Geodata

Empirical data can be characterized by a precise location in space and time. An estimated 80% of all data holds such a spatio-temporal reference and is termed geodata. This paper starts with the question: What is the additional benefit for socio-economic sciences using geodata and the spatial dimension respectively? In the following a multidimensional approach is chosen to outline the Status Quo of geodata and spatial techniques in Germany. It is particularly the continuously growing amount and the variety of available geodata which is stated. Data security is an issue of high importance when using geodata. Furthermore, the present developments in price and user concepts, accessibility, technical standards and institutionalisation are addressed. A number of challenges concerning the field of geodata are identified including the open access to geodata, data security issues and standardization. The main challenge however seems to be the exchange between the rather segregated fields of geoinformation and the information infrastructure. Furthermore, the census 2011 is identified as a major challenge for the acquisition and management of geodata. Geodata and spatial techniques are a rapidly developing field due to technology developments of data and methods as well as due to recently growing public interest. Their additional be efit for socioeconomic research should be exploited in the future.geodata, geoinformation, Web-GIS, geodata-infrastructure, spatial techniques

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."

Land Use Conflicts and Synergies on Agricultural Land in Brandenburg, Germany

The growing and multiple interests in land as a resource has led to an increase in locally or regionally clashing land use interests on agricultural land which may result in conflicts or open up possibilities for synergies. Urbanization, food production, renewable energy production, environmental protection, and climate protection are known as key land use interests in many regions. The objective of our study is to identify and map land use conflicts, land use synergies, and areas with land use synergy potentials in the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany. We have combined different methods: an analysis of statistical data, an online survey with farmers, a primary document analysis (articles, court documents, policy documents, position papers), and a GIS-based spatial analysis. In our Brandenburg case study, we have identified the use of agricultural land for renewable energy production and environmental protection as the most relevant land use interests leading to conflict situations. We show that land use synergies can make a significant contribution to achieving environmental and climate protection goals, as well as sustainable development. Through the site-adapted and targeted establishment of agroforestry systems, agricultural areas with agri-photovoltaic systems and agricultural parcels with integrated nonproductive areas may lead to land use synergies. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the occurrence of land use conflicts and land use synergies. We highlight the potential for targeted and sustainable environmental and climate protection through the promotion of land use synergies as a result of establishing agroforestry systems and agricultural parcels with agri-photovoltaic systems and integrated nonproductive areas. Our results provide a basis for agricultural policy to promote land use systems that contribute to environmental and climate protection.Deutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftPeer Reviewe

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

TanDEM-X for Large-Area Modeling of Urban Vegetation Height: Evidence from Berlin, Germany

—Large-area urban ecology studies often miss information on vertical parameters of vegetation, even though they represent important constituting properties of complex urban ecosystems. The new globally available digital elevation model (DEM) of the spaceborne TanDEM-X mission has an unprecedented spatial resolution (12 × 12 m) that allows us to derive such relevant information. So far, suitable approaches using a TanDEM-X DEM for the derivation of a normalized canopy model (nCM) are largely absent. Therefore, this paper aims to obtain digital terrain models (DTMs) for the subsequent computation of two nCMs for urban-like vegetation (e.g., street trees) and forest-like vegetation (e.g., parks), respectively, in Berlin, Germany, using a TanDEM-X DEM and a vegetation mask derived from UltraCamX data. Initial comparisons between morphological DTM-filter confirm the superior performance of a novel disaggregated progressive morphological filter (DPMF). For improved assessment of a DTM for urban-like vegetation, a modified DPMF and image enhancement methods were applied. For forest-like vegetation, an interpolation and a weighted DPMF approach were compared. Finally, all DTMs were used for nCM calculation. The nCM for urban-like vegetation revealed a mean height of 4.17 m compared to 9.61 m of a validation nCM. For forest-like vegetation, the mean height for the nCM of the weighted filtering approach (9.16 m) produced the best results (validation nCM: 13.55 m). It is concluded that an nCM from TanDEM-X can capture vegetation heights in their appropriate dimension, which can be beneficial for automated height-related vegetation analysis such as comparisons of vegetation carbon storage between several cities

An index for assessing activity friendliness for children in urban environments of Berlin

The physical environment strongly influences physical activity in urban settings. While walkability is frequently assessed for adults, an approach for mapping the friendliness of urban environments focusing on children’s activities is not available. The aim of the presented approach was to identify supporting and limiting factors of activity friendliness in urban environments and incorporate them into a children’s physical activity index (CAI). We conducted qualitative guided interviews with nine- to ten-year-old children and parents of primary school children in Berlin to identify the factors and their importance for describing activity friendliness. Access to activity and recreational destinations, land use, traffic and road safety, and the social environment were the most prominent factors identified for the activity friendliness for children. The newly developed CAI enables a differentiation in the activity friendliness of urban neighborhoods for children

Exploring Environmental Health Inequalities: A Scientometric Analysis of Global Research Trends (1970–2020)

Environmental health inequalities (EHI), understood as differences in environmental health factors and in health outcomes caused by environmental conditions, are studied by a wide range of disciplines. This results in challenges to both synthesizing key knowledge domains of the field. This study aims to uncover the global research status and trends in EHI research, and to derive a conceptual framework for the underlying mechanisms of EHI. In total, 12,320 EHI publications were compiled from the Web of Science core collection from 1970 to 2020. Scientometric analysis was adopted to characterize the research activity, distribution, focus, and trends. Content analysis was conducted for the highlight work identified from network analysis. Keyword co-occurrence and cluster analysis were applied to identify the knowledge domain and develop the EHI framework. The results show that there has been a steady increase in numbers of EHI publications, active journals, and involved disciplines, countries, and institutions since the 2000s, with marked differences between countries in the number of published articles and active institutions. In the recent decade, environment-related disciplines have gained importance in addition to social and health sciences. This study proposes a framework to conceptualize the multi-facetted issues in EHI research referring to existing key concepts.China Scholarship CouncilPeer Reviewe

Defining the Peri-Urban: A Multidimensional Characterization of Spatio-Temporal Land Use along an Urban−Rural Gradient in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Highly dynamic peri-urban areas, particularly in the Global South, face many challenges including a lack of infrastructure, ownership conflicts, land degradation, and sustainable food production. This study aims to assess spatial land use characteristics and processes in peri-urban areas using the case of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A mixed-method approach was applied, consisting of expert interviews and spatial data analysis, on a local scale along an urban–rural gradient. Expert interviews were conducted during a field study and analyzed regarding the characteristics and processes of peri-urban land development. A GIS-based analysis of land use patterns was applied using satellite imagery and Open Street Map data to identify a number of variables, such as building density and proximity to environmental features. Results show specific patterns of land use indicators, which can be decreasing (e.g., house density), increasing (e.g., tree coverage), static (e.g., house size), or randomly distributed (e.g., distance to river), along a peri-urban gradient. Key findings identify lack of service structures and access to public transport as major challenges for the population of peri-urban areas. The combination of qualitative expert interviews and metrics-based quantitative spatial pattern analysis contributes to improved understanding of the patterns and processes in peri-urban land use changes.Peer Reviewe