Immersive GeoDesign: Exploring the Built Environment through the Coupling of GeoDesign, 3D Modeling, and Immersive Geography

GeoDesign is a relatively new field that serves as a repurposing of many different disciplines concerned with design decisions about the built environment. More specifically, GeoDesign represents a coupling of urban planning concepts with the analytical capabilities of GIS. While GIS has been used in planning mostly in the two-dimensional realm, the built environment is three-dimensional and challenges GIS in the handling of the vertical dimension, notably in floor-by-floor uses in mixed-use developments, basement-level parking, light capture, and intervisibility between structures. This research advances GeoDesign by addressing these three-dimensional issues through the utilization of highly-detailed 3D models using Trimble SketchUp, the mass-model generation power of ERSI\u27s CityEngine, and the immersive Geo-Virtual CAVE at West Virginia University to explore these issues through an Immersive GeoDesign case study of the city of Morgantown, WV

Geographically Referenced Data for Social Science

An estimated 80% of all information has a spatial reference. Information about households as well as environmental data can be linked to precise locations in the real world. This offers benefits for combining different datasets via the spatial location and, furthermore, spatial indicators such as distance and accessibility can be included in analyses and models. HSpatial patterns of real-world social phenomena can be identified and described and possible interrelationships between datasets can be studied. Michael F. GOODCHILD, a Professor of Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara and principal investigator at the Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science (CSISS), summarizes the growing significance of space, spatiality, location, and place in social science research as follows: "(...) for many social scientists, location is just another attribute in a table and not a very important one at that. After all, the processes that lead to social deprivation, crime, or family dysfunction are more or less the same everywhere, and, in the minds of social scientists, many other variables, such as education, unemployment, or age, are far more interesting as explanatory factors of social phenomena than geographic location. Geographers have been almost alone among social scientists in their concern for space; to economists, sociologists, political scientists, demographers, and anthropologists, space has been a minor issue and one that these disciplines have often been happy to leave to geographers. But that situation is changing, and many social scientists have begun to talk about a "spatial turn," a new interest in location, and a new "spatial social science" that crosses the traditional boundaries between disciplines. Interest is rising in GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and in what GIS makes possible: mapping, spatial analysis, and spatial modelling. At the same time, new tools are becoming available that give GIS users access to some of the big ideas of social science."

An overview of Halifax, Nova Scotia’s rental housing market

1 online resource (vii, 79 pages) : graphs, colour mapsIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 74-79).Halifax, Nova Scotia is experiencing a major rental housing affordability and availability issue. Many Haligonians are under increasing financial pressure, posting their complaints via online forums and on social media concerning the increasing living costs. In response the Provincial Government imposed a rent cap, limiting annual increase to 2% and preventing “renovictions”. The goal of this research is to look at the rental market across the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) exploring the geography of rental unit characteristics and prices. Using web scraping techniques on Kijiji and collecting data from local developers’ websites the study employs a comprehensive dataset of up-to-date rental housing information in the HRM. Analysing the database in GIS software shows high unaffordability throughout the North end of Halifax’s urban core and a lack of rental amenities available to those living inside the urban core. The second part of this study dives into the difference between primary and secondary rental housing in the HRM, observing secondary rental housing while being more expensive offer greater amenities than primary rental housing

Data validation and quality assessment of voluntary geographic information road network of Castellon for emergency route planning

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial TechnologiesDisasters are unpredictable. Natural disasters such as earthquake, flood, landslide or man-made disaster such as fire, road accident can affect our life anytime. Many casualties occur during the disaster on the absence of preparedness and prevention measure. Lack of evacuation routes and the timely response to the injured people to the nearby emergency services is one of the main sources for a large number of casualties. Proper response operations must be carried out, as a slight delay can risk the lives of citizens. Since disaster cannot be mitigated, preventive measures before and after the disaster are important. Spatial data play a significant role in emergency management: preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. A suitable network analysis aids to a smooth network and especially helps during a disaster. In this paper, Castellon network dataset is developed using validated Voluntary Geographic Information. It is developed to find the fastest route to the emergency services, especially during or after the occurrence of a disaster. Data quality assurance is performed using positional, attribute and network length check to produce efficient results. The fastest and safest route to and from the emergency services are recognized to plan safety measure during the occurrence of a disaster. The evaluation of the network by participants provides insight into the quality and use of the network in a disaster scenario. It also reveals that VGI can be used further in the preparation of a disaster prevention system for various cities

