GIS-based Analysis tools for City Staff

What is a GIS-Based Analysis?

A GIS-based analysis uses geographic information to solve problems, make decisions, and understand patterns or trends. Unlike traditional data analysis, GIS adds the dimension of location to data, giving insights that can’t be gained by looking at spreadsheets or graphs alone. Whether you’re planning new developments, managing infrastructure, or improving public safety, GIS-based analysis provides a powerful tool to visualize and analyze data in a spatial context.

What is an Analysis?

An analysis is the process of evaluating data to extract useful information, answer specific questions, or guide decision-making. In GIS, analysis often involves layering data sets and applying spatial techniques to answer questions such as:

Where are the best locations for new developments?
What areas are most affected by environmental concerns like flooding or tree canopy loss?
How can we improve public transportation routes?

GIS-based analysis can be simple, like creating buffers around certain areas, or complex, like modeling future growth scenarios based on current trends.

Use-Case Examples

Here are some examples of how GIS-based analysis is supporting city initiatives in Bellevue:

Transportation Planning: Bellevue’s Vision Zero Initiative aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries. GIS is used to map high-crash areas, analyze patterns, and recommend safety improvements. Tools like Network Analysis in ArcGIS Pro help plan the most efficient routes and assess the impact of road changes.
Environmental Stewardship: The city’s focus on sustainability includes tracking tree canopy and managing stormwater. GIS analysis helps identify areas where trees can be planted to reduce stormwater runoff and improve air quality. ArcGIS Pro tools like Suitability Analysis and Overlay Analysis are often used to find the best locations for these efforts.
Crime and Public Safety: The Bellevue Police Transparency Hub uses GIS to display crime patterns across the city. Through spatial analysis, law enforcement can identify crime hotspots, track incidents, and allocate resources more effectively. Tools like Hot Spot Analysis and Proximity Analysis in ArcGIS Pro support these efforts.

Self-Help GIS Tools

Bellevue provides several self-serve GIS tools through ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Portal, designed to help staff create and analyze their own maps without needing advanced technical expertise. These tools allow you to visualize data, run analyses, and create interactive applications to support your department’s initiatives.

Web Map Viewer (ArcGIS Online): The web map viewer is a user-friendly platform for creating maps, performing spatial queries, and analyzing data. It includes basic analysis tools like:

• Buffering areas around points or lines.

• Overlapping multiple data layers to find intersections or patterns.

• Calculating the proximity between features. For example, the Transportation department could analyze the proximity of new developments to public transit stops.

ArcGIS Insights (via ArcGIS Online): ArcGIS Insights is an intuitive tool for deeper data exploration. It integrates spatial and non-spatial data, allowing you to:

• Create advanced visualizations, such as heat maps or charts that show trends and correlations.

• Run statistical analyses to identify hot spots or clusters.

• Build reports and dashboards for easy communication of results. For instance, Community Development could use Insights to analyze the impact of zoning changes on housing distribution.

Field Maps: Field Maps is a mobile tool that allows city staff to collect and update data in real-time from the field. It’s perfect for departments like Utilities and Public Works, where staff need to map infrastructure, update asset information, or conduct inspections on-site. The data can then be synced with ArcGIS Online or Portal, enabling immediate analysis back at the office.

Experience Builder: Experience Builder is a powerful tool for creating interactive web apps tailored to specific workflows or public-facing projects. Unlike static maps, apps built in Experience Builder let users interact with the data—zooming into areas, filtering information, or viewing dynamic content. For example, the Parks Department could use it to create an app showcasing upcoming park developments, complete with real-time updates and community feedback features.

Advanced Analysis with ArcGIS Pro

For more advanced analysis, ArcGIS Pro offers a wide range of tools. Here are a few key features that departments might find useful:

Network Analysis: Used for route planning, this tool can help the Transportation Department find the shortest or fastest paths, optimize emergency response routes, and assess transportation network efficiency.
Suitability Modeling: This tool is helpful for departments like Community Development when choosing the best location for a new park or community center. Suitability modeling allows you to evaluate multiple criteria—like proximity to existing services, land use, and population density—to make data-driven decisions.
3D Analysis: For departments managing infrastructure or planning new developments, 3D analysis in ArcGIS Pro helps visualize projects in three dimensions. This can be used to simulate building heights, assess viewsheds, or analyze the impact of proposed developments on the surrounding area.
Geostatistical Tools: Tools like Kriging or IDW (Inverse Distance Weighting) allow for advanced surface interpolation and are particularly useful for environmental projects, such as predicting areas of high pollution or estimating flood risks.

Requesting GIS Analysis from IT GIS

If self-service tools aren’t enough for your needs, the IT GIS team is available to help with more complex analysis requests. You can request the following services:

Custom Data Analysis: Whether it’s a network analysis to improve city traffic flow or a suitability analysis for future park locations, the GIS team can handle complex requests that go beyond basic tools.
Interactive Mapping Applications: The team can also develop custom interactive maps or dashboards for your projects, similar to what is used by the Bellevue Police Transparency Hub. These maps allow for real-time interaction with data, which can be invaluable for community engagement and transparency.
Data Collection and Reporting: Need to gather data from the field or analyze a large dataset? Our team can help set up workflows to collect, process, and analyze the data, providing custom reports based on your needs.

Getting Started

Whether you want to explore GIS-based analysis on your own or need support from the IT GIS team, there are a range of tools and services available to help and are freely available. Start by logging into ArcGIS Online or Portal to explore the available maps and tools, or reach out to the Geospatial Technology Services Team for more complex needs. GIS is here to help you make data-driven decisions that benefit your department and the entire city.