Geographic information system: Difference between revisions

The first publication detailing the use of computers to facilitate cartography was written by [[Waldo Tobler]] in 1959.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tobler |first1=Waldo |title=Automation and Cartography |journal=Geographical Review |date=1959 |volume=49 |issue=4 |pages=526–534 |doi=10.2307/212211 |jstor=212211 |bibcode=1959GeoRv..49..526T |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/212211 |access-date=10 March 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Further computer hardware development spurred by [[nuclear weapon]] research led to more widespread general-purpose computer "mapping" applications by the early 1960s.<ref name="map_printing_methods">{{cite web |url=http://www.broward.org/library/bienes/lii14009.htm |title=Map Printing Methods |first=Joseph H. |last=Fitzgerald |access-date=9 June 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070604194024/http://www.broward.org/library/bienes/lii14009.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 4 June 2007}}</ref>

In 1963, the world's first true operational GIS was developed in [[Ottawa]], Ontario, Canada, by the federal Department of Forestry and Rural Development. Developed by [[Roger Tomlinson]], it was called the [[Canada Geographic Information System]] (CGIS) and was used to store, analyze, and manipulate data collected for the [[Canada Land Inventory]], an effort to determine the land capability for rural Canada by mapping information about [[soil]]s, agriculture, recreation, wildlife, [[waterfowl]], [[forestry]] and land use at a scale of 1:50,000. A rating classification factor was also added to permit analysis.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of GIS {{!}} Early History and the Future of GIS – Esri|url=https://www.esri.com/en-us/what-is-gis/history-of-gis|website=esri.com|language=en-us|access-date=2 May 2020}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web |author=<!-- no author given --> |url=http://ucgis.org/ucgis-fellow/roger-tomlinson |title=Roger Tomlinson |publisher=UCGIS |date=21 February 2014 |access-date=16 December 2015|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151217012639/http://ucgis.org/ucgis-fellow/roger-tomlinson |archive-date=17 December 2015}}</ref>

CGIS was an improvement over "computer mapping" applications as it provided capabilities for data storage, overlay, measurement, and [[digitizing]]/scanning. It supported a national coordinate system that spanned the continent, coded lines as [[Directed edge|arcs]] having a true embedded [[topology]] and it stored the attribute and locational information in separate files. As a result of this, Tomlinson has become known as the "father of GIS", particularly for his use of overlays in promoting the spatial analysis of convergent geographic data.<ref name="Tomlinson">{{cite web |url=http://www.urisa.org/node/395 |title=GIS Hall of Fame&nbsp;– Roger Tomlinson |publisher=URISA |access-date=9 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714083049/http://www.urisa.org/node/395 |archive-date=14 July 2007}}</ref> CGIS lasted into the 1990s and built a large digital land resource database in Canada. It was developed as a [[Mainframe computer|mainframe]]-based system in support of federal and provincial resource planning and management. Its strength was continent-wide analysis of complex [[data set|dataset]]s. The CGIS was never available commercially.

In&nbsp;1964, Howard T. Fisher formed the Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis at the [[Harvard Graduate School of Design]] (LCGSA 1965–1991), where a number of important theoretical concepts in spatial data handling were developed, and which by the 1970s had distributed seminal software code and systems, such as SYMAP, GRID, and ODYSSEY, to universities, research centers and corporations worldwide.<ref name="Fisher">{{cite web |url = http://www.gis.dce.harvard.edu/fisher/HTFisher.htm |title = Howard T. Fisher |first = Lucia |last = Lovison-Golob |publisher = Harvard University |access-date = 9 June 2007 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071213234339/http://www.gis.dce.harvard.edu/fisher/HTFisher.htm |archive-date = 13 December 2007}}</ref> These programs were the first examples of general-purpose GIS software that was not developed for a particular installation, and was very influential on future commercial software, such as [[Esri]] [[ARC/INFO]], released in 1983.

