Maps and the art of mapping have increasingly become an important part of society. The use of geographic information systems (GIS) has expanded beyond geography and into the humanities where Historical GIS has become a popular methodology. The accessibility and ease that comes with creating a map allows us to see maps in newspapers, government agency sites, car navigation systems, and even iPhones. Mapping systems are used by real estate agencies to sell homes, to track the nearest gas station, and trace crime patterns within cities. Maps and other visualization tools have played an essential role in solving spatial problems on a variety of different phenomena.

The GIS 520 Solving Spatial Problem course provides a framework and different techniques for learning how to integrate and analyze spatial data in various formats and explore multiple methods for visualizing geographic data analysis results. Throughout this course, I illustrate how GIS is used to explore patterns, answer questions, and solve spatial problems about several different topics. This course as well as this online portfolio is divided into 3 units: Geospatial Data Issues, Spatial Problem Solving with Vector Data, and Problem Solving with Raster Data. Each unit demonstrates the growing importance of using GIS and why historians, city planners, real estate agencies, and local governments continue to use it.

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