GIS I Lab 1: Base Data

Goal and Background: The goal of Lab 1 was to use and display the GIS skills I have learned in class thus far on a project relevant to my student status at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire (UWEC).
The Confluence Project is an arts performance and display space and student housing complex geographically positioned at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and at the social confluence of UWEC and the greater Eau Claire community. The project would be funded by both public and private sources, and thus was a rather political issue, voted on in November 2014.

Many materials needed to be generated to conceptualize the project, and anticipate potential political hurtles in City Council and in the voting population. Lab 1 put me to work recreating some of those materials. 

Methods: Six maps were generated; EC County Civil Divisions, Census Boundaries, PLSS Features, EC City Parcel Data, Zoning, and Voting Districts. For each of the six maps, an Imagery base map was used. A legend, compass, and scale was included in each map. The proposed site is highlighted and labeled in yellow in each map. For the maps scaled out beyond 1:140,000, a callout box was created labeling and pointing to the proposed site. EC County Civil Divisions map was overlain with the county civil divisions and symbolized categorically showing municipality type. Census Boundaries is overlain with the US Census blocks and symbolized by quantities, 2007 population normalized to square miles. PLSS Features is overlain with the quarter-quarter PLSS of the area, and highlighted with neon-green outlines for visibility. EC Parcel Data is overlain with the parcel lots in the City of Eau Claire, symbolized as solid polygons, and centerlines in blue for visual reference. Zoning was overlain with the land zoning for the city of Eau Claire, and categorically symbolized by zoning class. Classes were simplified into six broader categories. Centerlines were also drawn on for visual reference. Voting Districts is overlain with the voting districts for the City of Eau Claire, and labeled by ward number. Wards were also symbolized categorically using the ward number for the unique values. This allows a for better visual representation of the outlines of each ward.

Results: The resulting map, Figure 1 (displayed below) shows all 6 maps in separate data frames on a single layout. Eau Claire County Civil Divisions shows the geographic location of the proposed site; Eau Claire County, Wisconsin in the city of Eau Claire. Census Boundaries shows the population density of the area according to the 2010 US census. The Confluence is in an area with 3600-5000  people living per square mile. PLSS Features shows that site is located in NE 1/4 NW 1/4 of Eau Claire Section 20. EC City Parcel Data map shows which legal parcels will be combined to create the Confluence. Zoning describes the present zoning of the site and the sites around it. The parcels are presently zoned as Central Business District among other Central Business District parcels. Voting Districts labels the voting districts in the city of Eau Claire, to aid in campaigning for Confluence approval.

Figure 1

Sources: City of Eau Claire and Eau Claire County 2013