Auto-Generating Maps Using Open-Source GIS and Python

Abstract

Fund for the Arts is one of the oldest arts fund in the country. Since its formation in 1949, the organization has raised over 200 million for the community, which includes Kentucky and Southern Indiana. This Master’s project will focus on one of the organization’s programs entitled 5x5. The goal of 5x5 is to expose elementary school students to five art experiences before they finish the fifth grade. Several years’ worth of data has been compiled, including school names, performance names, performance type, number of students served, and total cost, among others. Using a combination of these parameters, maps will be auto-generated using CSV templates. The auto-generated maps will show a variety of data, including the amount of art funding per zip code, per program type, per grade, per art group, per school, and per student. The maps will serve as visual evidence of the program’s progress and will be shared with Fund for the Arts Board of Directors and CEO, internal staff, as well as other community stakeholders such as community liaisons, participating schools, current and potential donors and the Louisville Metro Council. Fund for the Arts is a nonprofit that does not have access to ESRI products. This Master’s project combines cartography and scripting to create a functioning deliverable using open-source GIS software that enables the organization to auto-generate maps at will and forego the need to request maps from the local university once a year.