Working in the Harvard Lab, Tom Waugh developed his vector-based Geographic Information Mapping and Manipulation System (GIMMS) software from 1969. He returned to the [[University of Edinburgh]] and this software was sold commercially from 1973.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/14702540902873881|title=Reflections on Forty Years of Geographical Information in Scotland: Standardisation, Integration and Representation|year=2009|last1=Gittings|first1=Bruce M|journal=Scottish Geographical Journal|volume=125 |issue=125 |pages=78–94 }}</ref>  By 1977 it was used at 300 sites worldwide.<ref name="longley">{{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 |edition=3rd}}</ref> This can be considered the first globally used GIS which anticipated some key characteristics of the Harvard Odyssey system by nearly five years and ARC/INFO by a decade.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/02693798708927810|title=Recent developments in geographical information systems in the U.K.|year=1987|last1=Rhind|first1=David|journal=International Journal of Geographical Information Systems|volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=229–241 }}</ref>

In 1986, Mapping Display and Analysis System (MIDAS), the first desktop GIS product,<ref>{{Cite book|title=GIS for Environmental Applications A practical approach|last=Xuan|first=Zhu|year=2016|publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415829069|oclc=1020670155}}</ref> was released for the [[DOS]] operating system. This was renamed in 1990 to MapInfo for Windows when it was ported to the [[Microsoft Windows]] platform. This began the process of moving GIS from the research department into the business environment.

By the end of the 20th&nbsp;century, the rapid growth in various systems had been consolidated and standardized on relatively few platforms and users were beginning to explore viewing GIS&nbsp;data over the Internet, requiring data format and transfer standards. More recently, a growing number of [[List of GIS software#Open source software|free, open-source GIS packages]] run on a range of operating systems and can be customized to perform specific tasks. The major trend of the 21st century has been the integration of GIS capabilities with other Information technology and Internet infrastructure, such as [[relational database]]s, [[cloud computing]], [[software as a service]] (SAAS), and [[mobile computing]].<ref>Fu, P., and J. Sun. 2010. ''Web GIS: Principles and Applications''. ESRI Press. Redlands, CA. {{ISBN|1-58948-245-X}}.</ref>

Starting in the late 1990s with the emergence of the Internet, as computer network technology progressed, GIS infrastructure and data began to move to [[Server (computing)|server]]s, providing another mechanism for providing GIS capabilities.<ref name="longley2015" />{{rp|page=216}} This was facilitated by standalone software installed on a server, similar to other server software such as [[HTTP server]]s and [[relational database management system]]s, enabling clients to have access to GIS data and processing tools without having to install specialized desktop software. These networks are known as [[distributed GIS]].<ref name=Zhong1>{{cite book |last1=Peng |first1=Zhong-Ren |last2=Tsou |first2=Ming-Hsiang |title=Internet GIS: Distributed Information Services for the Internet and Wireless Networks |year=2003 |location=Hoboken, NJ |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=0-471-35923-8 |oclc=50447645 |url=https://archive.org/details/internetgisdistr0000peng |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name=Moretz1>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Moretz |first1=David |title=Internet GIS |year=2008 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of GIS |editor1-last=Shekhar |editor1-first=Shashi |editor2-last=Xiong |editor2-first=Hui |location=New York |publisher=Springer |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofgi0000unse_i4o0/page/591 591–596] |isbn=978-0-387-35973-1 |oclc=233971247 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofgi0000unse_i4o0/page/591 |url-access=registration |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-35973-1_648}}</ref> This strategy has been extended through the Internet and development of [[cloud computing|cloud-based]] GIS platforms such as ArcGIS Online and GIS-specialized [[software as a service]] (SAAS). The use of the Internet to facilitate distributed GIS is known as [[Internet GIS]].<ref name=Zhong1/><ref name=Moretz1/>

Related by accurate spatial information, an incredible variety of real-world and projected past or future data can be analyzed, interpreted and represented.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cowen|first=David |url=http://funk.on.br/esantos/doutorado/GEO/igce/DBMS.pdf |title=GIS versus CAD versus DBMS: What Are the Differences? |access-date=17 September 2010 |year=1988| journal=Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing|volume=54|number=11|pages=1551–1555|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424091317/http://funk.on.br/esantos/doutorado/GEO/igce/DBMS.pdf |archive-date=24 April 2011}}</ref> This key characteristic of GIS has begun to open new avenues of scientific inquiry into behaviors and patterns of real-world information that previously had not been systematically [[correlation|correlated]].

