GIS:

Geographic information
system
1
CONTENTS
2 1. INTRODUCTION
2. HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
3 3. APPLICATIONS
4. GIS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
5. CONCLUSION
4

5
1 WHAT IS GIS?
• Geographic Information System (GIS) is an information storage
system of huge spatially referenced databases.
• GIS is instrumental in delineation of different land-use, land-use
suitability mapping and modeling.
• GIS could be used in land-use suitability analysis with regards to
land suitability/habitant for animal and plant species, geological
favorability, landscape evaluation and planning, environmental
impact assessment, selecting the best site for the public and
private sector facilities, and regional planning.
•  GIS connects data to a map, integrating location data (where
things are) with all types of descriptive information (what things
are like there).
2 HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
THE EARLY HISTORY OF GIS
The field of geographic information systems (GIS)
started in the 1960s as computers and early concepts of
quantitative and computational geography emerged.
Early GIS work included important research by the
academic community. Later, the National Center for
Geographic Information and Analysis, led by Michael
Goodchild, formalized research on key geographic

1960
information science topics such as spatial analysis and
visualization. These efforts fueled a quantitative
revolution in the world of geographic science and laid
the groundwork for GIS.    

THE FIRST GIS

1963 Roger Tomlinson’s pioneering work to initiate,
plan, and develop the Canada Geographic
Information System resulted in the first
computerized GIS in the world in 1963. The
Canadian government had commissioned
Tomlinson to create a manageable inventory of its
natural resources. He envisioned using computers
to merge natural resource data from all provinces.
Tomlinson created the design for automated
computing to store and process large amounts of
data, which enabled Canada to begin its national
land-use management program. He also gave GIS
its name.    
ESRI IS FOUNDED
In 1969, Jack Dangermond—a member of the
Harvard Lab—and his wife Laura founded
Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.
(Esri). The consulting firm applied computer
mapping and spatial analysis to help land use
planners and land resource managers make informed
decisions. The company’s early work demonstrated
the value of GIS for problem solving. Esri went on to

1969
develop many of the GIS mapping and spatial
analysis methods now in use. These results generated
a wider interest in the company’s software tools and
work-flows that are now standard to GIS. 

GIS GOES COMMERCIAL

1981 As computing became more powerful, Esri
improved its software tools. Working on projects
that solved real-world problems led the company
to innovate and develop robust GIS tools and
approaches that could be broadly used. Esri’s
work gained recognition from the academic
community as a new way of doing spatial analysis
and planning. In need of analyzing an increasing
number of projects more effectively, Esri
developed ARC/INFO—the first commercial GIS
product. The technology was released in 1981 and
began the evolution of Esri into a software
company. 
3
WHERE IS GIS USED?
1.STREET NETWORK 2. NATURAL RESOURCES
 One of GIS's practical applications is street network  GIS is employed in the natural resource management of
control. rivers, recreational grounds, flooded areas, wetlands,
farming lands, woodlands, an wildlife.
 Finding the right location when given an address is
 It is used in Environmental ImpacT Analysis,
important to the postal service, police and fire
scrutinizing the effect of various projects on the
departments, and it can be used to schedule vehicle-
environment.
routing for transportation departments.
 GIS is involved in analyzing the hazards of toxins to land
 It's also vital for developers in its capacity for site or groundwater.
selection and analysis, as it provides relevant  Water quality management is yet another GIS
information about the quality of the site and application, used to control wildlife habitats and to
geographical features. foresee the migration routes of animals.
 Street networks can also be employed in security-
related activities when preparing evacuation routes.
3. Land management 4.Facilities management
 GIS is employed in land management,  GIS proves helpful in facilities
as a tool for preparing zoning and land management, as well as utility and
subdivision plans and in mapping. construction companies, because of
its ability to access the location of
 Individuals, businesses and
cables and pipes.
corporations can utilize GIS for
 Utility companies also use GIS to
examining the features of land lots.
track energy use and to plan for
 As GIS has direct access to information improvements.
about land ownership, accuracy in  Commercial property owners can
land title transfers is also realized with use GIS to plan the maintenance of
this system. their facilities.
4 GIS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
 GIS software is interoperable, supporting the many data
formats used in the infrastructure life cycle and
allowing civil engineers to provide data to various
agencies in the required format while maintaining the
data’s core integrity.
 GIS technology provides a central location to conduct
spatial analysis, overlay data, and integrate other
solutions and systems.
 Built on a database rather than individual project files,
GIS enables civil engineers to easily manage, reuse,
share, and analyze data, saving time and resources.
HISTORY OF GIS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
 During the 1854 cholera outbreak in London,
English physician John Snow used points to
represent the locations of some individual
cases, possibly the earliest use of a geographic
methodology in epidemiology.
 His study of the distribution of cholera led to the
source of the disease, a contaminated water pump Map of a later cholera outbreak

