MalaGIS

Sharing GIS Technologies, Resources and News.

Following my previous article on extracting Wuhan's planning map services using Geo Hound, the original Wuhan data source implemented access restrictions. For a recent leadership demonstration, I identified an alternative: Shanghai's Detailed Planning Map service.

Note: While workarounds exist for Wuhan's restricted data, this article focuses on ethically accessible sources.

Shanghai Detailed Planning Map

Shared by members of the MalaGIS community (special thanks!), this official platform provides comprehensive urban planning data:
https://shanghai.tianditu.gov.cn/xg/map.html

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Author: An anonymous GIS professional specializing in astronomy, geography, remote sensing, and geomancy.

Tianditu (National Platform for Common Geospatial Information Services), hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources, provides public online geospatial services and promotes geospatial data sharing. For GIS professionals, a common requirement is loading various online basemaps. Tianditu offers convenient services for desktop software like ArcMap and QGIS. While QGIS has mature plugins, this guide focuses on ArcMap users.

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This article reviews prominent water detection indices - NDWI, MNDWI, NDMI, AWEI, and WRI - highlighting their distinct formulas, applications, and limitations in remote sensing analysis.

NDWI

Normalized Difference Water Index
Developed by McFeeters (1996) to identify open water bodies using spectral reflectance differences:

Formula:
NDWI = (NIR - Green) / (NIR + Green)

Principle:

• High reflectance in Green band
• Strong absorption in Near-Infrared (NIR) band
• Maximizes contrast between water and vegetation/soil

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As Mac gains popularity among professionals, many GIS users inquire about its suitability for geospatial work. While Windows remains the preferred platform for comprehensive GIS workflows, Mac + QGIS handles basic to intermediate geospatial tasks effectively.

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Geo Hound is a browser extension that automatically captures map service links from web pages and centralizes their management. In a previous article, I introduced this tool using a Japanese map service example. To demonstrate its practical value, I'll showcase its application with Wuhan's Unified Planning Map.

Wuhan Unified Planning Map

This platform integrates legally approved regulatory plans, including:

• Detailed Control Plans for Wuhan Main Urban Area (65 zones)
• New Town Group Control Plans (155 zones)
• East Lake Scenic Area Master Plan
• Municipal infrastructure corridor plans

Managed by Wuhan Planning Bureau, it dynamically updates per national/local regulations.

Access:
http://whonemap.zrzyhgh.wuhan.gov.cn:8020/
(Note: The site uses HTTP instead of HTTPS)

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As GIS professionals, we often browse websites with embedded maps and wonder: "Which map service is this? Can I use it in my own projects?" While some sites credit their map providers, many obscure this information, making it increasingly difficult to identify useful basemaps.

Is there a tool that automatically detects map service URLs while browsing and even formats them for direct import into GIS software like ArcGIS or QGIS?

Meet Geo Hound – the solution!

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The QGIS development team has officially announced plans for QGIS 4.0, with an expected release in October 2025 following QGIS 3.44. This major update centers on modernizing the platform's core infrastructure.

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Recently in the MalaGIS discussion group, we debated the seemingly stagnant development of GIS and the career paths for GIS professionals. Honestly, I too feel uncertain. Coincidentally, I came across a 2018 interview with the founder of QGIS. I've translated it below, hoping it offers insight to readers.

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In the realm of 3D GIS, the FBX format inspires both admiration and frustration. Developed by Autodesk as a proprietary 3D file format, FBX has been an industry standard for decades. Yet as technology advances, FBX's limitations become increasingly apparent—demanding a critical reassessment of this legacy format.

The debate intensified when ThreeJS officially tweeted four unambiguous words:

FBX needs to die

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A reader recently noted that my earlier guide on purchasing licensed ArcGIS Pro is outdated. Upon review, I confirmed this—Esri no longer offers ArcGIS Desktop 10.8.2 for personal purchase, leaving only ArcGIS Pro available. Essentially, individual users can no longer legally acquire Desktop versions.

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