Lab 4 - ArcGIS

AcrMap is an extremely useful tool for many people. For instance, urban planners probably use this program on a daily basis because it allows them to essentially create cities. My personal experience revolved around an airport area but that could potentially be called a city in itself. With ArcMap, we are able to see multiple feature and attributes on one map. We are able to add multiple layers of information to a single map and analyze them against each other. ArcMap does, however, have its problems.

I encountered a few problems while using ArcMap. When I wanted to insert a legend, not all of the layers of data appeared on the legend and I had a bit of trouble trying to add them. Another problem I had was trying to make lines go parallel to other lines. Also, I was confused as to what some numbers that we entered meant. For example, when using the lines and arcs the tutorial asked us to input such numbers as "400" and "900." The tutorial didn't clarify what these numbers meant. If in the future I need to make a line a certain length I will not know what number to input. I didn't understand some of the math and geometry that I was asked to input.

ArcMap was a bit frustrating as well. A couple times the tutorial would not match up with what the program was showing. At one point in the editing and snapping part, the I encountered a screen that asked me which file I wanted to edit but that did not appear on the tutorial. According to the tutorial, I should not have encountered that problem. Moreover, the ArcMap did not allow us to change the boundaries of the county, merely to change what was inside. I don't know if it is possible to do this but from what I saw it did not look possible. It was very frustrating to often undo a command. When I made a mistake I tried pressing "ctrl z" but that would often times make matters worse and undo another command. This was my most urgent problem so I often closed the program and reopened the file, restarting from my last saved position, often times the end of an exercise.

However, ArcMap is nonetheless a tool that can be used for many purposes. It allows users to differentiate features and to remove and add layers without affecting other layers. One thing I liked about ArcMap is that the maps are dynamic, meaning that if the maps are changed then so are the legends. ArcMap allows users to be very creative with all its available features. Also, ArcMap has other purposes such as making us aware of areas that are poverty stricken and it allows us to focus our attention there. It can tell us where people are more at risk for diseases and allows us to prevent people from getting sick.