GIScience in Urban Planning Education - Experience from University of Maryland

Transcription

1 GIScience in Urban Planning Education - Experience from University of Maryland February 3, 2007 University of Tokyo Qing Shen <qshen@umd.edu> Professor of Urban Studies and Planning School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation University of Maryland, College Park

2 Outline of Presentation 1. GIS in Urban Planning Education in the US An Introduction 2. GIS at University of Maryland 3. Providing GIS Education Options for Urban Planning Students 4. GIS Course Offered within Urban Studies and Planning Program 5. Future Development of GIS Education in Urban Planning Programs

3 1. GIS in Urban Planning Education in the US - An Introduction

4 Is GIS an Essential Component of Urban Planning Education? 1. Diverse views on key components of urban planning education 2. Diverse views on the importance of GIS in urban planning education 3. The prevailing view is that GIS is essential for urban planning, and should be a component of the curriculum

5 Several Indicators of Current Status According to LeGates (2006): Nearly all graduate urban planning programs in the US provide for GIS education Several major urban planning programs offer a sequence of GIS courses/an area of concentration In 2000, 151 (out of 1,350) faculty members of ACSP schools self-identified as having a specialization in GIS

6 How to Provide GIS Education in Urban Planning Programs? 1. What elements of GIS should urban planning students learn? 2. Who (professors within or outside urban planning programs) should teach them? 3. Should GIS education be required or elective?

7 Alternative Approaches 1. Offer a sequence of GIS courses within urban planning program to meet diverse needs of the students 2. Offer 1 or 2 basic GIS courses within urban planning program, and send students to other departments for advanced or special GIS 3. Send students to other departments for all GIS education How to choose among these approaches?

8 2. GIS at University of Maryland

9 University of Maryland, College Park A research university 35,000 (including 10,000 graduate) students 3,600 faculty 13 colleges and schools 112 graduate degree programs

10 GIS Courses Taught in Many Departments (I) Geography Agricultural and Resource Economics Civil Engineering Landscape Architecture Public Health Urban Studies and Planning University Library

11 GIS Courses Taught in Many Departments (II) Different levels of difficulty Different focuses/application contexts An overall extensive coverage But no university-wide coordination

12 Examples of Course Descriptions (I) University Library s GIS workshops Provide popular introduction to ArcGIS Desktop 9.1. This 2½-hour hands-on course will teach students the fundamentals of GIS, basic navigation of the software, and the creation of different types of maps. Open to all faculty, staff, and students of the University for free

13 Examples of Course Descriptions (II) ENCE301 Geo-Metrics and GIS in Civil Engineering Helps students develop skills in using GIS technology to solve a range of problems in Civil and Environmental Engineering. It begins with a rigorous unit on the basics of database organization and use. Then it presents GIS concepts emphasizing the linkage between a standard relational database and the spatially-referenced database underlying the GIS. Both raster and vector data models are presented and used in a variety of natural applications to Civil and Environmental Engineering.

14 Examples of Course Descriptions (III) 3. GEOG696 Design for Geographic Information Systems This advanced course introduces the concepts and practical skills required to design, implement and use GIS databases. Students will use Oracle and ArcIMS, which will make them highly competitive in their career. For those who use geospatial data and GIS in their own fields, this class helps them understand how to collect and store data, and allows them to retrieve data from GIS databases.

15 Examples of Course Descriptions (IV) GEOG695 Spatial Models This course introduces the concepts of selected advanced spatial models, review the methods of constructing the selected models, and discuss the applications of these models in geographical contexts. In particular, this course covers cellular automata, agent-based models, spatial interaction models, stochastic models, spatial evolutionary models, spatiotemporal models, and combining spatial models with GIS.

16 GIS Used by Many Faculty and Students in Research (I) Researchers in previously mentioned departments, as well as in Animal Science, Anthropology, Business Administration, Criminology, Economics, Geology, Information Studies, Political Science, and Public Policy are using GIS/spatial analysis Researchers in Computer Science are working on spatial databases, data structures, and user interface

17 GIS Used by Many Faculty and Students in Research (II) An overall extensive expertise But no university-wide coordination

18 Most Computing Resources Managed by Department or School Hardware Computer labs, servers, desktops, printers, plotters, scanners, etc Softeware ArcGIS, statistics, database management, graphics, etc Computer labs and staff

19 University-Wide Teaching Theaters Use technology to support innovative teaching and learning Provide file storage space for classes Accessible via internet Managed by university IT staff Convenient for class assignments and projects