Geographically referenced data for social science

"Die Autoren beschreiben in ihrem Beitrag den Mehrwert der Nutzung von Geodaten in den Sozialwissenschaften. Sie liefern vor allem eine Reihe praktischer Hinweise auf die Bezugsquellen von Geodaten. Beispielhaft legen sie dar, wie sich Geodaten mit Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) kombinieren lassen. Der erste Teil ihres Beitrags enthält eine nähere Beschreibung von Geodaten und des Geographischen Informationssystems (GIS). Das zweite Kapitel beschäftigt sich mit den Zielgruppen und Nutzern, es erläutert die der Dokumentation zugrunde liegende Definition der Geodaten und zeigt die Vorzüge und Herausforderungen beim Einsatz von Geodaten in der sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschung auf. Das dritte Kapitel verdeutlicht anhand zahlreicher Beispiele das Potenzial von Geodaten als eine zusätzliche Informationsquelle für die empirische Forschung. Abschließend wird ein Überblick über verfügbare Geodaten in Deutschland und die am meisten nachgefragten Daten in den Sozialwissenschaften gegeben. Der Anhang des Beitrags enthält Internet-Links für Datenquellen, Hinweise zur verfügbaren GIS-Software und weitere Informationen." (ICI

Decision Support Systems

Decision support systems (DSS) have evolved over the past four decades from theoretical concepts into real world computerized applications. DSS architecture contains three key components: knowledge base, computerized model, and user interface. DSS simulate cognitive decision-making functions of humans based on artificial intelligence methodologies (including expert systems, data mining, machine learning, connectionism, logistical reasoning, etc.) in order to perform decision support functions. The applications of DSS cover many domains, ranging from aviation monitoring, transportation safety, clinical diagnosis, weather forecast, business management to internet search strategy. By combining knowledge bases with inference rules, DSS are able to provide suggestions to end users to improve decisions and outcomes. This book is written as a textbook so that it can be used in formal courses examining decision support systems. It may be used by both undergraduate and graduate students from diverse computer-related fields. It will also be of value to established professionals as a text for self-study or for reference

Developing the Housing Attribute and Spatial Index (HASI) Tool to Identify Characteristic Neighborhoods Using Variable Importance Factors Calculated Utilizing Random Forest Regression Modeling in ArcGIS Pro

The purpose of this research is to examine the functionality in utilizing Random Forest Regression (RFR) Variable Importance (VI) values in characterizing neighborhoods based on the attributes of existing housing units by creating an automated GIS tool. An important concept that has been implemented in the past in real-estate valuation is the concept of Hedonic Price Modeling (HPM), which uses regression techniques to identify the impacts that individual attributes have on the cost of a good in a heterogenous market outside of mere utility. The benefit of this research is to produce a tool that automates the RFR process such that city planners and GIS analysis with access to ArcGIS Pro software have the capability of identifying neighborhoods that characterize specific housing value ranges with real-world examples utilizing multiple data types. From this research it was found that VI is a valid method for visualizing characteristic neighborhoods based on the housing attributes for values within a specific range, but in terms of spatial analysis other methods need to be implemented into the analysis other the VI factors

Proceedings of the GIS Research UK 18th Annual Conference GISRUK 2010

This volume holds the papers from the 18th annual GIS Research UK (GISRUK). This year the conference, hosted at University College London (UCL), from Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 April 2010. The conference covered the areas of core geographic information science research as well as applications domains such as crime and health and technological developments in LBS and the geoweb. UCL’s research mission as a global university is based around a series of Grand Challenges that affect us all, and these were accommodated in GISRUK 2010. The overarching theme this year was “Global Challenges”, with specific focus on the following themes: * Crime and Place * Environmental Change * Intelligent Transport * Public Health and Epidemiology * Simulation and Modelling * London as a global city * The geoweb and neo-geography * Open GIS and Volunteered Geographic Information * Human-Computer Interaction and GIS Traditionally, GISRUK has provided a platform for early career researchers as well as those with a significant track record of achievement in the area. As such, the conference provides a welcome blend of innovative thinking and mature reflection. GISRUK is the premier academic GIS conference in the UK and we are keen to maintain its outstanding record of achievement in developing GIS in the UK and beyond