Lab Week 4

Through the increase in home computers and available technology, the rise of neogeography has occurred. People are able to modify and produce maps which are salient to their life and provide different map routes to people who may be interested. Programs such as ArcMap in GIS allow users to modify maps in order to show others what they think is the best solution to increase their standard of living, through the use of maps.
Just like any other computer program, GIS is difficult to manipulate and memorize the specific codes for each action. For a person like me who does not have good computer skills, GIS was a little hard to adapt to. The commands given through the tutorial were not always clear and often times hitting one button would mess up a whole map. This lead to a lot of frustration and needing lots of help! It was also difficult having to work off of a computer lab computer because the saving process was more difficult. Another disadvantage of GIS is the availability of the program to anyone. This can lead to a misguidance of information from someone who has no knowledge of the subject in which their map is based.
However, these disadvantages are greatly outnumbered by the mass amount of advantages that result from the widespread accessibility of GIS to the public. Through GIS, members of communities are able to map the advantages and disadvantages of additions to their neighborhood. For example, how the addition of an airport might affect the way in which a community exists. Also, a community will be able to measure the advantages or disadvantages of adding a new school to their neighborhood, a new police station, or a new post office. Also, looking on the more negative side, a community will be able to map the increase of crime, or the areas that sexual molesters are prone to. The possibilities for mapping such things for a community are endless and people will be able to map out a community in which they can have the most security and happiness.
Although GIS is hard to get the hang of, the infinite number of advantages that GIS provides outweighs the slow start. The accessibility of GIS to the mass will allow communities to provide utmost protection and happiness to its residents.