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Content about Geographic information system

September 13, 2012
Mapping: Data visualization tools to convey knowledge and bring your foundation’s work to life

WEBINAR - Locating the most appropriate information, and managing it strategically, becomes a challenge when we are increasingly bombarded with seemingly limitless streams of data. 

Locating the most appropriate information, and managing it strategically, becomes a challenge when we are increasingly bombarded with seemingly limitless streams of data.  This webinar series will help foundation staff navigate the information highway by focusing on key strategies and useful data sources for funders. In addition to providing tips for managing the flow of information, a variety of new tools will be examined.

July 18, 2012
Reflections: Appreciating New Communication Opportunities in Today’s Digital Revolution

How can technology provide useful insights in how cities function? How can this contribute to more informed planning? How does this impact society? The multidisciplinary conference, City of Flows, last week in Potsdam, Germany, explored these questions last week, providing unique“perspectives on the digital city in analog spaces”. I was fortunate to attend the conference and came away with many reflections concerning mapping and visualization of geographical data and the effects this technology has on society. 

How can technology provide useful insights in how cities function? How can this contribute to more informed planning? How does this impact society? The multidisciplinary conference, City of Flows, last week in Potsdam, Germany, explored these questions last week, providing unique“perspectives on the digital city in analog spaces”. I was fortunate to attend the conference and came away with many reflections concerning mapping and visualization of geographical data and the effects this technology has on society.

June 25, 2012
Individualising Our Visual Perceptions Of The City

How do global networks manifest themselves in everyday life? And how are limited analog spaces reflected in the potentially unlimited realm of the virtual? What can be done to counteract a polarisation of digital and analog living environments? How can digital globetrotters be motivated to relocate their projects, free floating in network environments, in the “flesh and stone” (Sennett) of the cities? What spaces of possibility (linked to the concept of the European city) can be created for the newly emerging modes of living? And by whom? These are just some of the questions that will have focus at next month’s  conference “The City of Flows – Interdisciplinary perspectives on the digital city in analog spaces”

How do global networks manifest themselves in everyday life? And how are limited analog spaces reflected in the potentially unlimited realm of the virtual? What can be done to counteract a polarisation of digital and analog living environments? How can digital globetrotters be motivated to relocate their projects, free floating in network environments, in the “flesh and stone” (Sennett) of the cities? What spaces of possibility (linked to the concept of the European city) can be created for the newly emerging modes of living? And by whom?

April 16, 2012
Using Volunteered Geography Information to Improve Transportation Services for Low-Income Communities

How can we understand the travel behaviors and mobility barriers experienced by low-income populations? The answer is both simple and complex at the same time, since it requires considering the entirety of individuals’ lives, not only their travel to and from their workplace. My research team and I gathered data from a relatively small sample of low income individuals through focus group interviews. We augmented the focus group data using additional detailed information provided by key individuals who participated in the preliminary discussions.

This article is brought to you by Planning & Technology Today, the American Planning Association (APA) Technology Division’s quarterly magazine, which links planning professionals with an interest in the use of technology in land use planning and community development.
March 15, 2012
Open Mapping Workshops Provide GeoData Guidance to Planners

A major new trend in cartography and urban planning, Web Mapping can safely be regarded as one of the hottest new public engagement tools. Historically, cartography was expensive, restrictive, and complex. However, with the relatively recent rise of web mapping, a range of free and proprietary data and technology has been born. As a result, the barrier to entry for creating maps on the web has shifted from that of the paper atlas and other traditional cartography.

A major new trend in cartography and urban planning, Web Mapping can safely be regarded as one of the hottest new public engagement tools. Historically, cartography was expensive, restrictive, and complex. However, with the relatively recent rise of web mapping, a range of free and proprietary data and technology has been born. As a result, the barrier to entry for creating maps on the web has shifted from that of the paper atlas and other traditional cartography.

March 8, 2012
Nine Sessions Not to Miss at This Year's APA National Planning Conference

The American Planning Association (APA) is gearing up for it’s 2012 National Planning Conference in Los Angeles next month (April 14-17), and the Technology and Planning Division have some great sessions set for this year. From what we’ve heard, this year’s program calls for sessions on 3-D simulation, performance measurement tools, as well as citizen engagement programs and GIS applications. Here is a list of sessions which intrigued us, and we wanted to share with you...

The American Planning Association (APA) is gearing up for it’s 2012 National Planning Conference in Los Angeles next month (April 14-17), and the Technology and Planning Division have some great sessions set for this year. From what we’ve heard, this year’s program calls for sessions on 3-D simulation, performance measurement tools, as well as citizen engagement programs and GIS applications.

March 2, 2012
Raffle Winner Announced - Using GIS to Engaging Citizens Call for Projects and Stories

A couple of weeks ago, we asked you all to tell us about your projects that utilized GIS or location-based services to engage citizens. We were very pleased with the level of response, and some of the great stories shared by our readers. Also, as promised, on Wednesday, we held a drawing to see which of our participants won the free registration to Where2012 and the winner is....

February 17, 2012
Where Conference 2012: The Art and Business of Location

Now in its eighth year, Where Conference: The Art and Business of Location, is where the grassroots and leading-edge developers building location-aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. In the O'Reilly conference tradition, Where Conference presents leading trends rather than chasing them.

