King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals,
College of Design and Built Environment
Department of Architectural Engineering
ASIGNMENT 1
Chapter 1: Introduction to GIS
EXERCISE 1
Explore ArcGIS Online
For
CRP 514: Geographic Information System
Term 251
Submitted by:
GAMAL MUNEER SAEED ID: 202423700
Supervised by:
Dr. Baqer M. Al-Ramadan
21th Sept 2025
Contents
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. 2
Overview on GIS ............................................................................................................................ 3
Primary Objective of the Exercise .................................................................................................. 3
Secondary Objectives of the Exercise............................................................................................. 3
Acquired Skills................................................................................................................................ 4
Tutorial Steps .................................................................................................................................. 4
Summary………………………...……………………..………………………………………...18
References………………………...…………………….………….………………………..…...19
List of Figures
Figure 1 ArcGIS Online Login Account ......................................................................................... 5
Figure 2 DC Public School Safty map……………………….….…………………………………………5
Figure 3 Streets on Map .................................................................................................................. 6
Figure 4: Layers of Styles……….………………………………………………………………………….7
Figure 5 Adjusting map symbols .................................................................................................... 8
Figure 6 Resulting map visualization ............................................................................................. 8
Figure 7 Modifying the School Walk Zones layer ...................................................................... 9
Figure 8 Conguration of School Waking Area layer .................................................................... 10
Figure 9 Adjusting layer transparency .......................................................................................... 10
Figure 10 Resulting layer after customization .............................................................................11
Figure 11 Vision Zero Safety ........................................................................................................ 12
Figure 12 Adding OR Condition ................................................................................................... 15
Figure 13 Applying clustering ...................................................................................................... 15
Figure 14 Adjusting Clustring Settings. ........................................................................................ 16
Figure 15 Browse Features ........................................................................................................... 15
Figure 16: Configure Pop-ups………...………………………………………………………….16
Figure 17 Final Resulting layer after customization ..................................................................... 17
Figure 18 Saving the Map…….…………………………………………………………………17
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1. Overview on GIS
Geographic Information System (GIS) is a powerful tool that is used to capture, store,
analyze, and display geographic data and related information. GIS integrates maps, satellite
imagery, and other databases to recognize patterns, relationships, and trends within geographic
space. GIS is used in a range of applications, including urban planning, environmental monitoring,
transportation planning, and emergency management. Spatial analysis allows organizations to
make better-informed decisions, use resources more efficiently, and enhance overall efficiency.
Whether mapping natural resources or tracking the spread of disease, GIS provides valuable
information about the spatial factors that impact communities and how society is impacted.
2. Primary Objectives of the Exercise
This is the first lesson of ArcGIS Online, and it guides the students through logging in with an
organizational account and looking at a publicly accessible map that illustrates traffic accidents in
school areas in Washington, DC. The task is to choose the areas where the safety of the students
would be in jeopardy while coming to school. Some of the exercise involves learning how to
manipulate a collaborative map, personalize its appearance through the application of symbology,
and design informative pop-up windows. Some hands-on instruction is also provided on using
creating and managing interactive maps as well as saving work for reuse and sharing.
3. Secondary Objectives of the Exercise
i. Sign in to and connect with an organizational account
ii. Explore and interpret a publicly shared map
iii. Modify the visual representation using symbology
iv. Configure dynamic pop-up information panels
v. Preserve and save the finalized map settings
4. Acquired Skills
i. Overview of the ArcGIS platform and its capabilities
ii. Signing in to ArcGIS Online to review a publicly available map showing traffic
accidents in Washington, DC
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iii. Identifying potential danger zones for students traveling to and from school based on
reported incidents
iv. Building a new map to improve data representation while exploring the Map Viewer
features in ArcGIS Online
v. Adjusting symbology to highlight schools and pedestrian pathways
vi. Applying filters and clustering methods to refine the visualization of traffic incident
records
vii. Designing clearer and more informative pop-up displays for map features
viii. Storing the completed map in the “My Content” area for future use
5. Tutorial Workflow
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Explore a Public Map
1. Go to [Link] and Login using your ArcGIS Online account credentials.
Figure 1: Create an ArcGIS Online Account
2. In the search results, you will find a web map named DC Public School Safety Map.
Click on it.
Figure 2: DC Public School Safety Map
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3. Access the Basemap setting to view the different map backgrounds. Choose the “Streets”
option, then modify the zoom level and pan the map until the display resembles the
reference figure.
