open source software for gis

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Open source software for GIS+ Case study using QGIS for investigating supermarket location

Robin Lovelace

University of Leeds

November 2013

Robin Lovelace (University of Leeds) Open source software for GIS School of Geography 1 / 23

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Outline

1 IntroductionWhat is Open Source?The problemSolutions

2 OS ApplicationsData analysisData presentation

3 OS Data

4 OS Publications

5 The open source movement and geographyQGIS tutorial


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What is Open Source?

Open source means different things to different people.

SoftwareAn approach to data access and informationA political movementA philosphy

This talk is mostly about open source software, focussing on QGIS.

Aims: to introduce the concept and provide a headstart in newdevelopments in Geographical software. Why open source?

Many reasons: most importantly for you, it’s getting BIG.See Paul Ramsay’s talk: http://vimeo.com/76365035 — Being an open source citizen


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Definitions

Proprietary softwareNot owned by you — grantedpermission to use, based on end-userlicence agreement (EULA). E.g:

“I certify that I am currently an employee of UofL, ("USER"). I

understand that I am only authorized to use this software (1)

while I am an employee and (2) in accordance with the

provisions outlined below, the ESRI license agreement

(99U1335) between UofL and ESRI and the associated

attachments (which includes...”

“protected by U.S. copyright laws”

CopyrightedProfit motive — money generatedthrough software saleCentralized decision making

Open Source softwareYou are free to:

DownloadModifyCopyRe-distribute*

Legally defined:copy left — GPLor permissive (BSD,MIT licenses)

Profits from services(OpenGeo)Volunteers“Many hands makelight work”


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The problem 1: Software — “Your trial period is over”

Access to information isunequalNot only do they want yourmoneyThey want everyone’s money!=> Less £££ for

HealthEducationSustainable dev.

And it doesn’t even work! (thatwell)


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The problem 2Proprietary data and articles

“researchers, especially in smaller UK universities, do not haveaccess to the publications they need.”If people in Universities find it hard to get the right info...What about when you leave University?What about those who never went?


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Solutions

Unequal access to up-to-date computing:Greater investment in third world computingOr use cheaper programs

Unequal access to dataGreater research budgets for buying confidential dataOr encourage researchers to make data available

Difficult to access journal articlesMore investment for library subscriptionsOr move towards open source publishing model

Shift in thinking, not just licences.


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R: for data analysis and modelling

R within the user friendly environment RStudio


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R: reproducibility

Your results can be replicated by anyone, anywhere.

Regardless of expensive softwareRegardless (up to a point) of computing powerRegardless of software updates (stability)

However... steep learning curve.


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R: as a GIS

Spatial interaction model mapped in R


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LATEX: hypertext markup language for publishing:benefits

Thesis classJournals use itVery flexible, from presentations to books!Automatic referencing, contents, list of figures etc.Allows you to get on with the real workExcellent for maths

e(t) = max{min[e(t − δt) + ∆(t),eM)],0}. (1)


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ggplot2

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Age Constraint

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Age/sex

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Distance Constraint

Census

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NS−SEC Constraint

Census High qualitygraphics (ggplot2)


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Office programs

Microsoft Office equivalent, better in some ways, worse in others


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Ubuntu — this computer’s running on it*

*Other operating systems are available


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Open data: Driven by the “open government” initiative

Huge potential for scientific research (Uhlir & Schroder 2007)


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Crowd-sourced data

OSM, Twitter, Wikipedia, http://harassmap.org/, cyclestreets.net etc


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Open Source publication model: rival to status quo?

“Academic publishers make Murdoch look like a socialist”(Monbiot, 2012)Backlash, with institutional support.3 directions this is going:

Green: completely open sourceGold: proprietary model with “open source” option (£3000 perpaper!)Status quo: proprietary model but preprints become more widelyavailable

Costs and benefits of each


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Completely open source

According to the Directory of Open Source Journals, 101 journalsbelonging to Geography subject area.Open source hardwareCan everything be open source? Yes, according to Sam Muirhead


http://opensourceecology.org/

http://www.shareable.net/users/samoos

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Open source and geography

Closer links with physical sciences (Ince et al. 2012)Contrasts with Geography’s elitist undertones

Geography can be about breaking down barriersAbout making information about the world available


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Open source GIS packages

Wide range of options available (Steiniger & Bocher 2009)Desktop GIS options

UDigGVSIG and GVSIG “Batovi”QGIS — becoming ‘industry standard’

GeodatabasesPostgreSQLPostGIS — Competitive with Oracle Spatial

Web mappingGeoServerOpenLayers — see crime heat mapgeojson.io and TileMill by MapBox


http://crimeview.psi.enakting.org/

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QGIS + an introductory session

Next stage: test drive QGIS for yourself - download tutorial from here:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15008199/osm-challenge-public.zipRobin Lovelace (University of Leeds) Open source software for GIS School of Geography 21 / 23

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References

Ince, D. C., Hatton, L., & Graham-Cumming, J. (2012). The case for opencomputer programs. Nature, 482(7386), doi:10.1038/nature10836

Monbiot, G. (2011). Academic publishers make Murdoch look like a socialist.The Guardian

Steiniger, S., & Bocher, E. (2009). An overview on current free and open sourcedesktop GIS developments. International Journal of Geographical InformationScience, 23(10). doi:10.1080/13658810802634956

Uhlir, P., & Schroder, P. (2007). Open data for global science. Data ScienceJournal


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Further links

POST (2012) Open Source and Open Standards - POST Note.Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology

Cadwalladr, C. (2012). Do online courses spell the end for thetraditional university? The Guardian

Information into the potential for community mapping using geojson.io:http://robinlovelace.net/software/2013/11/16/mapping-for-the-masses.html
