On my first bootup of ArcGIS, I found it to feel relatively similar to my experiences with geospatial mapping in Tableau. Of course, ArcGIS is much more focused on the mapping part, and Tableau is more focused on the data visualizations– meaning there is a little bit of overlap.
Following the guide on the Vivero Fellows website (the one available to everyone and the public, not our internal documentation wiki), I walked through a simple geospatial visualization. There are many options to customize charts and graphs, and even the map you are overlaying your data on. I remember painfully trying to design a visualization in Tableau during a data science course and struggling to design the interface to accurately reflect my data (spatial mapping of humanitarian, financial, and military aid commitments to Ukraine in 2022). It seems like ArcGIS, provided with good data at least, is much more straightforward with that aspect.
Looking further, I also found the official ArcGIS YouTube channel, which is fairly rich as well. It was surprising to see the frequent (and recent) posting schedule, and they seem to very active with their content.
It looks pretty rough right now, which is why I’m haven’t posted anything from this training onto my website. You are able to upload maps onto a website, embed them into pages, and even create your own web app. That’s something we can look for in the future.
For the future, I’d like to learn about performing analyses with ArcGIS Online. Vivero fellows get the upgraded status of ‘publisher’, which offers fancier techniques to interpret your data, but I did not have time in this training to pursue that thread of thought. I can perhaps walk someone else through the process, at least superficially, and refer them to the right sources.
I can think of a few applicable use cases of ArcGIS for my current work with Vicki Nolton of the Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS), where we are investigating housing access in the town of Grinnell. For example, I could create a web app that visually displays (overlaid on a map) the interconnected network of Grinnell nonprofits and aid organizations that support housing and food access. Hmm. Maybe this is worth looking into! Yet another project to add to the list.
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