Chris Stephenson UWF GIS Blog

     In this crime analysis module, I explored how GIS can help law enforcement identify crime hotspots using real data from Washington DC and Chicago. I started by mapping burglary rates in DC, normalizing the data by housing units to create a fair comparison across neighborhoods, and used kernel density analysis to visualize assault patterns as smooth "heat maps" showing crime concentration. The kernel density technique was particularly effective at revealing clustering patterns that weren't obvious when just looking at individual crime points.      The most interesting part involved comparing three different hotspot mapping techniques using Chicago homicide data: grid-based mapping, kernel density analysis, and Local Moran's I statistical clustering. I tested each method's effectiveness by using 2017 crime data to predict where 2018 homicides would occur. The analysis revealed important trade-offs between accuracy and area coverage - methods that capture...

Hi! I'm Chris. Please see my story map  here ! I am a USAF veteran utilizing the VA VR&E program. I am a graduate student looking to expand on my GIS knowledge. I served as a Geospatial Analyst for 12.5 years and currently hold a B.S. in Geography and B.S. in GIS.  My story map is being re-used from the Cartography course, but the information still applies! Nothing has changed to much since March!

 This week's assignment was to pull a feature class and write it to a TXT file. To accomplish this feat, we utilized nested loops and search cursors along with skills from previous weeks. This assignment specifically was targeted to rivers in Hawaii. Below is the code and results.

 This module provided an in-depth overview and review for model creation and using geoprocessing tools within the ArcGIS Pro workspace. Below you can see a model that was used to generate a workflow to make a new layer, depicting suitable soil in the area. Below the model is the result of the workflow. The model function in ArcGIS Pro allows users to use a visual representation to help create a workflow with functioning tools in the GIS workspace. The latter half of the assignment was to create a script that ran multiple geoprocessing tools to efficiently place coordinates, create a buffer, and dissolve the buffer for a cleaner look. You can see the code and results below.

 This weeks module focused on python fundamentals. For me, it was a nice refresher. I haven't taken a python course in a couple years, so it was nice to have readings and an assignment that simplified our script writing. Our goals this week were to create objects and lists that could be used in for loops, if/else statements, and while loops. We also had a small sample of debugging in the random dice roll script as well as importing additional python libraries. Below is a snapshot of the results from my script writing. 

 This weeks module was focused on an introduction into creating pseudocode and flow charts for python scripts. Utilizing these tools helps simplify the processes in crafting scripts to solve simple or complex problems. Below is a flow chart I created to convert 3 radians to Degrees. You can also see a snippet from jupyter notebooks where I processed the script and received feedback.