ArcGIS Tutorials Blog

Model conservation suitability 

In this tutorial, you will take the role of a Kenyan conservation professional using spatially informed decision making tools to prioritize areas for conservation to reach 30x30 in Kenya.

You will use layers from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World to determine how much area is currently conserved and how much more needs to be conserved to meet that goal. Once you have done so, you will use Suitability Modeler in ArcGIS Pro to analyze multiple data layers to determine high priority areas for conservation in order to meet targets of the UN Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

Create a Python script tool 

Python scripting makes it possible to automate workflows in ArcGIS Pro. In this tutorial, you will start with a working script that automates a typical geoprocessing workflow. You will use this script to create a custom Python script tool that can be used by others in ArcGIS Pro. Making a script tool allows your code to be shared with others, who can use it without knowing Python.

Explore imagery – Spatial resolution 

One important characteristic of imagery data is its resolution. There are four types of resolution: spatial, temporal, spectral, and radiometric. In this tutorial, you'll learn about spatial resolution.

You'll become familiar with the concept of spatial resolution and examine satellite imagery of different spatial resolutions in ArcGIS Pro. Your exploration will focus on the region of Pembamoto, Tanzania, where an innovative regreening project is taking place. You'll also apply your knowledge of spatial resolution to change the cell size of imagery using resampling and verify your results using the measuring tools.

Get started with ArcGIS Data Pipelines 

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) maintains a database of capital improvement projects as a .csv table. However, other departments within the city would like to know additional information about each capital project, such as the age of each project from its initial design or which neighborhood contains each capital project.

In the past, adding additional information to this list of park projects has been a time-consuming, manual process. Specifically, it entails:

• Querying projects that are in the construction phase
• Projecting data to an appropriate coordinate system for New York City
• Calculating the amount of time that has passed since the project was initially designed
• Determining which neighborhood tabulation area the project falls within
• Determining which community district each project falls within
• Removing numerous attributes that are not necessary for the stakeholders
• Renaming three attribute fields whose current names are vague and unintuitive

To automate this workflow and keep your data up to date, you'll use ArcGIS Data Pipelines to extract information from the New York City's OpenData website, load it into ArcGIS Online, and transform it by adding the requested attributes. Finally, you'll have this data pipeline run on a schedule to keep your list of capital projects current.

Generate DSMs and True Orthos with ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro 

In this scenario, the City of San Francisco is expanding its GIS open data program to include high-resolution digital surface models (DSM) and True Ortho imagery. These new 2D products will be used to enhance citizen engagement through access to accurate and current high-quality imagery and other GIS data products. As an image analyst working for the city, you have been tasked with processing some newly acquired aerial imagery to generate these products.

You will do that using ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro. You'll download the input data and create a workspace to manage it. You'll then improve the image alignment using tie points, ground control points, and other photogrammetric processes. Finally, you'll generate a high-resolution DSM and a True Ortho. While this workflow is demonstrated on a small extent for brevity, ArcGIS Reality for ArcGIS Pro is routinely used to process much larger extents, as seen in this layer example hosted online.

Edit a building layer 

Building information models (BIM) in ArcGIS provide a detailed representation of buildings and other construction elements, presented within rich 3D backdrop scenes. They can also be enabled for editing and be used to maintain up-to-date information about the real-life objects they represent.

In this tutorial, as the real estate manager working on the De Zalmhaven tower project in Rotterdam, Netherlands, you need to keep real estate agents and project stakeholders up to date on the status of the units available for sale or lease in the tower. You will create a 3D scene in which the building appears as an editable scene layer. You will edit attributes about unit availability in ArcGIS Pro, and you will share your latest updates with the real estate agents and project stakeholders as a web scene on your ArcGIS Enterprise portal.

Detect ships with SAR imagery 

In this tutorial, as an analyst for the Panama Traffic Services agency, you will help determine ship congestion by detecting ships in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery and you’ll use the result to generate a vessel density map. A vessel density map shows the distribution of ships (that is, maritime traffic), based on the number of ships per unit area. SAR satellite sensors send and receive back microwaves to create high-resolution images of the Earth's surface. Unlike traditional methods such as the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which relies on broadcast systems aboard ships, SAR can help detect ships even in areas where AIS data may not be available or reliable. Understanding port congestion by incorporating a SAR-based approach can improve maritime traffic safety and efficiency.

Use network diagrams for quality assurance 

In this tutorial, you will act as a GIS analyst for an electrical utility. In response to several user reports, the department is performing quality assurance checks on its network data. The GIS at a utility company is used by different departments for asset management, engineering analysis, and planning purposes. Supporting a modern utility requires maintaining a high standard of data quality. GIS is no longer only about making good-looking maps; it's about modeling the relationships and connectivity of all the assets maintained by the utility company so they can be leveraged by other systems and users. Quality assurance and quality control (QAQC) is an important part of maintaining any dataset, and as datasets grow larger and get more complicated, it is even more important to have robust tools that help to visualize and analyze the data in intuitive ways. You will use ArcGIS Pro tools, ArcGIS Utility Network, and network diagrams to explore associations between features and correct them if necessary. While the data and terminology presented in this tutorial are specific to the electric industry, the tools and processes translate to the data and workflows used by other industries, such as water or gas utilities.

