The development of GIS
GIS is essentially to do with the creation of maps which now are far more advanced than they’ve ever been. However, the beginnings of this process can be traced back as far as 500 B.C. when, artifacts such as clay tablets from Assyria were made with maps of certain northern Mesopotamian regions. Known evidence of maps and mapping in the western world exist from as far back as 12 B.C. when the Roman map was executed by Emperor Augustus’ son-in-law, M. Vipsanius Agrippa. Man has only made leaps in the forward direction since. Subsequent discoveries, such as the spherical shape of the Earth, also affected the mapping process positively.
While cartography continued to develop through experimentation through the ensuing centuries, newer technologies also came to be developed simultaneously, significant among them being the invention of the computer and its stupendous capabilities. It was when the two were brought together that the foundation for modern day GIS was laid.
The development of GIS was a result of several initiatives taken in various unrelated quarters to solve or analyze specific problems all of which resulted in learnings that led to the overall construction of GIS.
Here are the most significant events that occurred from the 1950s to the present that determined the steady development of GIS:
1950s: William Garrison a well-known geographer and analyst of transportation issues, working at the University of Washington, came up with a brilliant idea to make use of statistics and computers to study and better understand spatial problems. This idea launched what was referred to as the “quantitative revolution” in the field of geography.Waldo Tobler, a student of William Garrison and participant in the Quantitative Revolution, devised a model called Map In – Map Out (MIMO) in 1959 which would apply computers to cartography. This model was the basis for GIS and contained all the prime features of GIS software available and in use today.
1960s: The early 60s saw the launch of a government project in Canada – headed by Roger Tomlinson – to “analyze Canada’s national inventory.” This process gave birth to many GIS aspects. The same year saw the formation of URISA – The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association – in the US. This organization sought to solve problems related to public works, planning, emergency services, environment issues, etc., through the application of information technology. The following year Howard Fisher created the Harvard Lab for Computer Graphics. It was in this Lab that many of the GIS pioneers worked culminating in the creation of software that could handle spatial data. Howard Fisher completed his work on the Synagraphic Mapping System (SYMAP) at the Lab in 1965, a process he’d begun while in the Northwestern Technology Institute. This application was the initial, automated computer mapping system. In 1967 George Farnsworth developed the Dual Independent Map
Encoding system of data formatting for the US Bureau of Census. In the same year, David Bickmore established the ECU (Experimental Cartography Unit) at London’s Royal College of Art. Another phenomenal development that took place in 1967 was the development by the CIA of an Auto Mapping System that could compile point or line data at a global level. In 1968 Robert Tweedie based in Albany and working for the New York State Department of Transportation invented a Transportation Information System that integrated geocoded data related to travel and land use characteristics. The resulting maps could be printed off as line printer dot maps. Four significant events occurred in 1969 – Jack Dangermond established the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), Jim Meadlock established Integraph Corporation (a company that creates geospatial software), Laser-Scan was founded by 3 academics from Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratories in UK (a company that provides spatial data
and solutions) and the publishing of Ian McHarg’s book Design With Nature which popularized overlay map techniques.
1970s: The start of the 70s was marked by four significant events that shaped the history of GIS: The Roger Tomlinson led Canadian project began to make full use of the Canada Geographic Information system (CGIS) developed; E.L. Amidon an employee of the Berkley based American Department of Agriculture developed a grid manipulated Map Information and Display System (MIADS/2) capable of tabulation of data for single as well as overlaid maps; Arie Shachar, working at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem generated “The Urban Atlas of Jerusalem” by applying the grid manipulation system to a block inventory data bank; Dieter Steiner of Switzerland created the Geographic Mapping Program (GEOMAP) which was grid manipulation based and similar to Howard Fisher’s SYMAP and could produce shaded maps; The first ever symposium on GIS took place in Ottawa, Canada.
In 1971, Roger Tweedie made use of a database that contained such information as physical attributes of roads, traffic volumes, bridge records, and road inventories to create the Highway Inventory Information System for the state of New York. The following year marked the launch of the first Landsat satellite which provided a wealth of information about our planet’s geography. IBM began developing a Geographic Information System called GFIS the same year while, in the UK, the Department of Environment created the GISP to aid planning. In 1973, Maryland became the first state to initiate state-wide projects under the MAGI (Maryland Automated Geographic Information). The USGS (United States Geological Survey)began to create a large database of land resources and also began developing GIRAS (Geographical Information Retrieval and Analysis System) to analyze and effective manage their geographical resources. The first International Symposium on Computer-Assisted Cartography als o took place the same year followed by the first AUTOCRATO conference in 1974.
In 1976, Minnesota undertook a state-wide GIS research project called MLMIS (Minnesota Land Management Information System). The following year USGS developed the spatial data format called DLG or Digital Line Graph. ERDAS Inc, another geospatial software provider was founded by Bruce Rado and Lawrie Jordan in 1978 and the GPS project entered its second phase after four NAVSTAR satellites were launched. The end of the 70s saw the development of the ODYSSEY at Harvard Lab. This made it possible to use vectors (including points, lines and polylines and polygons) to represent geographical features on maps.
1980s: Right at the start of the 80s, Dana Tomlin created MAP (Map Analysis Package) as a part of his Doctoral thesis. This program signaled the creation of raster graphics. The following year ESRI launched their revolutionary ARC/INFO program that could be used on machines with both Unix and Windows. It was thought of as the first modern GIS. The same year, GPS too became operational. In 1982 the first ever company was established – SPOT Image Company – that dealt in the worldwide distribution of geographic information gained through Earth Observation Satellites. 1983 saw the establishment of the first ever digital mapping company called ETAK. The First International Spatial Data Handling Symposia was held the next year. A book titled Basic Readings in Geographic Information Systems by Marble, Calkins & Peuquet was also published that year.
In 1985, the US Army began the development of GRASS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System) at the Construction Engineering Research Laboratories. A few months later, The Edinburgh University started offering an M. Sc in GIS. MapInfo, a company dealing in the creation of GIS software was founded in New York in 1986. The publishing of Peter Borrough’s Principles of Geographic Information Systems for Land Resource Assessment and the launch of the first SPOT satellite were the other important events that year. Four significant events occurred in 1987: The Chorley Report discussing the “Handling of Geographic Information” was submitted and played a major role in the development of this new field in the UK; the International Journal of Geographical Information Systems was published for the first time; Ron Eastman started the IDRISI project at Clark University which would focus on the development of geospatial technologies for better management of the environment; and Canadian Company Tydac released its raster based software – SPANS (Spatial Analysis System). The rest of the 80s continued to see steps in the forward direction with the launching of various companies or research projects as well as publications and magazines dedicated to this field.
1990s: The 1990s saw the launch of several satellites into space that provided us with more information about our planet’s geography. The first GISRUK conference in UK for academics from all the related fields of GIS, the development of the first Xerox PARC Map Viewer by Steve Putz, the establishment of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), the first International Conference on Global Spatial Data Infrastructure in Germany, the launch of a handful of prestigious research projects, and the launch of satellites marked the 1990s.
The Future of GIS: GIS technology has only gotten more user-friendly with time, in terms of both its usage and the costs involved. The continuous developments taking place in this field, it is forecasted, will result in the increased usage of this technology in fields like science, industry, government, public health, archeology, urban and rural planning, logistics, transportation, environmental sustainability, defense, etc.