<aside> đź“Ť Finding geospatial data can be tricky, and figuring out how to use it can be even trickier. This sheet provides a few starting points.
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Analyze Boston Analyze Boston is the City of Boston’s official data portal. It is the go-to resource for City-approved spatial and non-spatial datasets.
Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) MAPC is the regional planning agency serving the people who live and work in the 101 cities and towns of Metropolitan Boston.
Boston Area Research Initiative (BARI) BARI is an interuniversity partnership that pursues civic-minded research. In their data portal, they publish datasets related to their projects.
MassGIS MassGIS is the state of Massachusetts’ one-stop-shop for interactive maps and geospatial data. They provide various kinds of datasets at the statewide level.
Cartinal The Leventhal Center’s Cartinal provides guides for getting started with geographic information systems (GIS) and other tools for creating and manipulating spatial data.
Felt’s Fundamentals of GIS Felt is a tool for web mapping that requires very little experience with making maps. Their recently published Fundamentals of GIS guide provides an excellent overview of spatial data.
Alasdair Rae’s Map Academy This Udemy course from Alasdair Rae is an awesome introduction to key GIS concepts. The normal price is about $90 for all the course content, but if you want to wait before you buy, it often goes on sale at a significant discount.
QGIS The most popular free and open-source tool for mapmaking, QGIS earns the Leventhal Center stamp of approval – we use it here all the time!
Allmaps Use Allmaps to overlay historic maps on modern base maps or satellite imagery. The tool works with tons of digital map collections, including LMEC!
Beyond Esri Resource Guide This handbook provides an overview of free and open-source tools for creating and editing spatial data. Its purpose is to make it easier for people to work with maps and data without depending on expensive licenses from Esri, the most popular proprietary company for GIS.