Spring 2007: Library GIS Workshops

Well, this semester is now less than 1 month old and we're all set to hold our first GIS workshop this Thursday. We are holding 3 workshops this semester. (For previous workshops, see Fall 2006 and Spring 2006. )

The first workshop will demonstrate to students how easy it is to generate Google Map webpages using ArcMap2GMap. The second and third workshops are both originals that I am excited to work on. I will discuss these at further length in future posts.

Here is an overview of this semester's lot:

Title: Create Your Own Google Map Mashup
Time: Thursday, February 1, 2007, 3pm - 5pm
Location: Central Library, Room B20 (basement)
Description: Learn how to use Geographic Information Systems to create your very own Google mashup. No GIS experience necessary.
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Title: Public Transportation in Arlington: Plan the Route
Time: Thursday, March 1, 2007, 3pm - 5pm
Location: Central Library, Room B20 (basement)
Description: Learn how to use Geographic Information Systems to plan a public transportation (bus) route through Arlington, TX. "Arlington remains the largest metropolitan city in the country without a public transit system for the general population." (Citation)
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Title: Congressional Redistricting in Texas: The Maps & The Demographics (co-presented with Dr. Jose Gutierrez)
Time: Wednesday, April 4, 2007 , 3pm - 5pm
Location: Central Library, Room B20 (basement)
Description: Dr. Jose Gutierrez will give a talk describing the implications of the redrawing of the Texas Congressional boundaries in 2003 and the 2006 federal court decision that parts of the redrawing were unconstitutional. Joshua Been will then lead the participants through a hands-on GIS exercise exploring the demographic and other implications of the 2003 and the 2006 Congressional districts in Texas.
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ArcMap2GMap v.2

Just completed a major revision of ArcMap2GMap, the Python script that converts shapefiles from ArcMap to the HTML/JavaScripts necessary to overlay the layers on top of a Google Map. To download the file, see the ArcScripts entry. See here for the initial release of ArcMap2GMap last year.

An example of a webpage generated by ArcMap2GMap can be viewed here.

The scripts, VBA, HTML, and JavaScripts were written by myself and Kaushal Gala, my GRA who has since gone on to bigger and brighter things.

Here is a brief description (see the readme file for more details):

ArcMap2GMap converts shapefiles to Google Map overlays, including all HTML and JavaScript files necessary to run. The generated HTML file includes the following functionality: multiple layers visible/invisible, geocoding, proximities (top 10 closest visible points), and driving directions.

Converts point shapefiles, polyline shapefiles, and polygon shapefiles. Handles polygons with multipart and/or donut holes (inner circles). Options include the ability to simplify polylines (and polygons) to minimize the number of vertices Google Maps needs to render.

To Run:

Extract the contents directly to the C:\ drive. This will create the following directory: C:\ArcMap2GMap. Then launch the C:\ArcMap2GMap\ArcMap2GMap.mxd ArcMap project file.

Requires ArcGIS Desktop 9.1 Not tested yet on 9.2.

Developed by the University of Texas at Arlington Library: GIS Program (http://library.uta.edu/gis). Please direct all comments to gislib@uta.edu.