Background: In
the spring of 2015, I was asked by Clear Vision Eau Claire to help develop a cooperative
plan for the Confluence Project. I utilized an ESRI designed ArcGIS computer
program to work with Clear Vision Eau Claire and public-private partnerships
between local developers to provide a comprehensive plan for the intended Confluence
Project. The Project intends to develop an area at the confluence of the Eau
Claire and Chippewa rivers in downtown Eau Claire. The new building project envisions
a new community arts center, housing for University of Eau Claire students, a
complex of retail stores, offices, classrooms and studios as well as 3
performance spaces. My goal in participating in the project was to gain insight
into working with spatial datasets commonly used in land management and
administration and how to manipulate map projections to provide useful
information for the clients.
Methods: Various
tools were used during the map making process. The ArcGIS system allowed me to
download and organize several county and city of Eau Claire datasets with the
end goal of creating 6 maps to represent different aspects important to the Confluence
Project.
I used a base map of world satellite imagery as the backdrop
for all my maps. This was intended to give the map viewer easy correlation with
the area in reference and solid topographical guidelines to support a cohesive
map experience.
The successive maps I wanted to create all involved easily
identifying the location of the parcels of land to be developed by Clear
Vision. To achieve this I added the parcel_area feature class to a blank map to
facilitate easy access to the location for all my maps. I first located the
sites by using identify tool in ArcMaps. Next I digitized the parcels, and
saved the file, after that was accomplished could use the editor tool to add the
digitized polygons and saved the file for later use.
I decided to include
six maps, all of which contained information I thought would be useful to the
project. The maps contained information about civil divisions, census
boundaries, public land surveys (PLSS) features, parcels located around the
confluence, zoning, and voting districts.
The first map was civil divisions, used as a locator map. I
added the Eau Claire county boundary, along with civil division’s dataset. In
order to see the imagery underneath the data I adjusted the transparency levels.
Along with transparency I highlighted the proposed land parcels to be developed
in red for easy readability.
The second map contained information about census boundaries
or population density. To create this map I added block groups and Tracts to an
empty data frame. In an effort to show distinction between the boundaries I
symbolized the block groups as a variable of the 2007 population, and normalized
the data by Sq./Mile. Finally I set the transparency and zoomed in on the
highlighted (red) confluence project area.
The next map I wanted to create, highlighted the PLSS data
in relation to the confluence project. This was achieved by adding Parcel_area
to a blank data frame. I hollowed out the parcel area, and changed the outline
to a bright color. I included center lines and water feature classes to add to
the aesthetics of the map. Finally I adjusted the transparency to show the
relation to the base map imagery.
Another map I wanted to include contained information about
Zoning. I started by adding the zoning_areas into a new data frame with base map
imagery. To show the distinction between the zones, I decided to symbolize each
specific zone by its distinctive color and provided a Key on the map. I also
added center lines to make a cartographicly pleasing map.
A final, and important map was added containing Voting district
information. This was achieved by adding the voting districts for the City of
Eau Claire to a blank data frame. I labeled the districts by ward number in the
map for easy legibility, and so I did not need to include a legend.
The last step for the project was to include all six maps
onto one page, adjusting ratios so all maps were of equal size. Adding Labels
for the individual maps provided the map viewer easy navigation, legibility,
and a clear map.
Results:
Figure 1 displays six maps: Civil Divisions, Census
Boundaries, PLSS Features, Eau Claire City Parcel data, Zoning, and Voting
Districts. The Civil Divisions map shows the different civil divisions of Eau
Claire (town vs. city). Census Boundaries shows population density per square
mile. The PLSS map shows townships split into quarter quarter sections and
zoomed in on the confluence project area of downtown Eau Claire. EC city parcel
data displays a number of land parcels around Eau Claire including the
Confluence project proposed site. The Zoning map shows commercial, industrial,
and business districts around Eau Claire. The Finals map; Voting Districts
shows the various voting districts around Eau Claire city.
Sources: County and City of Eau Claire, 2013