Now in its eighth year, Where Conference: The Art and Business of Location, is where the grassroots and leading-edge developers building location-aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. In the O'Reilly conference tradition, Where Conference presents leading trends rather than chasing them.

February 16, 2012
Hands-On Resources to Address Opportunities & Possibilities in Location Technology

Can you imagine today’s world without location-based technology? It’s everywhere—in augmented reality apps for smartphones, GPS systems in our cars, urban transportation systems, and with public participation (ie. Gov 2.0) and visualisation web portals. In the past year, EngagingCities alone has dedicated over twenty posts to the subject of GIS in planning, with a 2012 location-based article series in the works as we speak. This being said, getting a handle on the multitude of planning related geospacial platforms and tools out there isn't easy, especially considering the rapid rate at which this technology is evolving.

February 16, 2012
Tell Us About Your Project That Utilized GIS or Location-Based Services to Engage Citizens

EngagingCities is raffling off one complimentary registration to the Where Conference 2012. All of our readers are eligible to enter the raffle drawing. All we ask is that you share a story of how you or somebody else successfully used geo-location technology to engage citizens and stakeholders.

February 13, 2012
Geodesign Gathers Momentum

The term geodesign,once hard to define, is becoming part of the vernacular in the design field. That observation opened this year's GeoDesign Summit, a gathering of professionals interested in using geospatial technologies to arrive at the best and most sustainable design solutions.

The term geodesign,once hard to define, is becoming part of the vernacular in the design field. That observation opened this year's GeoDesign Summit, a gathering of professionals interested in using geospatial technologies to arrive at the best and most sustainable design solutions.

January 3, 2012
Designing Geography Part III: The GeoDesign Framework

Carl Steinitz, professor of landscape architecture at Harvard University, first described how the GeoDesign Framework worked by posing it as a series of six questions relevant to landscape change.  The first three questions describe the world as it is and assess its condition (the assessment process). The last three questions describe the world as it could be, evaluating proposed design alternatives and their impacts (the intervention process).

Carl Steinitz, professor of landscape architecture at Harvard University, first described how the GeoDesign Framework worked by posing it as a series of six questions relevant to landscape change.  The first three questions describe the world as it is and assess its condition (the assessment process). The last three questions describe the world as it could be, evaluating proposed design alternatives and their impacts (the intervention process).

December 8, 2011
It’s a 3D Model, what’s the difference?

Land planning and design is highly driven by the need for schematic designs, but understanding the best methods and tools to reflect these schemes can be daunting. Technology continues to advance at an accelerated rate and we must stay up to speed on these changes in order to most appropriately accomplish the task at hand. 3D technologies have emerged over the past two decades increasing our ability to create stunning images of our visions, but are we using the tools correctly?

Land planning and design is highly driven by the need for schematic designs, but understanding the best methods and tools to reflect these schemes can be daunting. Technology continues to advance at an accelerated rate and we must stay up to speed on these changes in order to most appropriately accomplish the task at hand. 3D technologies have emerged over the past two decades increasing our ability to create stunning images of our visions, but are we using the tools correctly?

December 5, 2011
Fiesta Island

November 30, 2011
Designing Geography Part II: Thinking GeoDesign

Born from landscape architecture, geographic information systems (GIS) technology has a complex pedigree. GIS and design have long been intertwined, hard to separate, and competitive. GIS was seen as the place for mapping, planning, and analyses at the macro and meso scale, while computer-aided design (CAD) was seen as a design tool for engineering and architecture at the meso and micro scale. Those boundaries, ill defined and arbitrary to begin with, are beginning to blur further with the introduction of GeoDesign. So exactly what isGeoDesign?

Born from landscape architecture, geographic information systems (GIS) technology has a complex pedigree. GIS and design have long been intertwined, hard to separate, and competitive. GIS was seen as the place for mapping, planning, and analyses at the macro and meso scale, while computer-aided design (CAD) was seen as a design tool for engineering and architecture at the meso and micro scale. Those boundaries, ill defined and arbitrary to begin with, are beginning to blur further with the introduction of GeoDesign.

August 4, 2011
The Revival of Mental Maps

Recently, a team of students from the School of Information at University of California in Berkley, working on their final master project, enlisted the help of San Fransisco residents to find out how people see vs. imagine their city. The purpose of this research? To discover whether an age old process in planning, such as Mental Mapping can be combined with today’s digital mapping tools tools (ie: GIS ) to create a balance of accuracy and precision, truth and objectivity using unconventional combinations of techniques and imagination that comes from access to “local' knowledge of any respective place.

April 1, 2011
TileMill - Lowering the barriers to entry into custom cartography

Hoping to assuage complaints of the learning curve occasionally inherent in GIS software, TileMill, hit the market this past month promising gorgeous custom maps.  The new full-featured map design studio is based on open source technology and funded in part by The Knight Foundation.

May 20, 2010
Location-aware consumer technology: ready - today - to make the practice of planning a little easier and a little cheaper

In his article “iPads for Planning” (posted on Planetizen, April 2, 2010), Robert Goodspeed states that the iPad and iPhone are excellent tools for planning because they are highly mobile, location aware, and can be connected to a 3G network.

We would like to thank Jeremy Nemeth PhD., Director of the Master’s in Urban Design program at the University of Colorado Denver, for his contribution to this post.