Watch Introduction to SpatiaLABS to learn how SpatiaLABS can help you introduce spatial reasoning skills for both GIS and non-GIS disciplines.
SpatiaLABS cover a wide variety of subject matter useful in standard computer-lab sessions and longer–term projects.
By Jeff Blossom
One theory of political power, as proposed by French philosopher Michel Foucault (1984), is that visibility and line of sight determine the power structure of one group over another. In this lab, students use visibility analysis to assess the relative power wielded by the different chiefs in the Yoruba civilization, one of the oldest known civilizations. Some familiarity with GIS software required.
By Can Denizman
This lab investigates the potential for contamination in Florida caves from nonpoint pollution sources such as agriculture, poultry, pastures and rangeland. The lab gives students experience with basic vector analysis tools such as selecting and querying attributes, using buffer and clip tools, plus table operations such as field calculations.
By Can Denizman
This lab builds on the investigation provided in “Assessing Nonpoint Groundwater Contamination: Florida Caves” and expands use of the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst extension, applying the Zonal Summary function to further examine point contamination potential for the caves in Florida. Skills used include join, spatial joins, and density grids.
By Can Denizman
This lab examines where the Floridian aquifer is more likely susceptible to point contamination, such as from superfund and other hazardous waste sites. It serves as an introduction to the ArcGIS Spatial Analysis extension using raster functions.
By Alexandra Felix-Locher
This lab is focused on the Ouachita National Forest in northern Arkansas and assesses which areas are classified as high risk to rescuers searching for someone lost or injured, and which areas are more than 30 minutes from a hospital. This lab is intended for intermediate or advanced GIS students with background knowledge of geoprocessing and map layouts.
By Jeff Blossom
Using a digital elevation model (DEM), observer point locations, and parameters available in GIS software, students can model landmark visibility and map the navigational safety zone within which the Phoenician people sailed for more than a thousand years. Cursory familiarity with ArcGIS software required.
By Monika Calef
In this lab, students examine sources flow of water in the Adirondack Park in order to examine amount and quality. Advanced GIS experience required.
By Sumeeta Srinivasan
This is one of three SpatiaLABS promoting spatial reasoning through a focus on spatial statistics. It uses statistical analysis to map various economic development and environmental indicators to examine whether there is clustering in any parts of the United States. Moderate familiarity with using ArcGIS 10 required.
By Rachel Russell
In this lab, students examine the spatial relationship between air toxics and median income or race/ethnicity in Los Angeles County. Intermediate GIS skills required.
By Alexandra Felix-Locher
In this lab, students will assess habitat use by the owls and develop forest management considerations for conserving habitat. This exercise is intended for students with introductory or intermediate level skills with a limited background in GIS.
By Julienne Gard
The fragile balance between groundwater supply and demand is being tested. Increasing rates of urbanization and irrigation place demands on water needs, while the natural aridity of some environments does little to increase supply. In this lab, students will explore the spatial characteristics of this problem. Students should have basic computer skills—opening/saving files and word processing.
By Su Jin Lee
By charting where the most damage occurred and why, investigators can help plan how to mitigate problems, respond to threats, and protect areas before and during similar events in the future. Basic familiarity with GIS required.
By Monika Calef
In this lab, students assess what would be the impact of a major hurricane today in New York City. Intermediate to advanced GIS experience required.
By Monika Calef
In this lab, students assess how many people in Manhattan are currently at risk from flooding by a major hurricane and how many people in Manhattan could rising sea level displace by 2100. Advanced GIS experience required.
By Sumeeta Srinivasan
This lab exercise will try to answer questions about forest fires using spatial statistics. Basic skills in the use of ArcGIS 10 required.
By Monika Calef
This lab examines the current population of Manhattan and the population for the year 2100 by census tract. Intermediate to advanced GIS experience required.
By Jeff Blossom
What's the likelihood of a West Nile virus (WNV) outbreak where you live? Humans contract WNV through bites from infected mosquitoes, and areas that have high mosquito breeding activity are more likely areas for contracting WNV. In this lab, students will calculate county minimum and maximum temperature averages using monthly climate data for the 48 contiguous US states. Then, aggregating and averaging short-term monthly temperature data for any given month and comparing this to the climatic averages, they will determine counties that have mild winters, significantly warmer-than-average summer months, or a combination of these indicators of WNV threat.
By Jeff Blossom
In this lab, students examine the geographic landscape of oil production, consumption, and transportation. Advanced GIS experience required.
By Sumeeta Srinivasan
This lab examines data from Sri Lanka. Many quantitative studies use ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to estimate the effect of variables such as ethnicity, proximity to urban areas, elevation, and other indicators of development on poverty rates. This lab uses a more generalized geographically weighted regression (GWR) model in addition to the OLS model to incorporate the effects of spatial clustering. Familiarity with ArcGIS 10 required.
