ARCH 202: Alexandria GIS


Spring 2006

Class Handout

The USGS's Introduction to GIS

ESRI's What is GIS?

Alexandria GIS Data

The Scholars' Lab has acquired the GIS data layers provided by the City of Alexandia to be used for research and instruction at the University of Virginia. This data is only available in the Scholars' Lab and is for use by UVa faculty, staff and students and is protected by U.S. Copyright Law.

Information on Alexandria GIS Layers (PDF)

Alexandria Street Map (PDF)

Geostat General Instruction Sheet

ESRI Product Help Sheets

Scanned Topo Maps

This is a directory with scanned images of topographic maps for Alexandria and Annondale. For now you will need to open the images to determine which date the map covers. All the following images are in JPEG format.

Alexandria 1945 (1:31,680)

Alexandria 1945 (1:62,500)

Alexandria 1951 (1:24,000)

Alexandria 1956 (1:24,000)

Alexandria 1965 (1:24,000)

Alexandria 1971 (1:24,000)

Alexandria 1983 (1:24,000)

Alexandria 1994 (1:24,000)

Annandale 1951 (1:24,000)

Annandale 1956 (1:24,000)

Annandale 1965 (1:24,000)

Annandale 1971 (1:24,000)

Annandale 1979 (1:24,000)

Annandale 1984 (1:24,000)

Annandale 1988 (1:24,000)

Annandale 1994 (1:24,000)

Sanborn Maps

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps are highly detailed city plans providing researchers with a wealth of information about urban change in American cities during the first half of the twentieth century. These maps were originally produced for the purpose of assessing risk of fire and cost of insurance. The highly detailed plans were drawn at a scale of 50 feet/inch, printed in color, and record detailed information about streets, businesses, residences building materials, utilities.

UVA affiliated researchers can access black and white maps covering the entire U.S. via the Internet. You must be on grounds or have UVa proxy account to access this page.

Sanborn User's Guide

Black and White Sanborn Collection

Black and White Sanborn Map Key (PDF)

Census Resources

The 2000 Census includes many demographic and housing characteristics, including data on race, age, income, employment, commuting, and household composition. Data are available at many different geographic levels and for previous decades. An overview of census materials is available at http://www.lib.virginia.edu/scholarslab/resources/stats/census/.

Tables and maps of data for 1990 and 2000 can be obtained online from the Census Bureau's American Factfinder. Use the Scholars' Lab's user guide, or visit the Scholars' Lab for assistance. For more information on census data, contact us.

Other Resources for Alexandria

City of Alexandria : Offical web site of the city with links for business & industry, citizen government, city services, living in Alexandria, and tourism & history.

Fun Side of the Potomac: Sponsored by the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association, this website concentrates on attracting visitors to the city.

Northern Virginia Regional Commission: Demographic, economic, and planning information for all of Northern Virginia.