Editing Geographic information system (section)

==Uses==
{{see also | Category:Applications of geographic information systems}}

Since its origin in the 1960s, GIS has been used in an ever-increasing range of applications, corroborating the widespread importance of location and aided by the continuing reduction in the barriers to adopting geospatial technology. The perhaps hundreds of different uses of GIS can be classified in several ways:
* ''Goal'': the purpose of an application can be broadly classified as either ''scientific research'' or ''[[resource management]]''. The purpose of [[research]], defined as broadly as possible, is to discover new knowledge; this may be performed by someone who considers themself a scientist, but may also be done by anyone who is trying to learn why the world appears to work the way it does. A study as practical as deciphering why a business location has failed would be research in this sense. Management (sometimes called operational applications), also defined as broadly as possible, is the application of knowledge to make practical decisions on how to employ the resources one has control over to achieve one's goals. These resources could be time, capital, labor, equipment, land, mineral deposits, wildlife, and so on.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chouhan |first1=Avinash Kumar |last2=Kumar |first2=Rakesh |last3=Mishra |first3=Abhishek Kumar |date=June 2024 |title=Assessment of the geothermal potential zone of India utilizing GIS-based multi-criteria decision analysis technique |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960148124006177 |journal=Renewable Energy |language=en |volume=227 |pages=120552 |doi=10.1016/j.renene.2024.120552|bibcode=2024REne..22720552C }}</ref><ref name="bigbook">{{cite book |editor1-last=Longley |editor1-first=Paul |editor2-last=Goodchild |editor2-first=Michael F. |editor3-last=Maguire |editor3-first=David J. |editor4-last=Rhind |editor4-first=David W. |title=Geographical Information Systems, V.2: Management Issues and Applications |date=1999 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=0471-32182-6 |edition=2nd}}</ref>{{rp|791}}
** ''Decision level'': Management applications have been further classified as ''strategic'', ''tactical'', ''operational'', a common classification in [[business management]].<ref name="grimshaw1994">{{cite book |last1=Grimshaw |first1=D.J. |title=Bringing geographical information systems into business |date=1994 |publisher=GeoInformation International |location=Cambridge, UK}}</ref> Strategic tasks are long-term, visionary decisions about what goals one should have, such as whether a business should expand or not. Tactical tasks are medium-term decisions about how to achieve strategic goals, such as a national forest creating a grazing management plan. Operational decisions are concerned with the day-to-day tasks, such as a person finding the shortest route to a pizza restaurant.
* ''Topic'': the domains in which GIS is applied largely fall into those concerned with [[human geography|the human world]] (e.g., [[Economic geography|economics]], [[Political geography|politics]], [[Transportation geography|transportation]], [[education]], [[landscape architecture]], [[archaeology]], [[urban planning]], [[real estate]], [[public health]], [[crime mapping]], [[defense (military)|national defense]]), and those concerned with [[Physical geography|the natural world]] (e.g., [[Geological map|geology]], [[Biogeography|biology]], [[oceanography]], [[Climatology|climate]]). That said, one of the powerful capabilities of GIS and the spatial perspective of geography is their integrative ability to compare disparate topics, and many applications are concerned with multiple domains. Examples of integrated human-natural application domains include [[deep map]]ping,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Butts |first1=Shannon |last2=Jones |first2=Madison |date=2021-05-20 |title=Deep mapping for environmental communication design |url=https://doi.org/10.1145/3437000.3437001 |journal=Communication Design Quarterly |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=4–19 |doi=10.1145/3437000.3437001|s2cid=234794773 }}</ref> [[Natural hazard]] mitigation, [[wildlife management]], [[sustainable