This week we looked at how to prepare a set of data for use as Homeland Security's MEDS, or Minimum Essential Data Sets. The purpose of this lab was to take base data and create a tailored MEDS package for the Boston Metropolitan Statisical Area (BMSA). The goal is to used the data package that we created to conduct a pre-Boston Marathon Bombing assessment of the BMSA and determine what roadways, buildings, and infrastructure are classified as critical in the event of an emergency.
The MEDS dataset that I created contains different layer groups to help organize the data. The groups that were created were Boundaries, Transportation, Hydrography, Land Cover, Orthoimagery, Elevation, and Geographic Names. Each set of data was tailored for the BMSA. To create the MEDS data, data was moved from a provided Geodatabase into the proper layer groups listed above. Manipulation of data was necessary for certain datasets, such as roadways, to create the final MEDS dataset. These group layers also had specific symbology and labeling features set to them.
In the end, every group layer was saved as a layer file to preserve these settings. This enables future users of the BMSA MEDS package to get right into doing data analysis without having to format a bunch of layers of data. This also ensures that the formatting is standardized across all users.
Below is a screen shot of my final BMSA MEDS package. If you have any questions at all, leave a comment below.
The MEDS dataset that I created contains different layer groups to help organize the data. The groups that were created were Boundaries, Transportation, Hydrography, Land Cover, Orthoimagery, Elevation, and Geographic Names. Each set of data was tailored for the BMSA. To create the MEDS data, data was moved from a provided Geodatabase into the proper layer groups listed above. Manipulation of data was necessary for certain datasets, such as roadways, to create the final MEDS dataset. These group layers also had specific symbology and labeling features set to them.
In the end, every group layer was saved as a layer file to preserve these settings. This enables future users of the BMSA MEDS package to get right into doing data analysis without having to format a bunch of layers of data. This also ensures that the formatting is standardized across all users.
Below is a screen shot of my final BMSA MEDS package. If you have any questions at all, leave a comment below.
