GIS
Software that captures, stores, analyses and visualises spatial data — the standard platform for managing heritage site inventories, buffer zones and landscape analysis.
A Geographic Information System (GIS) is software that captures, stores, analyses, manages and presents spatial data — data that has a geographic location. GIS combines a spatial database with analytical tools that allow users to query, map and model spatial relationships.
In heritage management, GIS is used for site inventory mapping, heritage impact assessment, buffer zone management, condition monitoring, change detection from satellite imagery, archaeological predictive modelling and World Heritage management planning.
The two dominant GIS platforms for heritage work are Esri ArcGIS (commercial, comprehensive, widely used in government and large organisations) and QGIS (free and open-source, adequate for most heritage documentation and management tasks).
Questions about GIS
Is QGIS suitable for professional heritage GIS work?
Yes — QGIS handles the large majority of heritage GIS tasks professionally and at no software cost. For projects requiring integration with Esri enterprise geodatabases or specific Esri cloud services, ArcGIS is necessary; otherwise, QGIS is fully adequate.