Recently, aerial data collection has become more accessible with [[miniature UAV]]s and drones. For example, the [[Aeryon Scout]] was used to map a 50-acre&nbsp;area with a [[ground sample distance]] of {{convert|1|in|cm|2}} in only 12&nbsp;minutes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aeryon.com/news/pressreleases/248-softwareversion5.html |title=Aeryon Announces Version 5 of the Aeryon Scout System &#124; Aeryon Labs Inc |publisher=Aeryon.com |date=6 July 2011 |access-date=13 May 2012 |archive-date=10 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610142031/http://www.aeryon.com/news/pressreleases/248-softwareversion5.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The latitude and longitude on a map made against a local datum may not be the same as one obtained from a [[GPS receiver]]. Converting coordinates from one datum to another requires a [[Geographic coordinate conversion#Datum transformations|datum transformation]] such as a [[Helmert transformation]], although in certain situations a simple [[Translation (geometry)|translation]] may be sufficient.<ref name=Irish>{{cite web |url = http://www.osi.ie/GetAttachment.aspx?id=25113681-c086-485a-b113-bab7c75de6fa |title=Making maps compatible with GPS |publisher=Government of Ireland 1999 |access-date=15 April 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110721130505/http://www.osi.ie/GetAttachment.aspx?id=25113681-c086-485a-b113-bab7c75de6fa |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The quality of a dataset is very dependent upon its sources, and the methods used to create it. Land surveyors have been able to provide a high level of positional accuracy using high-end [[GPS]] equipment, but GPS locations on the average smartphone are much less accurate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/FGDC-standards-projects/accuracy/part3/chapter3|title=Geospatial Positioning Accuracy Standards Part 3: National Standard for Spatial Data Accuracy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106172527/http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/FGDC-standards-projects/accuracy/part3/chapter3|archive-date=6 November 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Common datasets such as digital terrain and aerial imagery<ref>{{cite web |url=https://njgin.state.nj.us/NJ_NJGINExplorer/IW.jsp |title=NJGIN's Information Warehouse |publisher=Njgin.state.nj.us |access-date=13 May 2012 |archive-date=10 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010091429/https://njgin.state.nj.us/NJ_NJGINExplorer/IW.jsp |url-status=dead }}</ref> are available in a wide variety of levels of quality, especially spatial precision. Paper maps, which have been digitized for many years as a data source, can also be of widely varying quality.

[[Dana Tomlin]] coined the term ''cartographic modeling'' in his PhD dissertation (1983); he later used it in the title of his book, ''Geographic Information Systems and Cartographic Modeling'' (1990).<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Tomlin | first1 = C. Dana | author-link1 = Dana Tomlin | title = Geographic information systems and cartographic modeling | url = https://archive.org/details/geographicinform00toml | url-access = registration | series = Prentice Hall series in geographic information science | publisher = Prentice Hall | date = 1990 | isbn = 9780133509274 | access-date = 5 January 2017}}</ref> [[cartographic design|Cartographic modeling]] refers to a process where several thematic [[layer (disambiguation)|layers]] of the same area are produced, processed, and analyzed. Tomlin used raster layers, but the overlay method (see below) can be used more generally. Operations on map layers can be combined into algorithms, and eventually into simulation or optimization models.

