GIS 4930 Special Topics: Project1 Network Analyst

I know I had a Summer break but where did the time go? It feels like it's been a very long time since I have done Lab Work, while at the same time, where did the Summer Break go to?

This week, I start GIS 4930 Special Topics, with a Network Analyst project. The project, is broken into three one week phases - good thing too.  So, this week, I begin with reviewing my data and commencing the "Prepare Week." The following weeks I will actually conduct the "Analysis" and write the "Report."

The scenario is that I have been hired by the city of Tampa Bay to conduct an analysis of roads that could be used for evacuation in the event a hurricane causes flooding. I will use the following information:

1. Classified DEM polygon layer (with appropriate color scheme)
2. Flood Zone layer with appropriate color scheme
3. Hospitals, police stations, fire stations, shelters, national guard armory
4. Roads

This week's objective was to organize and prepare by assembling and preparing all my data. I used a Clipping tool (MassClip) and Re-projection tool (MassProject) and I re-classified a DEM and converted it from a Raster to Polygon. The Python work was very cool as I just finished GIS 5103, Python Programming; I could actually understand and appreciate the Tools written using Python. The last part of the exercise was to make a map package and share my map with a colleague. This included writing an email to let this person know what I had done and solicit feedback. I think writing the email was a challenge since I did not know the level of detail required for this fictitious colleague. Here's what my "Prepare map" looks like at this point. I can always spend much more time on any lab and I am sure I will tweek this map as I conduct the next Phase of Project1 - Analysis Week.