development]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chouhan |first1=Avinash Kumar |last2=Harsh |first2=Anuranjan |last3=Mishra |first3=Abhishek Kumar |last4=Kumar |first4=Vikram |last5=Kumar |first5=Rakesh |last6=Kumar |first6=Satyam |date=August 2024 |title=Delineation of groundwater vulnerable zone for sustainable development in the southwestern part of Bihar, India |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2352801X24001632 |journal=Groundwater for Sustainable Development |language=en |volume=26 |pages=101240 |doi=10.1016/j.gsd.2024.101240|bibcode=2024GSusD..2601240C }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://continuingeducation.construction.com/article.php?L=5&C=879 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308044542/http://continuingeducation.construction.com/article.php?L=5&C=879 |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 March 2012 |title=Off the Map &#124; From Architectural Record and Greensource &#124; Originally published in the March 2012 issues of Architectural Record and Greensource &#124; McGraw-Hill Construction - Continuing Education Center |publisher=Continuingeducation.construction.com |date=11 March 2011 |access-date=13 May 2012 }}</ref> [[natural resources]], and [[climate change]] response.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/seaicemin09.html|title= Arctic Sea Ice Extent is Third Lowest on Record|access-date= 2009-10-20|archive-date= 2017-05-17|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170517222956/http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/seaicemin09.html|url-status= dead}}</ref>
* ''Institution'': GIS has been implemented in a variety of different kinds of institutions: ''government'' (at all levels from municipal to international), ''business'' (of all types and sizes), ''non-profit organizations'' (even churches), as well as ''personal'' uses. The latter has become increasingly prominent with the rise of location-enabled smartphones.
* ''Lifespan'': GIS implementations may be focused on a ''project'' or an ''enterprise''.<ref name="huisman">{{cite book |last1=Huisman |first1=Otto |last2=de By |first2=Rolf A. |title=Principles of Geographic Information Systems: An introductory textbook |date=2009 |publisher=ITC |location=Enschede, The Netherlands |isbn=978-90-6164-269-5 |page=44 |url=https://webapps.itc.utwente.nl/librarywww/papers_2009/general/principlesgis.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514113013/https://webapps.itc.utwente.nl/librarywww/papers_2009/general/principlesgis.pdf |archive-date=2018-05-14 |url-status=live}}</ref> A Project GIS is focused on accomplishing a single task: data is gathered, analysis is performed, and results are produced separately from any other projects the person may perform, and the implementation is essentially transitory. An Enterprise GIS is intended to be a permanent institution, including a database that is carefully designed to be useful for a variety of projects over many years, and is likely used by many individuals across an enterprise, with some employed full-time just to maintain it.<ref name="longley2011">{{cite book |last1=Longley |first1=Paul A. |last2=Goodchild |first2=Michael F. |last3=Maguire |first3=David J. |last4=Rhind |first4=David W. |title=Geographic Information Systems & Science |date=2011 |publisher=Wiley |page=434 |edition=3rd}}</ref>
* ''Integration'': Traditionally, most GIS applications were ''standalone'', using specialized GIS software, specialized hardware, specialized data, and specialized professionals. Although these remain common to the present day, ''integrated'' applications have greatly increased, as geospatial technology was merged into broader enterprise applications, sharing IT infrastructure, databases, and software, often using enterprise integration platforms such as [[SAP]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/spring09articles/integrating-gis.html|title=Integrating GIS with SAP—The Imperative|last=Benner|first=Steve|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022085822/http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/spring09articles/integrating-gis.html|archive-date=22 October 2009|url-status=dead|access-date=28 March 2017 |date=Spring 2009 |website=Esri }}</ref>