By Alexandra Felix-Locher
In this lab, students will determine the spatial location of timber harvest and predict how the proposed harvest will affect habitat conditions for ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus). This lab is intended for introductory or intermediate-level students with some background in GIS.
By Fred L. Miller
This lab focuses on environmental scanning in the search for market opportunities. Students explore the potential for an automated, self-service bike rental and repair kiosk using web-based GIS tools. No GIS experience required.
By Fred L. Miller
Students use web-based business GIS tools to determine the shopping center whose trade area best matches a target market for a health store. No GIS experience required.
By Fred L. Miller
In this lab, students use web-based business GIS tools to create a comprehensive profile of a child care center’s clients, including core demographic characteristics, lifestyle segmentation patterns, and buying behavior relative to child care, in order to develop a marketing plan and growth strategy. No GIS experience required.
By Fred L. Miller
Students use web-based business GIS tools to design a territory system for independent sales representatives of exercise equipment in Ohio. No GIS experience required.
By Fred L. Miller
Students use web-based data visualization and spatial analysis tools to identify the countries that best match the target criteria for an electronic managerial training system. No GIS experience required.
By Fred L. Miller
Students use online resources to perform color-coded mapping of relevant demographic variables, define a market area, select an alternative potential location, and compare the two locations to determine if a new facility should be purchased. Introductory experience with GIS and familiarity with business analysis terminology required.
By Fred L. Miller
Students use color-coded mapping and symbology tools to map relevant demographic characteristics in a planned market area. Intermediate-level lab.
By Fred L. Miller
Students create customized datasets for color-coded mapping, extract and display map layers for competitors and shopping centers, and use smart map and dynamic ring tools to identify potentially attractive locations for a new store. Intermediate-level lab.
By Fred L. Miller
In the first part of this two-part lab students will recommend a site for a new store and design map documents that support conclusions and recommendations. Intermediate-level lab.
By Fred L. Miller
In the second part of this two-part lab students will recommend a site for a new store and design map documents that support conclusions and recommendations. Intermediate-level lab.
By Fred L. Miller
This lab focuses on the first of these growth strategies. Students must create a profile of a company’s existing customers and use it to identify opportunities for increasing sales to this group by selectively expanding the firm's line of products and services. Intermediate-level lab.
By Fred L. Miller
This lab examines opening new stores to increase sales from new customers in the market area. Students must use enterprise sales data to analyze sales patterns for a firm's first store, evaluate potential sites for two new stores, and recommend the best locations for those stores. Intermediate-level lab.
By Fred L. Miller
Students perform the role of firm's business GIS analyst to design this system of six territories with approximately the same level of sales potential in each. Intermediate-level lab.
By Fred L. Miller
Students perform the role of firm's business GIS analyst to create profiles of a firm’s current customers to support two growth strategies—by seeking greater penetration of the market areas served by current stores and by opening new stores in new geographic areas of the US. Intermediate-level lab.
By Fred L. Miller
Students perform the role of firm's business GIS analyst to use existing profile data to create segmentation plans that support both the penetration and expansion strategies. Intermediate-level lab.
By Fred L. Miller
This lab serves as a guideline for an independent project in which students will perform an environmental scanning analysis for an actual client organization. In it, students will develop a profile of the organization and its objectives as well as an understanding of what environmental factors create threats and opportunities for it. They will then use online business GIS software to analyze the spatial distribution of those factors within the organization's market area. Advanced experience required.
By Fred L. Miller
In this independent project, students perform an environmental scanning analysis for an actual client organization. Students develop a profile of the organization and its objectives as well as an understanding of what environmental factors create threats and opportunities for it. Students use business GIS software to analyze the spatial distribution of those factors within the organization's market area. Advanced experience required.
By Fred L. Miller
In this independent project, students perform customer profiling and segmentation analysis for an actual client organization. In it, students use business GIS software to develop a profile of the organization and its objectives, geocode and profile the organization's customers, and use the profiles to develop penetration and market expansion growth strategies. Advanced experience required.
By Fred L. Miller
In this independent project, students perform an initial site selection analysis for an actual client organization. In it, students develop a profile of the organization and its objectives and analyze several available locations to recommend the best initial site for the client organization. Students use business GIS software to analyze the spatial distribution of those factors within the organization's market area. Advanced experience required.
By Glen Jordan
In this lab exercise, students explore improving forest inventories using GIS. They will create a geodatabase and import shapefiles, coverages, feature classes, data table, rasters and imagery. A basic working knowledge of GIS is required, particularly ArcGIS software.
