Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, are what is used to make maps and process spatial data. Computational spatial analysis was introduced in the 1960s and can be traced to the Environmental Systems Research Institute, or ESRI, as one of the first companies to commercialize a product for making maps on computers. You can see ESRI’s own “History of GIS” here.
So far, for the posts I’ve made, I’ve been using the licensed mapping software from ESRI: ArcGIS. This is the default that students learn in university when taking a Geography or Mapping course. The major problem with this software? The massive paywall once you no longer have access as a student. Universities get a pretty good deal from ESRI and can give licenses to students at a reasonable cost. However, this cost increases significantly for businesses and individuals who want to use the software for commercial purposes.
The result of this mismatch is that, in a lot of cases, young professionals just starting their career will not have access to the ArcGIS software that they have become accustomed to in university, especially if they are working for a non-profit or a small business. This kind of thing isn’t unique to Geography students either, for example, it’s also true for journalism students who are trained to use Adobe programs and come to find that they are required to learn an entirely new software when their career starts.
So, what do we do about this? Luckily, there are some options for mapping applications! QGIS was started in 2002 by Gary Sherman, which became an important program for the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo). What is QGIS? Quantum Geographic Information Systems is an open source (i.e. free) program that can process spatial data, make maps, and do all of the fun stuff we’ve been talking about so far.
I’ve got to be honest here though, I’m really intimidated by QGIS. I’ve only used it a handful of times, and there are a lot more coding applications inside of it. I’m one of those students I was talking about earlier, and the end is in sight for my Arc license. So, I’m going to take on this challenge: learn QGIS before Arc is out of reach, and I’m hoping to take you all along with me.
There’s going to be a bit of set up and logistical fixings that I need to get sorted to get started, but I’ll walk you all through that next week as I figure it out. My hope is that by using a free desktop app, I can introduce a more accessible way of mapping to anyone who’s always wanted to try it.
It’s pretty amazing that free GIS software exists. This kind of initiative is really important to make research possible for anyone, which can inspire collaboration both inside of and outside of university walls. I hope you enjoy the next few weeks of me figuring out QGIS! And maybe you will be inspired to try it for yourself!
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