GIS Theory & Practice (GIS in Action: A Theory & Practice)

- Have you heard about this thing called "GIS" and wondered what it is, exactly? - Do you love working with maps, digital data, computers and the latest technology? - Are you new to GIS and need someone to work with you from "square one"? - Do you have some GIS experience but need to brush up on your skills or acquire new ones? - Do you want to learn about one of the fastest-growing fields in today's job market? If any of these questions apply to you, we encourage you to attend this informative session and meet the instructors of the GIS Education Center at City College of San Francisco. We are a friendly, supportive and knowledgeable group of GIS practitioners whose mission is to de-mystify GIS technology by offering low-cost, targeted, hands-on workshops at conveniently-located classrooms in San Francisco. GIS is short for Geographic Information Systems and is a system and approach for studying the world around us by integrating hardware, software (we teach ArcGIS 9.3), people, procedures and digital geographic data. Specifically, a GIS is a powerful system that links information on digital maps (referred to as "features" in a GIS) with databases that describe those features (referred to as "attributes"). For example, a city planner may create a map in GIS that shows all of the properties in a jurisdiction, while linking each property to database records that describe land use, acreage, and city zoning regulations. Using this information, the city planner can make smarter decisions about guiding the growth and development of the community. A transportation efficiency manager might use GIS to create a map of all the bus routes in a region, while linking each route to a database that lists demographic information, ridership statistics, performance history and fare collection. Using this map, the manager can make more informed decisions about which areas of the region could benefit from enhanced public transit service.