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Downloading GIS Data: Mapping U.S. Census Data and Uploading Dynamic Web Maps

Introduction Wisconsin population data was mapped in order to learn how to access and download specific Census data using advanced search methods and then map the data by joining to a Census shapefile. The mapped data was then uploaded to Esri ArcGIS Online in order to learn how to build a dynamic web map. Methods Download 2010 Census Data.  A web browser was opened and directed to the US Census Bureau Fact Finder Website. The data was specified in the Advanced Search tab by the Topic, Total Population, and by the Geography, All Counties in Wisconsin. Data for the variable P1 for Total Population from the 2010 SF1 Dataset was downloaded. The CSV file for the total population data was prepared for use in Esri ArcMap by removing the second row with aliases, setting up the top row with fields ids to follow naming rules in ArcMap by changing the periods ('.') to underscores ('_'), and saving the file as an Excel Workbook file. Download the shapefile for the WI ce...
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2017 BANFF Mountain Film Festival: Ain't no way like the crazy way, Reflection on Spatial and Emotional Connection

The 2017 BANFF film festival is a series films about adventure seekers (see full list here ). These adventure seekers did crazy things. One free-solo climbed dangerous rock faces. Another embraced the northern way of life in the Canadian Arctic. One group of adventurers kayaked down waterfalls. Another carved their own canoe with the help of an indigenous family in South America and rivered through the Amazon with it. Yet another surfed slacklines across canyons. Other people were accomplishing amazing feats in artistic presentation of already amazing feats, whether it be in cinematography or digital effects. Image from the film 2.5 Million An especially memorable film for me was about a man who felt like he wasn’t going anywhere in life. One day, he realized that he just had to pick a direction. Any direction. He needed to see what he could do with his could do with his life and ends up deciding on beating a world record in back country skiing. He trained super hard for ...

Mapping Base Data for the "Confluence Project" Development

Introduction Base maps were created for the "Confluence Project" development in order to become familiar with spatial data sets used in public land management, administration, and land use. Methods I learned how to read land use data provided by the City of Eau Claire and Eau Claire County. The legal description of the land purchased for the "Confluence Project", in conjunction with the City of Eau Claire's land parcel geodatabase, helped me determine the outline proposed site. Attribute tables for the parcel features also specified where the land is using the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) and how the land was zoned. After importing a parcel areas feature layer provided by the city, I was able to digitize the outline of the proposed site for the "Confluence Project" using the Polygon Tool in Esri's ArcMap. The proposed site was then presented in contexts of civil divisions, census boundaries, PLSS features, other parcel data, zoning, a...