts of quantitative and computational geography begin to develop. |
| 1963 | The first GIS | Geographer Roger Tomlinson begins a national land use management program for the Canadian government, inventorying natural resources. Tomlinson first coins the term geographic information system (GIS) and becomes known as the “father of GIS”. |
| 1965 | Harvard Lab explores spatial analysis | Architect Howard Fisher establishes the Harvard Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis, where some of the first GIS software, such as ODYSSEY, is invented and computer mapping applications explored. GIS pioneers such as Jack Dangermond, Carl Steinitz, Scott Morehouse, Allan Schmidt, and Allen Bernholtz participate. |
| 1969 | Design with Nature published | Ian McHarg’s influential book champions a holistic, environmentally conscious approach to landscape architecture and urban planning. He introduces the “layer cake” method of stacking information that becomes fundamental to modern map overlays in GIS. |
| 1969 | ESRI is founded | With inspiration from the Harvard Lab and Design with Nature, Jack and Laura Dangermond form Environmental Systems Research Institute (E.S.R.I.), now known as Esri. They begin project work, helping land use planners make better decisions with an emphasis on protecting the environment. |
| 1972 | First Landsat satellite | Inspired by photographs taken from space during NASA’s Gemini IV mission, the US government launches the first of many Landsat satellites for Earth observation. The program provides current satellite imagery of the whole world, tied to geographic points. This becomes a major data input for GIS and begins the era of remote sensing—changing how we see the Earth. |
| 1978 | First GPS satellite | The US launches its first GPS satellite, Navstar I, and achieves full global coverage with GPS in 1994. Other nations develop similar Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). With global coverage, virtually any object can report its position, and the amount of spatial data begins to grow exponentially. |
| 1986 | In-car navigation | Etak develops the first in-car navigation concepts. Mazda’s Eunos Cosmo is the first car with an automatic navigation system. Later, real-time GIS capabilities will enable the possibility of self-driving cars from companies such as Tesla. |
| 1988 | NCGIA is established | The National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) is formed as a center for research in geographic information and its related technologies. Michael Goodchild directs the project and emerges as a thought leader in GIS. |
| 1990 | TIGER is completed | The US Census Bureau completes the Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) spatial database. The first nationwide digital map of roads, boundaries, and water, TIGER lays the groundwork for countless business applications. |
| 1991 | GIS goes mainstream | GIS experiences a turning point, becoming crucial to many workflows. Publications like Forbes, Fortune, and Business Week start writing about GIS. |
| 1995 | Britain digitizes its maps | UK Ordnance Survey, founded in 1791 and still a leader in GIS and mapping, achieves coverage of the entire United Kingdom in a GIS database, digitizing 230,000 maps. Britain becomes the first country to complete a large-scale electronic mapping program. |
| 2004, 2005 | Web 2.0 | The web becomes a more interactive platform, laying the foundation for GIS to move to the web. GIS can now be delivered as SaaS in addition to desktops. In 2005, Google Maps released with the advent of mapping apps like Google Maps and Google Earth, everyone can now interact with and benefit from GIS technology and it begins to become embedded in our everyday lives. |
| 2020 | GIS supports COVID-19 response | Johns Hopkins University creates an ArcGIS-powered COVID-19 tracking dashboard that receives over a trillion views. The online dashboard becomes the go-to resource for monitoring the global health crisis. It inspires thousands of similar dashboards and helps people understand the pandemic, bringing GIS to the forefront of public knowledge. |
|
Today |
GIS is everywhere | GIS is more powerful and important than ever. People make billions of maps every day using GIS. More than 95 percent of universities offer a GIS course or program. Most Fortune 500 companies, national and local government agencies, and non-profit institutions deploy GIS. |
The history of GIS [5]
The future of GIS?
The enterprise technology that is modern GIS changes everything—the questions we can ask, the insights we can discover, even the creative solutions we can put into action. We can’t manage our world without it. GIS is already powerful, and emerging technologies such as AI and virtual reality are magnifying and enriching it. The people who innovate with GIS will continue to shape where the technology goes next.
GIS Jobs
People working in many different fields use GIS technology. GIS technology can be used for scientific investigations, resource management, and development planning.
- Analysts and technicians make sense of data to support decision-making. Technicians often participate in data collection, digitization, and analysis.
- Data scientists use GIS to incorporate spatial data into their analysis. They find insights that can be used for market analysis, urban planning, logistics, and more.
- Developers use GIS to build location services and mapping capabilities into products, solutions, apps, business systems, and websites.
- Engineers use GIS technology to support the design, implementation, and management of communication networks for the phones we use, as well as the infrastructure necessary for internet connectivity. Other engineers may use GIS to develop road networks and transportation infrastructure.
- Environmental engineers and environmentalists, focused on sustainability and balancing environmental, social and economic needs, use GIS to analyze and manage environmental, social and economic data.
- Civil engineers use GIS to ground their designs in real-world context, integrating design and construction data from BIM and CAD with digital maps.
- Cartographers and photogrammetrists work closely with GIS to create accurate, interactive, visually appealing maps, and can go beyond mapping into analysis.
- Surveyors use GIS to compare real-world landscapes with land records and aerial imagery, inputting information digitally while in the field collecting data.
- Planners and designers use GIS to create informed, sustainable development, modeling what designs for buildings or indoor spaces would look like in the real world.
- Researchers and scientists, from oceanographers to conservationists and climate scientists, GIS underpins virtually all scientific disciplines to help us better understand our world.
- Scientists use GIS to compare population statistics to resources such as drinking water. Biologists use GIS to track animal-migration patterns.
- Consultants add GIS to their toolbox to support organizations with onetime or ongoing projects that require geospatial intelligence and GIS expertise.
- Project managers use GIS to consolidate project phases and their associated information in one place, optimizing resources and timelines.
- City, state, or federal officials use GIS to help plan their response in the case of a natural disaster such as an earthquake or hurricane. GIS maps can show these officials what neighborhoods are most in danger, where to locate emergency shelters, and what routes people should take to reach safety.
- Retail businesses use GIS to help them determine where to locate a new store. Marketing companies use GIS to decide to whom to market stores and restaurants, and where that marketing should be.
There is no limit to the kind of information that can be analyzed using GIS technology! [2][6]. Check the following video!