Module 5- Geographic Information Systems- XY Point Data and Geocoding

     This week we learned how to clean and convert data in Microsoft Excel to make it more favorable for processing in ArcGIS Pro as well as to geocode addresses. With the intention of mapping known Eagle’s nest locations in Santa Rosa County, Florida, we started by using Microsoft Excel to convert latitude and longitude of the known locations from Degrees, Minutes, Seconds (DMS) into the more favorable format for the program, Decimal Degrees. We then uploaded this location data to ArcGIS to create a map and projected this data to the State Plane coordinate system.

    Our next project was geocoding the schools located in Manatee County, Florida. We obtained the Florida Department of Education’s data with locations of all schools in the county. We then cleaned it in Excel to prepare it for ArcGIS. We ended up with a CSV file with the necessary address, county, zip code located in their own columns. This data was uploaded into ArcGIS along with the US Census Bureau’s County and roads files for Manatee. We projected our data to State Plane Florida West and added our data as a table to the map. To geocode the addresses, we set up an address locator and then used the Geocode Table function to locate the schools on the map. We then rematched the addresses that were unable to be located. I had about 7 addresses that were unable to be found. I used Google Maps and available data to locate the schools and then manually searched the location on the map and dropped the pin in the accurate location. I ran into some challenges with my data at this point. Some of the addresses given were PO boxes and others were the address to the main office of the school system not the actual physical location of the school. I made several mistakes that cost more time in the long run trying to move points and change addresses. Even though the purpose of the lesson was to geocode, I wanted to make sure I was habitual about making sure my data and maps were as accurate and possible.

Instead of creating a map layer, this time we uploaded our map as a web map to ArcGIS Online. My final geocoded map is located here: Manatee County Web Map