Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Final Project

Summary & Purpose

In the Advanced Geographic Information Systems (GIS) class I needed to decide on a final project. I thought about something that could be an applicable project, then a certain event came to mind. While out, I ran across a problem where there were not any restrooms readily available in the area I was in. So, I decided to work on a project that would determine if there were any public transit stops without public restrooms nearby, and if there were any parks near the stops where they could be installed.

Description

I used the ArcGIS database and data that is publicly available from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) and the City of Sacramento for the project. After I had gathered the data I thinned it out and refined the project. I used Clip to remove data outside the boundaries of the City of Sacramento. Below is an example of clipping parks outside of the city boundaries.

Part way through the project I decided to focus on public restrooms near light rail stations since there were a lot of bus stops. I gathered data for current and future light rail stations, then I used the merge tool to combine the two datasets. I clipped the stations outside of he city boundaries after merging.

Once I had all the data how I wanted it, I used buffer to create buffers around the public restrooms. To determine the buffer I looked up the average walking speed of a person (3-4mph). I went with a 1 mile radius since it would be roughly a 15 minute walk to the desired location. For clarity, I set the buffer to create one connected feature instead of a bunch of overlapping circles.

I used select by location and had it select light rail stations within/intersecting the buffer. Once I had the selection I created a new layer of stations within the buffer. I changed the icons to a blue train to differentiate the stations.

I subsequently inverted the selection and created a new layer for stations not within the buffer. I set the icon to a train and turned the color to red.

Once I had discovered the stations that didn't have public restrooms nearby I created a 1 mile buffer around them.

When the buffer was created, I used the selection tool to select parks within the station buffer. I created a new layer just those parks.

I created layouts with map frames, titles, and legends. I also created a basic web map. I created the other deliverables and shared my presentation. I received an A for the class. It was an interesting experience. I started with a much larger scope in mind than was practical, then whittled it down into a project that I am proud of.

There are further considerations if this project were to be considered as a real-world project. The buffers are 1 mile as the crow flies. It doesn't consider the pathing from stations to public restrooms. The parks that could have public restrooms built in them would need to have this considered before the parks are chosen. There may also be other, unknown issues. Such as whether the residents near the parks want public restrooms built near them.

Potential real-world issues aside, this project was interesting and educational. I had to go through the process of starting with a larger scope and refining the project down into a final product. I learned that reliable data sources can be hard to find, but it is possible to find the needed data with enough searching.

In the course of completing this project, I also rehashed and reinforced what I learned in this and the previous class in the series. I initially had not planned to set up an interactive web map, but worked through the errors and was able to get something basic set up. The whole project was interesting, and I am glad that I experienced it.