Figure 3: Streets on Map viewer
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Configure the Map Symbology
4. Choose the Public Schools layer, then click Properties in the right-side context pane to
see the current symbology.
Figure 4: Layer Styles Options
5. To customize the map’s symbology, first click on the Public Schools layer in the map’s
contents. Then open Properties and select Style options. Under Symbol style, choose
Basic Shapes and pick POI from the drop-down list. Next, select the purple school
symbol, adjust its appearance as needed, and finalize your changes by clicking Done.
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Figure 5: Adjusting map symbols
6. Apply the symbol adjustments to appear as a figure bellow.
Figure 6: Resulting map visualization
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7. To add a School Walking Areas layer to a map, click on it, then click the Add Field
button in the Styles pane. In the Add Fields list, select ToBreak and click Add.
Figure 7: School Walking Areas layer
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8. To set up a drawing style, first choose Types (unique symbols) and then open Style
options. Under Symbol style, click on the Color ramp to make changes. In the Color
ramp pane, reverse the ramp colors and expand the outline. Finally, enable the outline
option in order to turn it off.
Figure 8: Modifying the School Walk Zones layer
9. In the context menu, click Properties. Under Appearance, adjust the Transparency slider
to 50%
Figure 9: Adjusting layer transparency
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10. The base map now provides clearer visibility of the school walking areas, using distinct
shades to represent different distances. A light-beige area indicates a five-minute walk
from the nearest school, while an orange area corresponds to a ten-minute walk. Finally,
a dark-brown shaded area represents a fifteen-minute walk.
Figure 10: Resulting layer after customization
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Configure Filter and Clustering
11. To customize the map, begin by configuring the visibility of the Vision Zero Safety traffic
incidents layer. Turn off the other layers so that it becomes the only visible layer on the
map. Next, adjust the zoom level until you can view traffic incidents distributed across the
city. Finally, confirm that the Vision Zero Safety layer is selected to ensure accurate display
and analysis of these incidents.
Figure 11: Vision Zero Safety
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12. To filter a specific set of points, first click Filter in the context pane. In the Filter pane,
choose Add expression to begin creating your filter. From the REQUESTTYP drop-down
menu, select Replace to modify the default option. Next, add a new expression by choosing
the REQUESTTYP value labeled “Failure to stop for pedestrians”.
Figure 12 Adding OR Condition
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13. Save them to finalize your selection. Next, enable clustering so that incidents located near
one another are grouped together, reducing overlap and making the map easier to interpret.
Adjust the point style as needed to improve visibility.
Figure 13: Apply clustering
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14. To enable clustering, open the Clustering option in the context pane and activate the toggle
button. Once clustering is turned on, adjust the Cluster radius slider to the middle position.
Figure 14: Adjusting Clustering Settings
15. Click Browse features to explore additional details within a cluster. Use the right arrow
to move between individual features contained in the cluster and review their attributes.
In the pop-up window, you will see important information such as comments and the date
of each incident.
Figure 15: Browse Features
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Figure 16: Configure pop-ups.
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16. Select Save, then choose Open and Save. In the dialog box that appears, update the map
title to “DC Public School Safety at Risk.”
Figure 17: Final Resulting map visualization
Figure 18: Save The Map
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Summary
This exercise exposes students to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a technology for
data capture, analysis, and display of spatial data. GIS finds applications ranging from urban
planning and transportation engineering to disaster relief and community defense. The exercise is
rooted in an openly available map with a focus on school safety in Washington, DC. By examining
accident data, class members identify areas that are potential hazards to students and become
proficient at making map representation with hands-on experience in saving them for future use.
During the lab, students get their hands on GIS basics like logging into ArcGIS Online,
learning student commute safety with incident data analysis, and enhancing maps with information
using symbology, pop-ups, and clustering techniques. They begin by visiting the DC Public School
Safety Map and reworking its layout to identify schools and pedestrian areas. A walking-zone
layer is then generated to represent safe distances of travel through the use of color shading.
Filtering is employed to filter out individual types of traffic accidents, and clustering tools are used
in order to group data points for more understandable interpretation. Additional improvements
include the configuration of custom pop-up information as well as setting clustering parameters.
The exercise concludes with saving the finished map under the title DC Public School Safety at
Risk. Ultimately, this activity provides one-on-one practice in spatial analysis and cartographic
design, allowing the learners to recognize how geospatial data may expose patterns that affect
urban security.
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References
Law, M., & Collins, A. (2021). Getting to Know ArcGIS Pro 2.8 (4th ed.). Esri Press.
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