 

GIS or spatial [[data mining]] is the application of data mining methods to spatial data. Data mining, which is the partially automated search for hidden patterns in large databases, offers great potential benefits for applied GIS-based&nbsp;decision&nbsp;making. Typical applications include [[environmental monitoring]]. A characteristic of such applications is that spatial correlation between data measurements require the use of specialized algorithms for more efficient data analysis.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Ma | first1 = Y. | last2 = Guo | first2 = Y. | last3 = Tian | first3 = X. | last4 = Ghanem | first4 = M. | title = Distributed Clustering-Based Aggregation Algorithm for Spatial Correlated Sensor Networks | doi = 10.1109/JSEN.2010.2056916 | journal = IEEE Sensors Journal | volume = 11 | issue = 3 | page = 641 | year = 2011 | url = http://www.inf.ufpr.br/carmem/oficinaBD/artigos1s2014/dist-clustering.pdf | bibcode = 2011ISenJ..11..641M | citeseerx = 10.1.1.724.1158 | s2cid = 1639100 }}</ref>

In recent years there has been a proliferation of free-to-use and easily accessible mapping software such as the [[proprietary software|proprietary]] web applications [[Google&nbsp;Maps]] and [[Bing&nbsp;Maps]], as well as the [[free and open-source software|free and open-source]] alternative [[OpenStreetMap]]. These services give the public access to huge amounts of geographic data, perceived by many users to be as trustworthy and usable as professional information.<ref name = activities>{{cite journal|last1=Parker|first1=Christopher J.|last2=May|first2=Andrew J.|last3=Mitchell|first3=Val |title=The role of VGI and PGI in supporting outdoor activities|journal=Applied Ergonomics|date=2013|volume=44|issue=6|pages=886–94|doi= 10.1016/j.apergo.2012.04.013 |pmid=22795180|s2cid=12918341 |url=https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/10350}}</ref> For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, web maps hosted on dashboards were used to rapidly disseminate case data to the general public.<ref name=Everts1>{{cite journal |last1=Everts |first1=Jonathan |title=The dashboard pandemic |journal=Dialogues in Human Geography |year=2020 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=260–264 |doi=10.1177/2043820620935355 |s2cid=220418162 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Web mapping is not without its drawbacks. Web mapping allows for the creation and distribution of maps by people without proper cartographic training.<ref name="Plewe1">{{cite journal |last1=Plewe |first1=Brandon |title=Web Cartography in the United States |journal=Cartography and Geographic Information Science |date=2007 |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=133–136 |doi=10.1559/152304007781002235|bibcode=2007CGISc..34..133P |s2cid=140717290 }}</ref> This has led to maps that ignore cartographic conventions and are potentially misleading, with one study finding that more than half of United States state government COVID-19 dashboards did not follow these conventions.<ref name=Adams1>{{cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=Aaron |last2=Xiang |first2=Chen |last3=Weidong |first3=Li |last4=Zhang |first4=Chuanrong |title=The disguised pandemic: The importance of data normalization in COVID-19 web mapping |journal=Public Health |date=May 2020 |volume=183 |issue=3 |pages=36–37 |doi = 10.1016/j.puhe.2020.04.034|pmid=32416476 |pmc=7203028 }}</ref><ref name="Adams2">{{cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=Aaron M. |last2=Chen |first2=Xiang |last3=Li |first3=Weidong |last4=Chuanrong |first4=Zhang |title=Normalizing the pandemic: exploring the cartographic issues in state government COVID-19 dashboards |journal=Journal of Maps |date=27 July 2023 |volume=19 |issue=5 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1080/17445647.2023.2235385|bibcode=2023JMaps..19Q...1A |doi-access=free }}</ref>

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:

* ''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=20 May 2021 |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 |url-access=subscription }}</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 |article-number=101240 |doi=10.1016/j.gsd.2024.101240|bibcode=2024GSusD..2601240C |url-access=subscription }}</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= 20 October 2009|archive-date= 17 May 2017|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.

* ''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>

[[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.

 

''Implementing products'' are software products that implement OpenGIS&nbsp;Specifications but have not yet passed a compliance test. Compliance tests are not available for all specifications. Developers can register their products as implementing draft or approved specifications, though OGC&nbsp;reserves the right to review and verify each entry.

