What is GIS Mapping and Why Should You Care?

GIS Mapping (geographic information system) is a system for creating, storing, analyzing, and managing spatial data and other attributes. It is a software that allows you to convert data of spreadsheets into visual representations. It is considered a tool that allows users to create queries, analyze information and trends. Maps tell a story in a much more compelling way than spreadsheets. Consider the USA Today weathermap. It is colorful and big. At a glance, you can tell whether the weather in one part of the country is desirable or dreaded. ( For more information on GIS Mapping, check out Wikipedia's Entry! It's extensive.)

Mapping in Legal Services

(For an overview of mapping in legal services, see the PowerPoint given at the 2006 Litigation Directors Conference on mapping. Note: the slides include notes to explain most of the screens.)

Mapping has been used by universities, planners, environmental groups, and other organizations for years. It has a key role in legal services. Maps can be used for:

• Funders: A map of services completed, services needed, or poverty can be a dramatic image that tells a story of the problem you are trying to solve more effectively than pages of text.
  
• Management: Maps can be used to look at current data available online via the US Census or local databases cross-referenced with data from your case management system. As such, managers can easily see: where cases have been closed or opened in a given legal matter and where the needs are. This may tailor outreach and/or service priorities. Similarly, you can look at trends related to where the rejected cases are or office productivity by case type.
• Advocacy and Litigation: Maps can show advocates trends and needs. Where are all the check cashing companies in a given area and where are the indices of poverty? Where are there vacant city buildings which can be converted to affordable housing? Where are there areas with only certain ethnic or educational populations that are low-income and what are the legal issues affecting them?
• Evaluation of New Projects: For technology projects, like Statewide Websites or Online Document Assembly projects, GIS Mapping can help you analyze who has used the services and where the outreach has been effective.

LSC GIS Mapping Pilot Project: LSC's Office of Inspector General initiated a GIS mapping pilot project in Georgia in 2005. You can access the Evaluation and sample maps at LSC's website HERE.

Other Resources on GIS Mapping 

• Legal Services of Northern California's GIS Mapping Resources
• University of Tennessee's KMZ Census Mapper (allows you to create KML/KMZ files for mapping census data to view in Google Earth or ArcGISExplorer etc)