Module 3: ArcGIS Field Maps and Projections

 ArcGIS Field Maps and Projections

This week I got to leave the computer desk and go explore the great outdoors with ArcGIS Field Maps! 

Due to my work schedule and the bad weather I only had a short window to collect data. While I was mostly familiar with my neighborhood - I wasn't sure which feature would provide the best representation of the necessary data. So I collected data on all the Street Lights, Fire Hydrants, Street Signs, and Storm Drains in my neighborhood.

Screenshot from ArcGIS Field Maps
Identifying information edited out for privacy.

After going through the data I collected - Street Lights provided the best representation for the required ranking of the data. 

Field Maps was straightforward. The initial setup was a bit cumbersome but with more practice this I believe this will become a fairly fast process depending on the parameters needed. 

I thoroughly enjoyed learning about how to collect the data and share it through multiple outlets (ESRI, Google Earth, and Map Package). 

I also learned how to project our GIS data and change coordinate systems. I did not struggle with the process but I will be spending more time learning about coordinate systems to build more confidence in this area. 

I had to create a layout of our different projections. In the process of "Owning My Map" I've learned that I favor blues, greens - "cool" colors and prefer to balance out heavy elements. I struggled a bit on where to place the North Arrow and ultimately decided to place it in the Legend box to communicate that it was for all 3 maps. For the Scale Bar I selected 600 miles for the whole numbers and so it would flow over to the 2nd box to convey the same message as the arrow.

Projection Maps comparing Albers, UTM 16 N, and State Plane N Coordinate Systems