Introduction & Fundamentals of GIS

7B. History and Uses of GIS

M30005 GIS and Remote Sensing
Dr. Olusegun Fawole
Topics covered this week

ML 7A: Overview and Introduction

ML 7B: History and Uses of GIS

ML 7C: GIS Data Formats

Topics covered in 7B
• Introduction to GIS

• Defining GIS

• History of GIS development

• Uses and applications

Disciplines of Geography, Cartography & GIS
Geography
the study of place, space, and
relationships between people
and the environment. Human
and Physical geography © The Guardian

Cartography
the study and practice of
making maps
© Nat. Geo.

Geographic Information
Systems (GIS)
a digital system for capturing,
storing and displaying spatial data
GIS: Introduction
• Day-to-day living and movement rely on geographic information.
• GIS could help with issues like:
 Location – which region of the UK has had the most changes to its landscape
in the last three decades.
 Pattern – Crime rate pattern in London. Distribution of student population in
Portsmouth.
 Trends – Examine changes to patterns over time, say decades.
 Conditions – Search for locations with conditions attached.
 Impacts – Assess the spatial impact of an activity or action on pattern or trend.
Defining GIS
GISystems computationally:
• Input
• Store…
• Retrieve…
• Manipulate…
• Analyse…
• Display…
Spatially referenced/geographic data
Rhind (1989) describes GIS has a computer system
that can hold and use data describing places on
the Earth surface.

Maguire (1991) identified overlap between computerised

cartography, database management, computer-aided
design and remote sensing systems
History of GIS
• Developments in Geographical Information Systems and Remote
Sensing began in the 1960s. See timeline details HERE.

• Roger Tomlinson, so-called ‘Father of GIS’, is widely credited (Aguirre,

2014; ESRI ArcNews, 2012) with the invention of GIS – through his
development work on the Canada Geographic Information System for
land management – in the 1960s (see Fisher & MacDonald, 1980).

• It could be argued, however, that non-computerised spatial data

analysis began much earlier…
1960s, or even
earlier?
French demographer Charles
Picquet produced a ‘heat map’ of
Cholera deaths in Paris in 1832.

Was this the origin of GIS?

 1960s, or even
earlier?
Doctor John Snow’s
mapping of Cholera
outbreaks around Broad
Street in Soho in 1854 built
on Picquet’s earlier work.

Was this the origin of GIS?

ESRI’s modern adaptation of this heat map is available here

 1960s, or even
earlier?
Booth’s Maps Descriptive of
London Poverty (1889-90) ‘are
perhaps the most distinctive
product of Charles Booth's
Inquiry into Life and Labour in
London’ (LSE Booth
collection).

Was this the origin of GIS?

It was for geodemographics!

A link to an online version of this map is available here

Very early
origins…
Mapping and cartographic visualisation has
been used since at least 6th century BC…

The Babylonian Map of the World or Imago

Mundi, pictured, is considered the earliest
surviving map (there is also a respected
cartography journal of the same name).

Spatial data analysis has been used since at

least 1832 (Picquet’s cholera map).

Map-making is part of human civilisation.

 Alongside advances in
computing…
After Babbage’s Engine , modern
computing emerged in the late 1930s
◦ The first programmable computer
arrived in 1948.
o The first keyboard-operated
computer arrived in 1951…
◦ Mainframe computers (and GIS)
arrived in the 1960s…

◦ Evolution in computing since then has

been rapid!
Early users of GIS technology
• Government:
• National Mapping Agencies (e.g., Ordnance Survey, USGS)
• Census bureaux (e.g., Office for National Statistics, US Census Bureau)
• Local government / Forestry agencies / Transport planning etc.

• Military:
• Aerospace
• Battlefield planning

• Commercial development and usage of GIS really started in

the 1970s…
Application areas for GIS
Pioneering software developers
• Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI):
• Founded by Jack Dangermond (another big name in GIS)
• Command-line ARC/INFO launched in 1982 – now ArcGIS Pro and ArcMap (Desktop)
• Software at discounted rate (ca.95%) to UK Higher Education CHEST agreement

• Intergraph (now Hexagon Geospatial):

• Sidestepped into GIS from Computer Aided Design (CAD)
• More emphasis on Facilities Management
• Government and Military clients

• Many other companies and individuals helped develop the field through
technological innovation; see The GIS History Project for further details.
Modern GIS users
Military applications (and budgets!) are still significant drivers of GIS technology.

Global Positioning System (GPS) – a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) owned
by the US government/U.S. Air Force. Provides 3-dimensional (lat, long, and
elevation) location data to GPS receivers anywhere on Earth.

More accessible than ever today with the release of Google Maps to the general
public.
GISystems or GIScience…
• Maguire (1991) suggests that „A Geographical Information System is best described
as an integrated collection of hardware, software and liveware which operates in
an institutional context‟; emphasising human and organisational aspects as well as
technology.

• Goodchild (1992) notes that „Geographical information systems are sometimes

accused of being technology driven, a technology in search of applications.‟
Goodchild is less interested in ‘functional’ definitions of GIS, instead suggesting that:
• There is a pressing need to recognise and develop the role of science in GIS which is meant in
two senses. The first has to do with the extent to which GIS as a field contain a legitimate set of
scientific questions. The second sense has to do with the role of GIS as a toolbox in science.

This dichotomy (and overlap) between GISystems (GIS) and GIScience ( GISystem
or GISci?) remains an important topic today (see Goodchild, 2018).

• What are the differences and similarities between GIS and GISc? While GIS answers the
questions “What” and “Where”, GISc answers “How”. See details HERE.
Summarily;
1. GIS originates from the fields of cartography and
computer science
2. Concepts and applications have evolved over
time, mainly led by military operational needs.
3. Difference and similarities between GIS and GISc.
To-do: Reading and Preparation

 Read Chapter 2: Why Use a GIS? in Galati, S. (2006). Geographic Information

Systems Demystified. London: Artech House. Link to ebook

 Read Chapter 2: David Martin (2018) The Role of GIS In Fotheringham, A. S., &
Rogerson, P. A. (Eds.). (2008). The SAGE handbook of spatial analysis. SAGE. Link
to ebook

 Read pp. 103-112 of Chapter 2: Characteristics and Examples of Spatial Data in

Kennedy, M. (2013). Introducing Geographic Information Systems with ArcGIS: A
Workbook Approach to Learning GIS. Hoboken: Wiley. Link to ebook