Vector Analysis using GRASS GIS

Introduction

This tutorial will demonstrate how to do a vector analysis using GRASS GIS. By the end, you should be a little more comfortable using the program. Our goal is to use the 2020 Red Light Camera Violations data from open.ottawa.ca to make a map that displays the safest areas in Ottawa to drive based on the number of traffic violations. If you do not already have GRASS installed on your computer, you can go to this Intro to GRASS workshop page with detailed instructions on how to download it. If you would like to know more about vector data analysis in GRASS, click here for additional information.

Data

First, we will need to download our data for open.ottawa.ca. Proceed to the following link, to download the traffic collision data from 2019. Click the download button. Then select Shapefile. Download the traffic red light violations here in the same way.

Methods

Start by launching GRASS GIS. You will need to create a database for your data.