The implementation of a GIS is often driven by jurisdictional (such as a city), purpose, or application requirements. Generally, a GIS implementation may be custom-designed for an organization. Hence, a GIS deployment developed for an application, jurisdiction, enterprise, or purpose may not be necessarily [[Interoperability|interoperable]] or compatible with a GIS that has been developed for some other application, jurisdiction, enterprise, or purpose.<ref>{{Cite SSRN|last1=Kumar|first1=Deepak|last2=Das|first2=Bhumika|date=23 May 2015|title=Recent Trends in GIS Applications|language=en|ssrn=2609707}}</ref>

GIS is also diverging into [[location-based service]]s, which allows GPS-enabled mobile devices to display their location in relation to fixed objects (nearest restaurant, gas station, fire hydrant) or mobile objects (friends, children, police&nbsp;car), or to relay their position back to a central server for display or other processing.

GIS is also used in digital marketing and SEO for audience segmentation based on location.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haywood |first=Leeann |date=2023-03-15 |title=Location Data: How GIS is Used in Digital Marketing and SEO |url=https://hennessey.com/blog/location-data-how-gis-is-used-in-digital-marketing-and-seo/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Hennessey Digital |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Liaquat |first=Ali |date=2021-08-01 |title=How To Use Geofencing for Targeted Digital Marketing Campaigns |url=https://aliliaquat.com/how-to-geofencing-digital-marketing/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Topics===
====Aquatic science====
{{Excerpt|GIS and aquatic science|hat=yes|paragraphs=1}}

====Archaeology====
{{Excerpt|GIS in archaeology|hat=yes|paragraphs=1}}

====Disaster response====
[[File:I just got off the phone with @GovJoshGreenMD – following a call with @FEMA Deanne – to discuss Hawai'i's recovery after the deadliest wildfire in a century that has claimed 99 lives.jpg|thumb|right|280px|Aboard [[Air Force One]] enroute to the disaster, President Biden reviews maps of damage assessments, made by [[Federal Emergency Management Agency|FEMA]] and the [[Civil Air Patrol]]'s [[Geographic data and information|geospatial]] team in response to the [[2023 Hawaii wildfires]]<ref>{{cite web |title=he president reviews maps... |url=https://x.com/CivilAirPatrol/status/1691607732954997124 |website=X |access-date=12 January 2025}}</ref>]] Geospatial disaster response uses geospatial data and tools to help emergency responders, land managers, and scientists respond to disasters. Geospatial data can help save lives, reduce damage, and improve communication. Geospatial data can be used by federal authorities like [[Federal Emergency Management Agency|FEMA]] to create maps that show the extent of a disaster, the location of people in need, and the location of debris, create models that estimate the number of people at risk and the amount of damage, improve communication between emergency responders, land managers, and scientists, as well as help determine where to allocate resources, such as emergency medical resources or search and rescue teams and plan evacuation routes and identify which areas are most at risk.

In the United States, FEMA's Response Geospatial Office is responsible for the agency's capture, analysis and development of GIS products to enhance situational awareness and enable expeditions and effective decision making. The RGO's mission is to support decision makers in understanding the size, scope, and extent of disaster impacts so they can deliver resources to the communities most in need.<ref>{{cite web |title=Response Geospatial Office |url=https://www.fema.gov/about/offices/response/response-geospatial |website=FEMA |access-date=22 January 2025}}</ref>

====Environmental governance====
{{Excerpt|GIS and environmental governance|hat=yes|paragraphs=1}}

====Environmental contamination====
{{Excerpt|GIS in environmental contamination|hat=yes|paragraphs=1}}

====Geological mapping ====
{{Excerpt|Digital geological mapping|hat=yes|paragraphs=1}}

====Geospatial intelligence====
{{Excerpt|Geographic information systems in geospatial intelligence|hat=yes|paragraphs=1}}

====History====
{{Excerpt|Historical GIS|hat=yes|paragraphs=1}}The use of digital maps generated by GIS has also influenced the development of an academic field known as spatial humanities.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cohen |first=Patricia |date=2011-07-26 |title=Digital Maps Are Giving Scholars the Historical Lay of the Land |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/arts/geographic-information-systems-help-scholars-see-history.html |access-date=2024-01-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

====Hydrology====
{{Excerpt|GIS and hydrology|hat=yes|paragraphs=1}}

====Participatory GIS====
{{Excerpt|Participatory GIS|hat=yes|paragraphs=1}}

====Public health====
{{Excerpt|GIS and public health|references=Chouhan, A.K., Harsh, A., Mishra, A.K., Kumar, V., Kumar, R.; Delineation of groundwater vulnerable zone for sustainable development in the southwestern part of Bihar, India. Groundwater for Sustainable Development. doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2024.101240.|hat=yes|paragraphs=1}}

====Traditional knowledge GIS====
{{Excerpt|Traditional knowledge GIS|hat=yes|paragraphs=1}}