Analysis Tools in ArcGIS

Lauren Rosenshein shows new network analysis tools that come with ArcGIS 10, specifically location
allocation.

http://video.esri.com/watch/14/analysis-tools-in-arcgis

Video Transcription
00:01 I want to start today by showing you some of the enhancements to network analysis in ArcGIS
10, specifically location-allocation.

00:09 In the Angeles National Forest, just six months ago, the Station Fire burned 250 square miles
of forest.

00:18 Not only did the fires themselves pose a major threat to life and property, the burned
mountainsides now pose a greatly increased risk of mudslides and flooding in the rainy winter
months.

00:31 We're especially concerned with those areas where mudslides and flooding could lead to a
loss of life and property and potentially to evacuations, like this area just north of Pasadena.

00:44 What we want to do is plan for evacuations in the potential mudslide area.

00:50 We know the population that will need to evacuate, and we have 36 potential locations for
evacuation centers.

00:59 What we want to do is choose the best evacuation centers so that we can minimize the travel
time for all of our evacuees.

01:08 To do this, we're going to use location-allocation, which takes as its inputs those evacuating
populations and our 36 potential locations for evacuation centers.

01:22 I'm just going to set some of our analysis parameters starting with the problem type.

01:27 We'll choose the Minimize Impedance Problem Type, which is going to allow us to minimize
the travel time for all of our evacuees.

01:35 We also want to choose five facilities.

01:39 So this analysis is going to choose the best five evacuation centers that will minimize the
travel time for all of our evacuees.

01:48 We can also use location-allocation to include some of the real-world challenges that would be
faced in an event like a mudslide.

01:56 In this example, we've gotten word that there's been some flooding in the area that's going to
slow evacuees down as they make their way to safety.

02:05 We can very simply include that information in our analysis by rerunning location-allocation,
this time including some barriers.

02:15 Now to include the barriers in my analysis, all I have to do is draw some polygons on the map.

02:22 The ability to use polygons as barriers to network analysis is another enhancement in ArcGIS
10.

02:30 Now these polygons don't represent strict barriers to travel.

02:34 They only represent an increased travel time associated with those areas.

02:39 So I'm going to go in and use an attribute to represent that cost of travel for each one of those
polygons.

02:47 And then we want to rerun our analysis. Except this time, we're going to include a 15-minute
travel time cutoff.

02:55 So this analysis is not only going to ensure that we've minimized the travel time for all of our
evacuees; it's going to ensure that nobody has to drive for more than 15 minutes.

03:04 So this way, we're able to ensure that we're providing these services equally and responsibly
to all the citizens.

03:13 So now we can see that the evacuees are being directed to either side of that flooded area,
and our analysis has taken into account those new parameters and chosen five new locations for our
evacuation centers.

03:26 So we're able to use the enhancement to network analysis in ArcGIS 10 to choose the best
locations for our evacuation centers and to ensure that we're providing those services responsibly to
all the citizens.

03:40 Now I want to move on to a topic that I'm really passionate about and, frankly, it's something
that impacts all Americans, and that's childhood obesity.

03:50 Right now, one in five children in the United States is obese and 80 percent of those children
will become obese adults.

03:58 This has major implications for health in the form of heart disease, diabetes, and a host of
other health-related issues, not to mention the economic impact that this issue has on the United
States.

04:10 Medicare says that they spend over $9,000 a year more on obese individuals.

04:15 So this is a huge problem and something that we need to understand better so that we can
start to think of some potential solutions to the problem.

04:23 What we're looking at here is school-level data in Los Angeles County, and we have the
percentage at each one of these schools of fifth graders that are obese.

04:34 Some of these schools, 75 percent of fifth graders are obese.

04:42 We can use spatial statistics to run a hot spot analysis which will show us where we have
spatially statistically significant clusters of childhood obesity
04:53 which will help us understand where the problem is and how we can focus our resources on
those areas that are being the hardest hit by this problem.

05:04 So immediately we see that there is definitely a spatial pattern to this problem.

05:08 There's a cluster in the middle of our map, and that's what's known as South Central Los
Angeles.

05:13 We can see that to the northwest and the northeast, in wealthier areas like Hollywood and
Beverly Hills, childhood obesity is not as severe of a problem.

05:23 But in South Central Los Angeles, it is a huge problem, and there is a definite spatial pattern.

05:29 So what's causing this problem?

05:31 Well, for one thing, we know these kids aren't eating healthy food.

05:35 They're definitely eating fast food.

05:36 There's tons of it practically on every corner, so no shortage there.

05:42 What about healthy food, fresh fruits and vegetables, the staples of a healthy life?

05:47 Well, some of the only places to get healthy foods like fresh fruits and vegetables are at
supermarkets.

05:53 And it does look like there are pretty much supermarkets everywhere, although it looks like
they're a little sparse in our major cluster of childhood obesity.

06:02 We can use another tool from Spatial Analyst to create a density surface, which will show us
where we have higher and lower concentrations of supermarkets in this area.

06:12 So immediately we can see that there's a very low concentration of supermarkets in our major
hot spot area, which really represents a gap in the accessibility to healthy food.

06:25 We're also interested in who is being impacted by this problem.

06:29 We've created some standard deviation ellipses that show us the distribution of different
ethnic groups in this area.

06:36 And we can see the two ethnic groups that directly overlay with the hot spot of childhood
obesity.

06:43 So not only do we have an issue with the accessibility of healthy food, we have a problem with
the equity of these services and how they're being provided.

06:52 So how can we start to think about the potential solutions to this problem?

06:57 Well, for one thing, in Los Angeles County, there are hundreds of small corner stores and
convenience stores that currently only sell nonperishable food items

07:06 canned food, junk food, and a lot of families rely on these stores to feed their families.

07:14 We can use tools like location-allocation to help us decide which of these small local,
already-existing food stores

07:21 to incentivize and subsidize the sale of fresh produce, fruits and vegetables, so that we can
start to close the gap in the accessibility of health food.

07:32 And I'm sure you're asking, Well, how are we going to pay for all of these subsidies and
incentives?

07:37 Well, the federal government is currently spending billions of dollars on our economic
recovery, and quite a few of those dollars are being spent right here in Los Angeles County.

07:48 So now that we understand where the problem is and who's being impacted, we can start to
direct some of that funding to the areas that need it most.

07:57 So we're able to use spatial analysis to understand the significant problem of childhood
obesity, some of the related causes, and the potential solutions that can start to really change the
future for these children.

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