Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Screenshot of a slide defining GIS as Geographic Information Science or Systems, and discussing how it can be methods, data, or tools GIS definitions.

Classic John Snow map from 1854 showing the locations of cholera outbreaks centered around drinking wells.

John Snow cholera map, 1854.

Original John Snow map with a GIS heat map superimposed over it

John Snow cholera map, overlaid by a modern-day GIS heatmap layer.

Screen capture of a map of Boston from Map of Boston from 1743.

Map made by student assistants who went on to use GIS and data processing in job GIS heatmap of density of restaurants in Boston.

GIF of the vision zero data page on City of Boston's data portal Analyze Boston, Boston’s open data portal.

Screenshot of the vision zero data as a table Vision Zero dataset, open as a table.

Screenshot of vision zero data as crowded points Bike crash data displayed visually as individual points in GIS software.

Map of bike crashes shows patterns better

Screen recording of New York Public Library app OldNYC OldNYC: Mapping Historic Photographs at the NYPL.

Diagram of multiple GIS layers corresponding spatially to one another

GIS data layers diagram.

Picture of Belle's old house, on 4 Folsom Ave Belle’s house in college.

Picture of the City of Boston reading room City of Boston Archives Reading Room.

Picture of a real estate atlas open, it is a large book 19th century insurance atlas, open to a plate of downtown Boston.

Atlas viewer, Atlascope, a GIS tool from the Boston Public Library.

Screenshot from 1880 census 1880 census from Archive.org.

Comparison of 1890 atlas to today ArcGIS Map comparing 1890 atlas to today.

Eight-sheet map of Venice from the 1700s

Map created by GSD students Map created by GSD students Aeshna Prasad, Michael Lidwin, Megan Mcglinchey, and Mehvish Jamal working with the Map Collection.

Student project map showing Indian restaurants in London

Photograph of a collections item

Screenshot from Harvard online library catalog Record from Harvard Map Collection card catalog.

maps@harvard.edu