Create 2D products with ArcGIS Drone2Map 

You are a drone operator who has just finished capturing data for a residential construction site by collecting aerial images. Your manager would like you to take these raw drone images and use them to calculate the volume of stockpile on site.

In this tutorial, you'll use ArcGIS Drone2Map to convert your raw drone imagery into a highly accurate True Ortho using ground control points and perform the required measurement. Additionally, you'll publish your imagery products to the web so they can be made accessible to others at your organization.

New ArcGIS tutorial series

A tutorial series delivers multiple onboarding resources in a single-page experience. Here's a roundup of some new series in the ArcGIS tutorial Gallery that have appeared in the last month. 

Design a layout in ArcGIS Pro 

A layout includes a map, along with surrounding information such as a title, legend, scale bar, or credit text. These elements—called map surrounds—help to explain the map. It is important that the layout be well designed so the map is easy to interpret. It should be balanced, consistent, uncluttered, and have a clear visual hierarchy.

You have been hired to create a printed map of a marine estuary for a small museum in South Australia. It should show the different land cover types and tidal class areas in the estuary, which are described in other displays in the museum. In this tutorial series, you'll use ArcGIS Pro to design a layout for the client.

Create a community walkability survey 

A walkability assessment, or walk audit, is a well-documented community engagement tool to evaluate the built environment for pedestrian safety, accessibility, and ease of use. It is a widely used exercise that brings members of a community together—from different ages, abilities, and experiences—to take action to improve their community's walkability. These assessments involve going out in pairs or small groups and walking along a route in a neighborhood while making observations of the walking experience. The findings are gathered and assessed to determine the types of improvements needed and where they should be implemented to encourage walking.

A survey can help facilitate this activity, organize the responses, and allows you to visualize the results using charts and maps. It is important to find ways to share survey findings with participants so they are included in every step of the project.

Using ArcGIS Survey123 web designer, you will build an online survey to answer the project question—what encourages or discourages walking to local parks in my community? You will build a survey with a variety of question types, demonstrating both qualitative and quantitative data collection. One of the advantages of building questions and collecting data with Survey123 is the ability to visualize the survey results in a web map. The map is a compelling and interactive way for the community and other key stakeholders to engage with the findings.

Get started with ArcGIS Excalibur 

In this tutorial, you will act first as a team lead and then as an imagery analyst working for the City of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. Your team has been tasked with helping the city inspect structural changes since 2007 around Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. As the team lead, your job is to search for imagery of the airport and create an Excalibur project with an observation layer. As the imagery analyst, your job is to collect observations on any identified structural changes.

You will learn how to search for and connect to imagery in ArcGIS Excalibur, create a project, and create an observation layer. You will then conduct analysis to compare current and older imagery. You'll create observations and annotations on the map, and export the map to share your results with your organization.

Engage the community with a feedback survey 

When working on a project related to racial equity and social justice, it is important to get and integrate the perspectives of the community that has been impacted by inequity in your project. Surveys are effective tools for better understanding community experiences, opinions, and perspectives from lived experiences. The scenario in this tutorial is around determining where to place a new park, but the workflow can be applied to many other interventions to meet a local community's priorities.

In this tutorial, you have determined a few areas in your community that would most benefit from a new park and green space in Baltimore, Maryland. Research shows that there continues to be inequity in the access and quality of green spaces by race, place, and income. You will incorporate an equity approach to engaging the community through this survey.

Tell the story of your equity plan 

In this tutorial, you will use ArcGIS StoryMaps to build a story of your equity project to identify which areas in Baltimore would most benefit from a new park and green space. Historically underserved neighborhoods experience inequity in the access and quality of green spaces by race, place, and income. Parks and greenspace are valuable community spaces for people to find relief from extreme heat, increase likelihood of improved health outcomes, and build community.

Track and visualize equity goals 

The third step in applying the Racial Equity and Social Justice workflow to GIS is to monitor the performance of equity goals. In this tutorial, you conducted a survey to find out which area participants want a new park in. You will compare the race and ethnicity of those who participated in a feedback survey to the makeup of the local community. Comparing this data will help you determine how well those who participated in your survey reflect the community where the new park will be built.

You will use analysis tools and create charts to visualize the race and ethnicity data and create a web app to share your findings with the community. As more survey entries are completed, the data will automatically update in both the map and app, increasing transparency and participation in the project.

Use map analysis tools to develop parks equitably 

Previously, you have assessed the strengths and needs of your community. You now want to make an equity action plan to address a community need given what you have learned. In the Racial Equity and Social Justice workflow, after you have completed the map and analyze inequities step, the next step is to operationalize, or put into action, a solution to address the challenges you identified. The step is called the operationalize positive practices step. In this tutorial, you will determine which areas in the city would most benefit from a new park space, with consideration for areas that have historically experienced unequal access to benefits and opportunities for green space.

New ArcGIS tutorial series

A tutorial series delivers multiple onboarding resources in a single-page experience. Here's a roundup of some new series in the ArcGIS tutorial Gallery that have appeared in the last month. 

The power of interactive maps and apps 

Explore four examples of interactive maps and apps that demonstrate the cartographic benefits of modern GIS.

Map Venice in 2D and 3D 

Learn how to create detailed maps and scenes of Venice, Italy, in ArcGIS Pro.

Map, analyze, and share fire incident data 

Transform a spreadsheet of fire incident data into informative, analytical, and interactive online maps and apps