Lab 4: Intro to ArcMap

This week’s lab consisted of making an expose of maps that outlines potential modifications to an airport. Construction within such a landmark requires surveys beyond its immediate boundaries that consider noise levels that will potentially concern residents of the community. As such, schools in proximate area also consider impacts of airport expansion. A guideline for noise regulations is set at 65 decibels, expressed over 24 hour frames. If consistent noise above 65 decibels takes place in a 24 hour period, measures to combat such high levels must be taken into consideration by residents and community officials. It is interesting to see the dialectical relationship expressed in construction efforts that occurs when a sector of the community decides to build something. Fortunately, programs such as ArcGIS are able to digitally represent the social statistics that can be collected though questions and answers.

This lab was guided by a detailed outline of instructions that walked one through the process of measuring noise contour levels, population, and area statistics and implementing them into a presentable form that details all the statistics. Several layers were used in conjunction to compose the maps which allow a lot of information and detail to be embedded into the maps. Overlaying the maps is a difficult but rewarding process as important questions regarding social concerns can be addressed through a visual aid such as ArcGIS. In making the maps presentable, it is possible for the user to modify the environmental symbols that index buildings, schools, roads, scale bars, ect…Extensive functions exist within the program that can exhibit user goals.

The vast system that is ArcGIS proves useful in communicating feedback to the user when positive inputs are correctly output. There is a steep learning curve to the program that takes patience, repetition, and time, but on the same token is greatly rewarded through powers of exhibition. Map language is crucial to relaying knowledge, and the ability to greater manipulate that knowledge means more efficient maps and a better informed body of people. The ArcGIS program has a few modes the user can interface with, such as landscape and data modes, where users are quickly able to toggle between settings and progressive layers. Each mode is used differently, but the end results are the same when finally integrating all statistical information. In this way, the ArcGIS program proved beneficial in seeing which community members would be most impacted by airport modifications and noise levels.

By the end of the tutorial I gained a sense of how the ArcGIS system works in communicating to people. Importantly in the program is the ability to make distinctions, and the array of color schemes to choose from makes understanding the final results intuitive and easy to follow. I have yet to fully explore the capabilities of this system but know that new things will be learned along the way. I also learned that it pays off to be accurate in representation not only visually, but statistically and ethically because the consequences of misrepresentation can be dire to unsuspecting individuals.