By Glen Jordan
Students will take advantage of the built-in capabilities that geodatabases provide for documenting the data they hold. Specifically in the woodlot geodatabase, students will assign feature class aliases and numerous attribute field aliases and coding domains using ArcCatalog. A basic working knowledge of GIS is required, particularly ArcGIS software.
By Glen Jordan
In this exercise, students build a digital elevation model (DEM) raster from mass points, and from that, a hillshade raster. Students map this data in 2D and 3D using ArcMap and ArcScene, respectively. A basic working knowledge of GIS is required, particularly ArcGIS software.
By Glen Jordan
In this exercise, students use GPS track data to incorporate a new line feature into the woodlot's basemap and public roads feature classes. A basic working knowledge of GIS is required, particularly ArcGIS software.
By Glen Jordan
In this exercise, students use changes indicated on an aerial photo to update the woodlot inventory. A basic working knowledge of GIS is required, particularly ArcGIS software.By Glen Jordan
In this lab exercise, students assess the woodlot for its balsam fir tipping potential. Students compile and map the distribution of areas of young balsam fir by their crown closure status and accessibility. A basic working knowledge of GIS is required, particularly ArcGIS software, and geodatabases.
By Glen Jordan
Disturbances, such as fire, insects, and disease, wipe out whole areas of trees, and new trees of uniform height and age grow in their place. Such stands of trees lend themselves to clearcutting, a common harvesting technique in such forest regions, where cutting trees clears the way for skidding them to roadside for transportation. In this lab, students evaluate economic timber amounts in the woodlot and create a map layout, summary table, and chart of operable timber amounts. A basic working knowledge of GIS is required, particularly ArcGIS software, and geodatabases.
By Glen Jordan
In this lab, students determine whether better stream protection means more timber value excluded from harvest. Students conduct an analysis that compares the relative "costs" of two buffering strategies in terms of timber values. A basic working knowledge of GIS is required, particularly ArcGIS software, and geodatabases.
By Glen Jordan
In this exercise, students analyze the woodlot's overall vulnerability should a spruce budworm outbreak occur. Students calculate budworm vulnerability index values for stands as a function of their spruce and fir species composition, age, and isolation. They can then map and summarize timber volume amounts by defoliation classes. A basic working knowledge of GIS is required, particularly ArcGIS software, and geodatabases.
By Glen Jordan
In this exercise, students compile and map the distribution of harvest openings created in the woodlot over the past 10 years in order to answer questions such as “Are openings mostly large, mostly small, or some other distribution?” and “What does that confirm about aesthetic, economic, or ecological effects?” A basic working knowledge of GIS data, including use of a geodatabase is required.
By Glen Jordan
In this exercise, students learn how GIS technology helps measure and monitor the aesthetics of clearcutting activity in a forest over time. Students measure the length of road shared with immediately adjacent clearcuts and calculate the amount of clearcut area visible in the distance. Students should have a basic working knowledge of GIS data, including use of a geodatabase, and ArcGIS software in particular.
By Glen Jordan
In this lab, students determine how clearcutting affect a region's watersheds. A basic working knowledge of GIS data, including use of a geodatabase, as well as some experience with rasters and the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst extension.
By Glen Jordan
Students examine how to use GIS technology to explore the ecological well-being of a forest. A basic working knowledge of ArcGIS software and GIS data, including use of a geodatabase is required. There is also some computer programming knowledge needed, Visual Basic in particular.
By Glen Jordan
Students identify how valuable is the woodlot's standing timber, and how is that value distributed across types of stands and between accessible and inaccessible stands. A basic working knowledge of ArcGIS software and GIS data, including use of a geodatabase is required. There is also some computer programming knowledge needed, Visual Basic in particular, and Microsoft Excel experience, including pivot table calculation.
By Glen Jordan
In this labs, students learn how GIS can help determine a forest's value for maple syrup production be evaluated, aside from identifying sugar maple stands. A basic working knowledge of ArcGIS software and GIS data, including use of a geodatabase is required. There is also some computer programming knowledge needed, Visual Basic in particular, and Microsoft Excel experience, including pivot table calculation.
By Glen Jordan
In this lab, students examine how much recreation potential (e.g. hunting, fishing, bird-watching, hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling) exists in a forest. A basic working knowledge of GIS data, including use of a geodatabase, as well as some experience with rasters and the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst extension.
Jeff Blossom
Harvard University
Monika Calef
Soka University of America
Can Denizman
Valdosta State University
Alexandra Felix-Locher
Grand Valley State University
Julienne Gard
El Camino College
Glen Jordan
University of New Brunswick
Su Jin Lee
University of Southern California
Fred L. Miller
Murray State University
Rachel Russell
University of Southern California
Sumeeta Srinivasan
Harvard University
