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Jim Kompanek
Introduction
This lesson involved setting up a reference map for use in emergency management. Thirteen potential layers, comprising of points, polylines, and polygons, were provided for use in the reference map. Only twelve, all but forest_districts, were potentially useful for use in an emergency map and were included in this project (Table 1 and Figure 1).
All but one of the layers consisted of nominal levels of measurement and were symbolized with color hue and/or shape, with each layer consisting of a unique shape. Numerous layers either consisted of a single variable or further classifications were not deemed necessary. For example, it was not necessary to distinguish between types of schools, and only a single school category was used for all educational facilities.
In general, a consistent shape was maintained for each layer and different hues were utilized when classifying sub-groups of each layer. For example, all law enforcement agencies used the same shape but the different types of agencies used different colors. The railway layer was symbolized based on arrangement and categorized by whether the rail line was still active. The roads layer consisted of an ordinal level of measurement, which was based on the type of road. A different size and value was used based on the road type.
The visual hierarchy of the map is indicated in the table below. The Centre County layer provided the base map for the current project, with Bellefonte Borough and Spring Township highlighted. Complimentary colors were used for both of these polygons, with a dull tan for all other values. Light, pastel colors were chosen for the Bellefonte and Spring polygons because these were not the primary purpose of the map. The point features were generally considered more important features and were displayed higher in the hierarchy.
Labels will ultimately need to be refined in Lesson 3--they will likely incorporate the use of font and color hue. The line features, such as roads, streams, and railways will utilize a serif font (Times New Roman) to tie together linear features. The point and polygon layers will utilize a sans serif font (Arial) to indicate a specific location. The color hue of each label will also either match or closely match that of the feature itself. Labels were automatically generated by ArcMap but, especially in the case of the road layer, created a mess of overlapping labels. It will be necessary to further refine and manually place many of the label for the line and polygon layers.
Table 1. Summary of layer attributes and symbolization used for Lesson 1.
Name Type Classification Variables Symbolization jails point single variable hue schools point single variable hue medical point single variable hue firestations point Ambulance EMS hue No EMS hue police point Police_Typ Municipal Station hue Sheriff hue State Police hue ems point Level ALS hue ALS/BLS hue BLS hue QRS hue railway polyline Status Active arrangement Inactive arrangement roads polyline Label Interstate hue State Route hue Local Roads hue streams polyline single variable hue floodplain polygon single variable hue airports polygon single variable hue centre polygon name Bellefonte Boro hue Spring hue all other values hue
Unused Layers
forest_districts polygon layer
This layer consisted of four Forest Districts in Centre County. Only one attribute field was provided, which indicated the name of the districts. This shapefile did not seem relevant to emergency management and was not utilized for the reference map.
Used Layers
jails point layer
As its name indicates, this layer provided the location of jails in Centre County, as well as basic attributes such as address and telephone number. No hierarchy, such as different types of jails, or capacity was provided in the attribute table; as such, this feature type was symbolized with a single variable which distinguished it from the other layers.
schools point layer
As its name indicates, this layer provided the location of schools in Centre County, with basic attributes, such as telephone number and address, and more detailed information such as type of school (public vs. private) and grade levels present. Although, this layer could be broken up into nominal visual variables (hue, shape, arrangement, or orientation), whether a school was a private high school or a public elementary school did not seem of great priority, and would only act to clutter the final map; as such, this feature type was symbolized with a single variable which distinguished it from the other layers.
medical point layer
As its name indicates, this layer provided the location of medical facilities in Centre County. Like the jails layer, the provided attributes are rather sparse and include name, address, city, and telephone. No information regarding the type of facility (hospital, doctors office, etc.), capacity, or capabilities. As a result, this layer is only symbolized with only a single variable.
firestation point layer
As its name indicates, this layer provided the location of firestations in Centre County, as well as specific contact and location information. Of potential use, this layer also contains attributes regarding whether it contains dispatchable fire units, and whether each station has an EMS unit available. A different hue was utilized based on the presence/absence of an EMS unit.
policestation point layer
As its name indicates, this layer provided the location of police stations in Centre County, as well as specific contact and location information. This layer also contained an attribute field for the type of force each station consisted of, such as municipal, sheriff, and state police forces. This field is likely to be of interest to an emergency responder, and as such, this variable was symbolized with different hues.
ems point layer
Similar to the firestation and policestation layers, this layer also contains all of the basic location and contact information. It also provides the level of qualification and is broken into ALS, ALS/BLS, BLS, and QRS. These are presumably linked the capabilities of each unit and would be of use to an emergency responder. These categories and symbolized with different hues.
railway polyline layer
This polyline layer indicates the location of rail lines within Centre County and indicates attributes such as the owner, branch, class, and whether it is active or inactive. Whether the line was still in use was considered the most important variable and was symbolized with different arrangements.
roads polyline layer
This roads polyline layer indicated the location, as well as a large list of attributes for each road in Centre County. Because emergency response time is likely linked to the quality of roads, a new field, indicating the road type will need to be created for the final project. This field will classify each road segment as an interstate, state road, or local road. Because this field will be akin to a level of measurement, as an interstate can handle more and quicker traffic, this ordinal field will be symbolized based on size and value.
streams polyline & floodplain polygon layers
This stream layer indicates the streams of Centre County, as well as a wide variety of indecipherable (to me) attribute fields. Because this layer is most useful for indicating relative geographic locations of other layers, it is symbolized with a single variable. The floodplain polygon also contains numerous attributes, but like the stream layer, the specifics of the floodplain are not of importance, and as such, it is only categorized as a single variable.
airports polygon layer
This layer indicates the location of airports in Centre County, as well as their respective names. Although information, such as runway length, maximum capacity, etc., may be of importance to county emergency planners, this information was not available in the layer. As such, each airport will be displayed in the same hue.
centre polygon layer
This layer indicates the extents of each borough and township in Centre County. Because this project is primarily focused on Bellefonte Boro and surrounding Spring Township, these two polygons were symbolized with complemented colors, and all other values were symbolized with the same hue.
Figure 1. Screenshot of the Lesson 2 data frame. Click on image for full sized graphic.
This document is published in fulfillment of an assignment by a student enrolled in an educational offering of The Pennsylvania State University. The student, named above, retains all rights to the document and responsibility for its accuracy and originality.
