Outline of the video

• We will look at how to process GIS shapefiles
• First part of processing queue options and the goal is to now convert it into something that the system can read.
• Select a file: You can search by keyword or name of the city; "Good for beginners" is auto-detected by the system that this meets certain criteria that this is rather easy to process
• M1:08, Example of Processing a file; File displays a preview image
• Either you have lines in the shapefiles (e.g. rivers), dots (location of a plant or farm), boundaries (e.g. city or zipcodes)
• Technically speaking, each item on the map represents a "reference space"
  • reference spaces are important for database structure of our system. It is any type of space, of any space, that we would like to have a record on. Examples: single city, single bus stop, single country. These can also be linked and make relationships between them. We can link material flows and stocks to reference spaces or images.
  • Important: Whenever you want to add stock or flow data, the reference space that you are covering in that file needs to exist first, otherwise the system doesn't understand what you are talking about. E.g. CO2 emissions in the City of Cape Town, then the system needs to first now "what Cape Town" is and what the boundaries are. Or there are 10,000 people using a certain train station, then the system needs to know which train station that is. That means that GIS processing is a fundamental step for processing all other data.
  
  
• M3:35, going on with the example, it can be seen that the info is roughly outlined and it shows that there are 18 items and 7 properties. This happens behind the scenes in the shapefile. The 18 items will translate into 18 reference spaces.
• Start thinking about if that makes sense and if that can be expected.
• Scrolling down, the table shows the shapefile content. 7 properties translate into 7 columns. The 18 items are 18 rows.
• After the check is done, you can assign the item to yourself.
• Then there are two options
  • 1: yes, shapefile looks good
  • 2: no, a different file should be uploaded
  
  
• Here, everything looks good and we can go to step 2. Now, the column that contains the name of the items has to be selected. Then click "next".
• M7:09, In case the name is not there or incorrect, you need to go back and correct the names. There are a number of ways to do that.
• There is a handy website: https://mapshaper.org/ You can upload the file and edit the properties and download it again OR do it in any GIS software. Important: This needs to be done BEFORE loading the file into the system, otherwise the system thinks the incorrect ones are tthe right names and will use those.
• M7:47, if this looks right, go to the next and third step. Here you need to check some document details.
• The document title comes from the document itself. Which is generally ok, unless it is all caps etc.
• The short title is used for the legend in the map. It should only be the key thing that is in the shapefile, for example, rivers, bus stops, airports, administrative boundaries.
• Description, you can expand on what it says there.
• Tag, should indicate what we are describing in this shapefile. Multiple tags can be added.
• M9:36, Data quality
  • Data coverage: e.g. include all rivers or not. Unsure can also be selected. In some cases "completeness" may not make sense, then you select "not applicable"
  • Known flaws and limitations, e.g. something isn't detailed enough
  • How frequently does it change, e.g. rivers don't change that much, it could be every 2 years or even "not applicable"
  
  
• Finally, save and publish. The system then takes the input and draws it on the map.
• Dots and polygons will be very obvious. There is a map editor in which we can highlight them.
• Under the table it can be seen that the system imported the 18 items. You can click on an individual one and see an extra map and all the meta-data.