Solutions [/solutions/] / Key Capabilities [/solutions/#key-capabilities] / Spatial Data

What is Spatial Data?

noun • [spay-shull day-ta] • data which is representative of a specific, geographic
location on the surface of the Earth.

Overview
No matter what your interests are or what field you work in, spatial data is always being
considered whether you know it or not. Spatial data, also known as geospatial data [/what-
is/geospatial-data/] , is a term used to describe any data related to or containing information
about a specific location on the Earth’s surface.
 Chat with an Expert
See more: Why You Should Care About Spatial Data [/why/spatial-data/]
The Basics
Spatial data can exist in a variety of formats and contains more than just location specific
information. To properly understand and learn more about spatial data, there are a few key
terms that will help you become more fluent in the language of spatial data.

Vector
Vector data is best described as graphical representations of the real world. There are
three main types of vector data: points, lines, and polygons. Connecting points create
lines, and connecting lines that create an enclosed area create polygons. Vectors are best
used to present generalizations of objects or features on the
Earth’s surface. Vector data and the file format known as
shapefiles (.shp) are sometimes used interchangeably since
vector data is most o en stored in .shp files.

Raster
Raster data [/blog/2014/07/raster-
master/] is data that is presented in
a grid of pixels. Each pixel within a
raster has a value, whether it be a
colour or unit of measurement, to
communicate information about
the element in question. Rasters
typically refer to imagery. However, in the spatial world, this may specifically refer to
orthoimagery which are photos taken from satellites or other aerial devices. Raster data
quality varies depending on resolution and your task at hand.

Attributes
Spatial data contains more information than just a location on the surface of the Earth.
Any additional information, or non-spatial data, that describes a feature is referred to as
an attribute. Spatial data can have any amount of additional attributes accompanying
information about the location. For example, you might have a map displaying buildings
within a city’s downtown region. Each of the buildings, in addition to their location, may

have additional attributes such as the type of use (housing, business, government, etc.),
the year it was built, and how many stories it has.

Geographic Coordinate System

To identify exact locations on the surface of the Earth, a geographic coordinate system
[/blog/2020/11/coordinate-systems-101-basics/] is used. Normally, an x and y-axis are
used in mathematical systems, but in geography, the axes are referred to as lines of
latitude (horizontal lines that run east-west) and longitude (vertical lines that run north-
south). Each axis represents the angle at which that line is oriented with respect to the
center of the Earth, and so the units are measured in degrees (°)

*more on projections and coordinate systems below [#spatial-data-graphics]

Georeferencing and Geocoding

 Georeferencing and Geocoding
Georeferencing and geocoding are di erent but similar processes since both involve
fitting data to the appropriate coordinates of the real world. Georeferencing is the
process of assigning coordinates to vectors or rasters so they can be oriented accurately
on a model of the Earth’s surface. The data used in geocoding are addresses and location
descriptors (city, country, etc.). Each of these locations is given the exact coordinates of
reference for that location on the surface of the Earth.

GIS & [/data-types/gis- Raster & [/data- LiDAR & [/data-

Location location- Aerial types/raster- Point types/lidar-
Intelligence intelligence/] Imagery aerial-imagery/] Clouds point-cloud/]

Using Spatial Data

What is a GIS?
The most common way that spatial data is processed and analyzed is using a GIS, or, geographic
information system. These are programs or a combination of programs that work together to
help users make sense of their spatial data. This includes management, manipulation and
customization, analysis, and creating visual displays. A user will typically use multiple spatial
datasets at one time and compare them or combine them with one another. Each spatial
datasets at one time and compare them or combine them with one another. Each spatial
dataset may be referred to as a layer.

If you were using GIS for a municipality project, you might have vector data like street data
(lines), neighbourhood boundary data (polygons), and high school locations (points). Each

dataset would exist as its own layer in your GIS. Placement of layers is important for visual
purposes as it will help you understand the various types of data and present your findings in
an easily understandable way. In this case, you would want to make sure that high school
points and street lines are layers above neighbourhood boundaries. Otherwise, you would not
be able to see them.

The field and study of GIS extends much further than digital mapping and cartography. It
consists of a variety of categories including spatial analysis [/blog/2020/11/spatial-analysis-101-
co ee-shop-example/] , remote sensing, and geovisualization. In these GIS fields, the spatial
data becomes much more complex and di icult to use.

In addition to raster and vector data, there is also LiDAR data [/blog/2013/10/14-ways-to-take-
charge-of-lidar-data/] (also known as point clouds) and 3D data. LiDAR data is data that is
collected via satellites, drones, or other aerial devices. 3D data is data that extends the typical
latitude and longitude 2-D coordinates and incorporates elevation and or depth into the data.
While complex, this data is rich with information and can be used to solve a variety of problems
pertaining to the Earth’s surface.

Using Spatial Data for Graphics

Maps are a common practice of presenting spatial data as they can easily communicate
complex topics. They can help validate or provide evidence for decision making, teach others
about historical events in an area, or help provide an understanding of natural and human-
made phenomena.

When creating visuals, graphics, or maps with spatial data, there are a variety of geographic
elements to consider. One of the most important and coincidentally most problematic elements
is projection. The projection of a map describes the way that the Earth’s surface, a three-
dimensional shape, is flattened and presented on a two-dimensional surface. No projection is

perfect and depending on your projection you may be sacrificing accuracy in shape, area,
distance, or direction.

a. b. c.

