Here’s my funky ArcGIS mapping experiment! It includes many layers. The layer which I created myself *beautifully* displays a visual of all of the cute little squirrels in New York City’s famous Central Park! I am actually not a big fan of squirrels, so I appreciate this map layer because it informs me that I should avoid visiting Central Park so as to sidestep an encounter with this vibrant rodent population. The map also includes some (actually very) informative layers of data which other Carleton students created, and I imported. These layers include some data about the Carleton Arboretum (heart eyes!) and also the hometowns of a class of Carleton graduates.
Overall I’m really excited about ArcGIS. I have seen projects made with this program before, but creating maps like this always seemed unattainably complex to me. I now feel like I know how to navigate the platform enough to use it, and this feels exciting, since I would like to use this tool in social science research in the future. I’m really hoping to land an ‘apprenticeship’ at a regenerative farm this summer and conduct social science research about the farm and its community while I’m there; I feel like ArcGIS could provide one informative method for presenting this research!
Becoming familiar with new programs is something I’ve enjoyed throughout this class in general. It feels empowering to gain little insights into various tools.
I agree that there’s a lot of potential for using ArcGIS in different practical settings. In my previous internship, I used ArcGIS a little bit as well, and I agree that in your upcoming apprenticeship, knowing how to use ArcGIS will definitely be beneficial.