The condition of the Earth's surface, atmosphere, and subsurface can be examined by feeding satellite data into a GIS. GIS&nbsp;technology gives researchers the ability to examine the variations in Earth processes over days, months, and years through the use of cartographic visualizations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Monmonier |first1=Mark |title=Strategies For The Visualization Of Geographic Time-Series Data |journal=Cartographica: The International Journal for Geographic Information and Geovisualization |date=1990 |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=30–45 |doi=10.3138/U558-H737-6577-8U31}}</ref> As an example, the changes in vegetation vigor through a growing season can be animated to determine when drought was most extensive in a particular region. The resulting graphic represents a rough measure of plant health. Working with two variables over time would then allow researchers to detect regional differences in the lag between a decline in rainfall and its effect on vegetation.

Tools and technologies emerging from the [[World Wide Web Consortium]]'s [[Semantic Web]] are proving useful for [[data integration]] problems in information systems. Correspondingly, such technologies have been proposed as a means to facilitate [[interoperability]] and data reuse among GIS&nbsp;applications and also to enable new analysis mechanisms.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zhang |first1=Chuanrong |last2=Zhao |first2=Tian |last3=Li |first3=Weidong |title=Geospatial Semantic Web |date=2015 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-319-17801-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fonseca |first1=Frederico | last2 = Sheth | first2 = Amit |journal=UCGIS White Paper | title= The Geospatial Semantic Web |year=2002 |url = http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/f/u/fuf1/Fonseca-Sheth.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fonseca |first1=Frederico | last2 = Egenhofer | first2 = Max |journal=Proc. ACM International Symposium on Geographic Information Systems |title= Ontology-Driven Geographic Information Systems |year=1999 |pages=14–19 |citeseerx=10.1.1.99.5206 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Perry | first1 = Matthew | last2 = Hakimpour | first2 = Farshad | last3 = Sheth | first3 = Amit | journal = Proc. ACM International Symposium on Geographic Information Systems | title = Analyzing Theme, Space and Time: an Ontology-based Approach | url = http://knoesis.wright.edu/library/download/ACM-GIS_06_Perry.pdf | year = 2006 | pages = 147–154 | access-date = 29 May 2007 | archive-date = 14 June 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070614120623/http://knoesis.wright.edu/library/download/ACM-GIS_06_Perry.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref>

[[Ontology (computer science)|Ontologies]] are a key component of this semantic approach as they allow a formal, machine-readable specification of the concepts and relationships in a given domain. This in turn allows a GIS to focus on the intended meaning of data rather than its syntax or structure. For example, [[reasoning]] that a land cover type classified as ''deciduous needleleaf trees'' in one dataset is a specialization or subset of land cover type ''forest'' in another more roughly classified dataset can help a GIS automatically merge the two datasets under the more general land cover classification. Tentative ontologies have been developed in areas related to GIS&nbsp;applications, for example the hydrology ontology<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/ontology/|title=Ordnance Survey Ontologies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070521025424/http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/ontology/|archive-date=21 May 2007}}</ref> developed by the [[Ordnance Survey]] in the United Kingdom and the SWEET ontologies<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sweet.jpl.nasa.gov/ontology/ |title=Semantic Web for Earth and Environmental Terminology |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070529200940/http://sweet.jpl.nasa.gov/ontology/ |archive-date=29 May 2007 }}</ref> developed by [[NASA]]'s [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]]. Also, simpler ontologies and semantic metadata standards are being proposed by the W3C Geo Incubator Group<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/geo/|title= W3C Geospatial Incubator Group}}</ref> to represent geospatial data on the web. [[GeoSPARQL]] is a standard developed by the Ordnance Survey, [[United States Geological Survey]], [[Natural Resources Canada]], Australia's [[Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation]] and others to support ontology creation and reasoning using well-understood OGC literals (GML, WKT), topological relationships (Simple Features, RCC8, DE-9IM), RDF and the [[SPARQL]] database query protocols.

Recent research results in this area can be seen in the International Conference on Geospatial Semantics<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.geosco.org/|title= International Conferences on Geospatial Semantics}}</ref> and the Terra Cognita – Directions to the Geospatial Semantic Web<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/partnerships/research/research/terracognita.html|title=Terra Cognita 2006 – Directions to the Geospatial Semantic Web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518054232/http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/partnerships/research/research/terracognita.html|archive-date=18 May 2007}}</ref> workshop at the International Semantic Web Conference.

