What is GIS and Why Use Geography?

For newcomers, GIS is an amazing piece of equipment that performs wonders, especially when the user is traveling in places that are unknown to him or her. For them the question may be what is a GIS and why does it rely on geography to solve problems? To answer these questions we can consider the following:

 

·        What is a GIS? A GIS, in a nutshell, is a computer technology that uses geographic information as a basis for interpreting and managing data, solving a problem or a situation whether it was past, present or future.

·        Why use geography? In order to understand why GIS uses geography, it would be a good idea to understand what geography is, this way you will gain a better understanding of why it is used. Geography is referred to as the science of place and pace. It is a science of locating things on the surface of the earth. It focuses on why these things are where they are and why one place is different from another. There are two branches to geography: human and physical.

o       Human geography – This area is touches on humans and how people are distributed in space, how they use the space, and how they create space. People who work in this area work in the areas of urban and regional planning, transportation, marketing, real estate, and tourism.

o       Physical geography – This area touches on the study of climates and their patterns, land forms, vegetation, soils, and water. People involved in this area can forecast the weather, manage land and water, and analyze and plan for all kinds of land areas.  

As you can see geography is big business, not just for companies, but also for the government. A lot of businesses use GIS. Local governments use it when planning zone changes, or when putting up fiber optics for cable systems. Emergency personnel use it for tracking emergencies to find the fastest route to the scene.