Workshop: Getting Started with Geographic Information Systems in R

In this 2.5 hour workshop, you will gain the skills you need to get started with Geographic Information Systems using the R programming language. You'll learn the fundamentals of doing GIS in R, gain experience with R's powerful toolset for spatial data analysis, and learn how to connect R to desktop GIS tools like ArcGIS and QGIS.

In the first hour of the workshop, you'll learn all about spatial data and how to use it in the R programming language. You'll be introduced to core concepts in GIS like spatial data formats and coordinate reference systems, and you'll learn tools like the sf and crsuggest packages to demystify these concepts. We'll also cover how to join attribute data to spatial data in R and make informative maps.

The second hour of the workshop will focus on translating your spatial data analysis workflows between desktop GIS software and R. You'll learn how to do powerful spatial data analysis using the sf package in R and understand how these techniques relate to tools available in desktop GIS software like ArcGIS and QGIS. The workshop will also include an overview of how to connect your work in R with ArcGIS and QGIS, allowing you to maximize your productivity with spatial data.

The last 30 minutes are a Q&A session where live participants asked a variety of additional questions about GIS workflows in R.

What you'll get:

• Unlimited access to the workshop recording and chat log for future use;
• A step-by-step annotated tutorial in Quarto format to help you build your knowledge.

About the instructor:

Kyle Walker is an internationally-recognized researcher, consultant, and software developer in the field of spatial data science, and was the 2022 recipient of the Spatial Data Scientist of the Year award from the software company CARTO. He is the author of the book Analyzing US Census Data: Methods, Maps, and Models in R, and has published several popular software packages for spatial data science in R and Python including tidycensus that have been collectively downloaded over 1 million times.

What past workshop participants have said:

"One thing that really stood out was how you shared your own workflow through real-life examples. Seeing the direct application of tidycensus to our day-to-day tasks was a game-changer. It’s safe to say that we’re all feeling a lot more confident about integrating these techniques into our work."

"Your assistance in streamlining some of our existing workflows was a huge bonus. It’s not just the “how-to” that’s valuable, but also the practical insights you provided."

"Your excitement about the whole topic was infectious. It’s not easy to keep a group engaged... but you nailed it. Your enthusiasm made a huge difference."