Landfill site selection
on Gotland, Sweden

This was my first individual GIS project in the first GIS course I ever took. Using ArcMap Desktop, I was allowed to choose any hypothetical situation to spatially analyze. I decided to find a suitable site for commissioning a new landfill, covering no more land than 20 to 30 hectares, based on the following criteria:

• Slopes of no more than 3%

• Has to be a minimum of 200m away from roads

• Has to be no less than 500m away from surface water

• No closer than 1,5km to airports

• Should not be closer than 1km to settlements, urban areas, agriculture, industrial activity, and cultural sites

Map 1 shows the distribution of slopes around the island, while Map 2 shows the slope degrees reclassified to "Suitable" vs. "Unsuitable" which would be used for to the final overlay operation.

Map 3 shows the entirety of Gotland’s land area with public roads and a 200m buffer zone around them removed.

Map 4 shows Gotland's surface water with a 500m buffer zone around them.

Map 5 shows the main airports with a 1,5km buffer zone around them.

Map 6 includes land-use types related to human settlements and urbanization, agricultural farmland, industrial activity, as well as cultural sites. This was the most influential and extensive category impacting the selection process, as most of the island was already occupied for other purposes.