(the Broad Street Pump, whose handle he had

in London in 1866.

disconnected, thus terminating the outbreak)

within the heart of the cholera outbreak.
 This historical became the advent of the usage of
spatial data for analysis and planning in many
fields including Civil Engineering.

 John Snow’s 1855 map of the Soho Cholera outbreak showing

the clusters of cholera cases in the London epidemic of 1854
WHERE IS GIS USED IN CIVIL ENGINEERING?
PLANNING:
In planning its major contribution is to give us with an organized set of data
which can help professionals to combat complex scenarios relating to the
selection of site, environmental impact, study of ecosystem, managing risk
regarding the use of natural resources, sustainability issues, managing
traffic congestion, routing of roads and pipelines etc.
GIS helps in organizing sets of data which helps the engineer resolve
various scenarios relating to the selection, study of eco system, routing of
roads, environmental impacts etc.

DATA COLLECTION:
It has specific functions to collect precise site data used for predesign analysis;
design; and calculations including field survey, topography, soils, subsurface
geology, traffic, lidar, photogrammetry, imaging, sensitive environmental areas,
wetlands, hydrology, and other site specific design-grade data.
GIS has all the various tools and functions that helps it users to quickly access
required data. For any engineering project to be successful, the engineers must
have and work with precise and accurate data.
ANALYSIS:
The importance of analysis in infrastructure development cannot be over emphasized. It helps
in validating a design before further actions can be taken. There are various analysis carried
out by GIS such as soil analysis, water distribution analysis, environmental impact analysis etc.
Analysis of the environment with a GIS allows you to view patterns, trends, and relationships
that were not clearly evident without the visualization of data.

CONCTRUCTION:
It is the stage when all layout plans and paper work design come into
existence in the real world. The GIS helps the professionals to understand the site
conditions that affect the schedule baseline and cost baseline. To keep the
construction within budget and schedule GIS guides us about how to utilize our
resources on site efficiency.

OPERATIONS:
Operations are controlled by modeling of site data and compared by the baselines
prepared in planning phase. Modeling of site may be in the form of raster images or
CAD drawings. These can help us to keep track of timely operations of activities.
GIS can help to make a record of work that has been completed and can give us
visualization in the form of thematic maps which will guide us about rate of operations,
completed operations and pending operations.
CONCLUSION
5

 GIS gives people the ability to create their own digital map layers to help solve
real-world problems.

 With its movement to web and cloud computing, and integration with real-time
information via the Internet of Things , GIS has become a platform relevant to
almost every human endeavor—a nervous system of the planet.

 As our world faces problems from expanding population, loss of nature, and
pollution, GIS will play an increasingly important role in how we understand
and address these issues and provide a means for communicating solutions
using the common language of mapping.
PRESENTATION BY:

NAME: SPOORTI S ALDI

ROLL.NO: 942
USN: 2SD20IS050
DIVISION: ‘I’
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I Spoorti .S. Aldi ,from I division hereby would like to thank

Prof. Sahana Nayak from Chemistry Department for giving me
the opportunity to present this ppt on the wonderful topic-
GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM(GIS).

Thank you so much ma’am.