When to run suitability at full resolution?

[SteveLynch]

A suitability modeling workflow helps you find the best locations for a specific purpose. For example, you can use it to choose sites for housing developments, schools, corporate headquarters, wildlife conservation, or fire prevention. No matter what the application is, the general process is similar.

ArcGIS Pro’s Suitability Modeler makes this modelling process efficient by using raster functions to transform criteria and generate suitability maps. These raster functions work quickly because the data aren't saved to disk. However, when you reach the “Locate” stage of your modeling project, you’ll need to use data that has been saved (persisted) to disk. The modeling workflow is outlined below.

Four Main Steps to Create a Suitability Model

1. Prepare Criteria Data:
   Gather and organize the data that will be used to evaluate locations.
2. Transform Criteria Values:
   Convert each criterion’s values to a common suitability scale so they can be compared.
3. Weight and Combine Criteria:
   Assign importance to each criterion, then combine them to create a suitability map.
4. Identify Suitable Areas using Locate:
   Use the suitability map to locate the best areas for your intended purpose.

Raster Functions are used in Steps 2 and 3

• Steps 2 and 3 use raster functions, which process data in real-time without creating new files.
• These functions apply changes "on the fly" as you view and change the data, making the process faster and saving storage space.

Finalizing Your Suitability Map in Step 3

• When you’re satisfied with the suitability map, save it to disk by clicking the Run button in the Suitability pane.
• After saving (click the Run button in the Suitability pane), proceed to Step 4 to identify the best locations.
• The locate step cannot be done using the suitability map raster function, and that is why it has to be converted to a full resolution raster dataset on disk.