The City of Vancouver is presented in each of these di erent projection types. Image a. is using the projection
UTM83-10 which is the standard projection used for displaying the City of Vancouver. Image b. is projected using
CANBC-Poly resulting in a slightly rotated version of image a. Image c. is projected using LLWGS-84 and is distorted
in shape.

Maps can also be used to present what are typically non-visual elements of society. For
example, the occurrence of certain events, income level, any demographic descriptor, or
relationships like the number of heat strokes in an area compared to temperature. A simple
display method is a classification map, also known as a choropleth map.

Choropleth maps easily communicate di erences, consistencies, or patterns across space.

Classified areas in a choropleth map will have distinct boundaries whereas heat maps, which
demonstrate the concentration or density of a phenomenon, have indistinct boundaries.

Classification or heat maps can be used as the bottom layer for other variables like car
accidents or crime to highlight certain trends and potential correlations.

a. b. c.

The images above demonstrate a few di erent ways that spatial data can be displayed. Image a. shows the
locations where gra iti has been identified by city custodians in the City of Vancouver. Image b. uses the same
point location data, but displays the information as a choropleth map. City region boundaries are highlighted in
di erent colours to describe the density or amount of gra iti taking place within these neighbourhoods. Image c.
used the original point location dataset to create a heat map. In this case, city regions are not of interest and rather
the spread or pattern of gra iti occurrences throughout the city as a whole is shown.

Using Spatial Data for Statistics

 g p
As it is with any data, to truly make sense of spatial data and understand what it is saying you
must perform some level of statistical analysis. These processes will help you uncover answers
and lead you to make better decisions for your organization. The major di erence between
spatial data and all other types of data when it comes to statistical analysis is the need to
account for factors like elevation, distance, and area in your analytical process.

While needing to account for additional variables about a location may be intimidating, many
spatial statistic processes are quite similar to basic statistical methods. For example,
interpolation can help you estimate or predict the value of a sample, and spatial interpolation

can help you estimate or predict the value of a variable in a sample location. Similarly, spatial
autocorrelation measures the degree of similarity between sample locations just like typical
autocorrelation is done.

Additional Types of Spatial Data

While spatial data has long been used for analyzing and presenting the Earth’s surface, it is not
limited to the outdoor environment. There are many architectural, engineering, and
construction (AEC) companies that use CAD (computer-aided design) and BIM (building
information model) data in their day-to-day activities. While CAD and BIM may not necessarily
be thought of as traditional spatial data, they and other AEC formats also need to consider
many spatial elements to understand their work.

Mapping is also no longer limited to the natural world. Indoor mapping and wayfinding are
becoming much more popular especially in large buildings and institutions like malls, arenas,
hospitals, and campuses. This field of study is new but shows no signs of stopping. Everyone
has a smartphone these days and uses it to help them navigate the natural world, so why not
help people navigate the indoors too?

Why GIS Spatial

[/why/spatial- [https://community.safe.com/s/article/tutorial- Data [/blog/2018/12/visualize-
Spatial and
data/] gis-and-business-intelligence-data-wrangl]
Data? BI On geospatial-data-web-
The browser/]
Web

FME and Spatial Data

FME for Spatial Data Integration
While there are many tools and so ware that can help you make use of spatial data, FME is the
so ware of choice for those that need to integrate their spatial data [/what-is/data-integration/]
. Safe So ware and FME came into existence because of this exact problem. Spatial data varies
widely and is o en stuck in formats that cannot be easily used by all applications, making it
extremely di icult for GIS experts to make use of all the information they have. While it was
possible to transform [/what-is/data-transformation/] proprietary formats in the past, much of
the data would be lost in the conversion [/what-is/data-conversion/] . Thus, FME was born.
 the data would be lost in the conversion [/what is/data conversion/] . Thus, FME was born.

What is FME?
FME is recognized as the data integration platform with the best support for spatial data
worldwide. However, it can handle much more than just spatial data and can be easily used by
IT and business professionals. FME supports 450+ formats which makes it a flexible data
integration tool for those dealing with a large variety of data formats.

Safe So ware, the makers of FME, are leaders in the technology world that strive to stay one
step ahead of the data integration trends. FME is continuously upgraded to ensure it has been
adapted to support new data formats, updated versions of data formats, and large amounts of
data. Gone is the idea that individual departments must work in their data silos, with IT
structures limiting the company’s potential to truly work as one. Data should be able to flow
freely no matter where, when, or how it’s needed.

FME [/fme/fme- FME [/fme/fme- FME [/fme/fme-

Desktop desktop/] Server server/] Cloud cloud/]

Related Resources
 Why You Should Care About Spatial Data

[/why/spatial-data/]

What is Geospatial Data?

[/what-is/geospatial-data/]

38 Common GIS Tasks in FME

[/blog/2018/10/common-fme-gis-tasks/]

Geodatabase vs. Geospatial Database: What’s The Di erence?

[/blog/2021/03/geodatabase-vs-geospatial-database-whats-di erence/]

8+ Ways to Visualize Spatial Data in a Web Browser

[/blog/2018/12/visualize-geospatial-data-web-browser/]