Finding an Apartment using GIS Part 1

For those who do not know, GIS (Geographic Information Systems) is a convenient way of saying putting several layers of maps on top of each other to make one detailed map. If you have used Google Maps you have used GIS. Even my earlier post about traffic maps was GIS, putting a layer of traffic severity on top of another layer including streets counts as GIS.

I am transferring from UTSA to Texas State next semester and I am looking for a new apartment in San Marcos, TX. Apartment search websites are great but because apartments have to pay to be on those websites it is not all encompassing. Yet, if you do a Google search for apartments it is overwhelming. How can one solve this problem? Da-da-da-dah! G-I-S!!!

Assuming that most people do not have the specialized software on their computer needed for GIS, I am going to do it by hand. So here are the supplies I need:

Clear Sheet Protectors (I used expandable ones because I thought it would work better but regular ones would be fine)

Dry Erase Markers (variety of colors)
String
Printer
Google Maps


Ok, so first I printed a map of the San Marcos area. I decided I wanted to live fairly close to campus so putting the printed map in the plastic sleeve I took a dry erase marker and string measured about 5 miles using the scale bare on the bottom of the map, in this case 5 miles equaled about 2 and a half inches. I attached the string to the marker and drew a circle, or a radius, of where I generally wanted to live. The blue dot is the center of campus and that was my base point.

Next, I printed a more focused map of San Marcos this time I did a search for apartments so all the apartments in the area will be represented by red dots. I also decided I do not want to buy a parking permit so I want to live in a place really close to a shuttle stop (Texas State has a shuttle system that serves the surrounding area). The Texas State website has a map of the shuttle routes but I want to compare that map directly to my map of apartments. Using a blue dry erase marker I notated the shuttle stops onto the plastic covered map of apartments in my radius. 

The blue dots represent shuttle stops and as I said previously the red dots represent apartment complexes. Now, what I will do is put this map, with the plastic sleeve still on, into another plastic sleeve (this is why I bought the expandable ones). Now I can draw on top of the shuttle map without effecting the original map or the map with just the dots. I drew circles around the shuttle stops, just like I did in the beginning with the whole city, only this time they will be smaller. I cleaned them up a bit so the lines do not overlap and now it looks like this:

My circles were just hand drawn, I did not use the string because they were so small. If I were using the computer software I could be really exact, down to the foot. Any red dot within the blue circles are a possibility and I can ignore the others. 

Now instead of a giant spread of a ton of apartments I have it narrowed down to about 25 and I have not even looked at floorplans, price, or anything like that. This list is narrowed down simply by geography! In the next post I will go further and explain more of what I can do with this but for now I have a manageable list of possible living situations.

Sources: 

Google Maps

www.shuttle.txstate.edu