GIS software at MIT: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Lab at MIT

Maps + Mapping

Social Science Data Services

US Census

Data Management & Publishing Guide

GIS Lab
Rotch Library, building 7-238

Contact Us
gishelp@mit.edu

GIS software at MIT

Geographic Information System (GIS) software facilitates analysis by providing a means to ask complex questions of spatial and tabular data, store the results as new spatial data, and produce maps to convey the answers. There are a variety of GIS software packages, and they have different strengths and weaknesses.

ESRI

ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute) is a leading GIS software company and has many products ranging from free data viewers to powerful desktop and internet mapping applications.

ArcGIS (ArcInfo) is available in the GIS Lab in Rotch Library (7-238), and in the 37-312 WinAthena cluster. ESRI extensions are included in the MIT site license. Some extensions, licensed from a third party through ESRI (for example: Data Interoperability), are not available in the MIT site license.

To order a copy of ESRI software fill out the online ESRI GIS software at MIT order form. (You will need MIT certificates to access this page.) Instructions for installing ArcGIS 9.x are available online. To run an MIT copy of ESRI software you must be authenticated in one of the following three ways:

1. be connected to the MIT network on campus (net 18)
2. be connected to the MIT network through a vpn (instructions are available at http://web.mit.edu/ist/services/network/vpn.html)
3. obtain a dongle (contact dsheehan@mit.edu - note there may be a fee for purchasing dongles)

About ESRI desktop mapping software: In 1982 ESRI launched its first commercial GIS software called ARC/INFO. In 1992 ESRI released a more affordable, easier to learn desktop mapping tool, called ArcView. ArcGIS, released in 2001, combines the robust tools of ArcInfo's command line with the GUI interface of ArcView and is marketed by ESRI as their scalable system for geographic data creation, management, integration, analysis, and dissemination. ...http://www.esri.com/company/about/history.html

Many scripts, samples, patches, data models, etc. are freely available online at ESRI support

Google Earth Pro

Available in the MIT GIS Lab on lib-gis-1
For more information about capabilities visit: http://www.google.com/enterprise/earthmaps/pro_features.html

The MIT GIS Lab is able to offer access to Google Earth Pro through the Google Earth Education Iniative. As projects develop, Google would appreciate contributions to one of these community pages: http://bbs.keyhole.com
or http://groups.google.com/group/google-geo-education/topics.

"Whether it be information in the form of a lesson plan or in a detailed testimony outlining your successes, these contributions will foster incentives for creativity and innovation which that can ultimately evolve into Google Earth enhancements geared specifically toward curriculum development. We value your participation and look forward to your contributions."

Pcensus - Demographic data with graphing, reporting and mapping tools

PCensus for ArcGIS with Demographic Updates (from Claritas) integrates detailed demographic data with customizable graphing, reporting, and mapping tools. Users can define areas of interest with pre-defined census boundaries, circles, drive time, and custom boundary files. Pcensus is available in the MIT GIS Lab (Rotch Library, 7-238).

GeoLytics - Mapping US Census data

Available in the MIT GIS Lab, on lib-gis-6 'Census Workstation'
An overview comparison of census tools

GeoLytics provides demographic data with built-in mapping capabilities that create thematic maps for instant spatial display of demographic information. Geolytics software contains nation-wide tract-level data from the 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses, as well as recent estimates and projections. Comparing data from different census years can be a difficult task due to changing geographic boundaries. Geolytics' Normalized Data Product line adjusts and weights the census data to account for changes in geographies making comparisons between cenus years much easier. Geolytics also provides digital access to hard to find census data dating back to 1970. A listing of Geolytics cd's available in the MIT Libraries can be found in Barton by doing an Advanced Search by Publisher = Geolytics .

Other GIS software

There are a rapidly growing number of GIS software applications being developed. Many open source solutions are being developed using Java and hence, are available for multiple platforms. Wikipedia has an interesting listing of proprietary and open source GIS software. A good place to learn about what is going on in the Open Source GIS community is the OSGEO - Open Source Geospatial Foundation.

Other Software in the MIT GIS Lab

Adobe Creative Suite

Available on lib-gis-1 and lib-gis-4

AutoCAD

Available on all 6 computers