With the popularization of GIS in decision making, scholars have begun to scrutinize the social and political implications of GIS.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Haque|first=Akhlaque|date=1 May 2001|title=GIS, Public Service, and the Issue of Democratic Governance|journal=Public Administration Review|language=en|volume=61|issue=3|pages=259–265|doi=10.1111/0033-3352.00028|issn=1540-6210}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Haque |first= Akhlaque|date=2003|title=Information technology, GIS and democraticvalues: Ethical implications for IT professionals in public service|journal=Ethics and Information Technology|doi=10.1023/A:1024986003350|volume=5|pages=39–48|s2cid= 44035634}}</ref><ref name="activities" /> GIS can also be misused to distort reality for individual and political gain.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Monmonier|first=Mark|date=2005|title=Lying with Maps|jstor=20061176|journal=Statistical Science|doi=10.1214/088342305000000241|volume=20|issue=3|pages=215–222|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=How to Lie with Maps|last= Monmonier |first=Mark|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=1991|isbn=978-0226534213|location=Chicago, Illinois}}</ref> It has been argued that the production, distribution, use, and representation of geographic information are largely related with the social context and has the potential to increase citizen trust in government.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Surveillance, Transparency and Democracy: Public Administration in the Information Age |last= Haque|first=Akhlaque|publisher=University of Alabama Press|year=2015|isbn=978-0817318772|location=Tuscaloosa, AL|pages=70–73}}</ref> Other related topics include discussion on [[copyright]], [[privacy]], and censorship. A more optimistic social approach to GIS&nbsp;adoption is to use it as a tool for public participation.

At the end of the 20th century, GIS began to be recognized as tools that could be used in the classroom.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Sinton |editor1-first=Diana Stuart |editor2-last=Lund |editor2-first=Jennifer J. |date=2007 |title=Understanding place: GIS and mapping across the curriculum |location= Redlands, CA |publisher=[[ESRI Press]] |isbn=9781589481497 |oclc=70866933}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Milson |editor1-first=Andrew J. |editor2-last=Demirci |editor2-first=Ali |editor3-last=Kerski |editor3-first=Joseph J. |date=2012 |title=International perspectives on teaching and learning with GIS in secondary schools |location=Dordrecht; New York |publisher=[[Springer-Verlag]] |isbn=9789400721197 |oclc=733249695 |doi=10.1007/978-94-007-2120-3 |url= http://dergipark.gov.tr/rigeo/issue/11187/133647 |type=Submitted manuscript }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Solari |editor1-first=Osvaldo Muñiz |editor2-last=Demirci |editor2-first=Ali |editor3-last=Schee |editor3-first=Joop van der |date=2015 |title=Geospatial technologies and geography education in a changing world: geospatial practices and lessons learned |location=Tōkyō; New York |publisher=[[Springer-Verlag]] |isbn=9784431555186 |oclc=900306594 |doi=10.1007/978-4-431-55519-3|series=Advances in Geographical and Environmental Sciences |s2cid=130174652 }}</ref> The benefits of GIS in education seem focused on developing [[spatial cognition]], but there is not enough bibliography or statistical data to show the concrete scope of the use of GIS in education around the world, although the expansion has been faster in those countries where the curriculum mentions them.<ref name="Nieto">{{cite thesis |type=PhD thesis |last1=Nieto Barbero |first1=Gustavo |title=Análisis de la práctica educativa con SIG en la enseñanza de la Geografía de la educación secundaria: un estudio de caso en Baden-Württemberg, Alemania |date=2016 |publisher=[[University of Barcelona]] |location=Barcelona |hdl=10803/400097 }}</ref>{{rp|36}}

* {{cite book|last1=Worboys|first1=Michael|last2=Duckham|first2=Matt|year=2004|title=GIS: a computing perspective|place=Boca Raton|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-0415283755}}