20 3. Providing GIS Education Options for Urban Planning Students

21 Urban Studies and Planning Program, University of Maryland Size 11 full-time tenured/tenure-track faculty students Degree programs Master s (20-25 students per year) PhD (3-5 students per year) Research center National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education

22 Diverse Students Diverse educational backgrounds Diverse career goals Two degree programs (Master s and PhD), each with several concentrations Engaged in different research projects, some requiring advanced GIS techniques Measuring neighborhood walkability Measuring land use pattern and urban form Analyzing market values of urban design features

23 Diverse GIS Education Needs Need no GIS knowledge Need GIS literacy Need basic GIS concepts and methods Need advanced GIS concepts and methods (e.g. PhD students studying urban spatial structure or transportation planning)

24 Strategy for Meeting Diverse Educational Needs (I) GIS literacy gained through workshops taught by University library staff Basic GIS concepts and methods covered in a course offered within Urban Studies and Planning Program Advanced GIS and methods available from courses in other departments (Geography, Economics, Civil Engineering, etc)

25 Strategy for Meeting Diverse Educational Needs (II) Relies on other departments for advanced GIS courses because of lack of critical mass of interests within Urban Studies and Planning Program The approach may not be ideal, but is generally effective

26 4. GIS Course Offered within Urban Studies and Planning Program

27 URSP612 GIS for Urban Planning The only full GIS course offered within Urban Studies and Planning Program An elective course Offered every Fall Semester 20 students maximum enrollment Over half of students from Urban Planning, the rest from other departments or other universities

28 Course Objectives An introduction to GIS and its application in urban planning Enables students to gain working knowledge of GIS concepts and methods Enables students to become proficient users of ArcGIS

29 Course Organization Weekly lectures and labs Additional help sessions provided by teaching assistant 1 exam (closely book, focusing on basic concepts discussed in lectures) 1 final project (including a class presentation and a project report)

30 Main Lecture Topics Fundamentals of cartography Thematic mapping GIS data structure Data input US census data Spatial analysis using GIS GIS and the Internet Examples of GIS application in urban planning

31 Lab Exercises Hands-on, with the supervision of professor and teaching assistant Combination of ESRI s lab exercises and professor s own lab exercises Rely primarily on computing resources of the School, but use University-wide networked storage space to manage lab assignments and data

32 Readings Textbook DeMers, Michael N Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems. Third Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Workbook ESRI (Ormsby, T. et al) Getting to Know ArcGIS Desktop: Basics of ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo. Second Edition. Redlands, California: ESRI Press. Other papers and publications

33 Final Project Applies GIS skills learned in this course to some urban planning context Students form two-member project teams, and work on topics of their own choice Project duration is 6 weeks Key components Data collection and processing Making maps and conducting analyses Giving a class presentation Writing a short project report

34 Examples of Final Project Maryland s renewable resource potential Locating wind farms in North Dakoda Assessing surface runoff due to development Analysis of metro usage in Montgomery and Prince George s counties Education infrastructure in Ecuador Others

35 Maryland s Renewable Resource Potential Drew Ronneberg URSP 612 Final Project Fall 2005

36 Maryland s Current Power Consumption Thermal Electricity Total 31.3 GW 5.5 GW 36.8 GW Can Maryland Meet its Current Power Needs With Renewable Energy Resources?

37 Maryland s Wind Resource Wind Class Value 1 ±

38 Maryland s Solar Resource Average Solar Energy Density (W/m2) ±

39 Maryland s Biomass Resource Land Type Farmland Non-Farmland ±

40 Maryland s Land Use- Land Cover Maryland's Land Uses Residential/Urban Commercial Industrial Institutional Extractive Open Urban Land Farmland Pastureland Feedlots Forests Water Wetlands

41 Methodology Rasterize land use and power density maps to 100mx100m grids Calculate net power density for each renewable resource (W/m2) Figure out compatible/incompatible land uses for 2 scenarios (restrictive and unrestrictive) Aggregate power densities to calculate statewide renewable resource potential

42 Net Energy Ratios Energy Output Net Energy Ratio = Energy Feedback Energy System Wind Solar-PV Biomass Net Energy Ratio

43 Net Power Densities of Renewable Energy Systems Wind ranges from 1 to 2 W/m2 Solar ranges from W/m2 Biomass is approximately 0.08 W/m2

44 Restrictive Land Use Scenario No windmills in water Only class 4 and above areas permitted Solar permitted on 0.5% of land mass in urban/residential areas Biomass on 20% of agricultural land

45 Unrestrictive Land Use Scenario Windmills permitted in Class 3 and above Solar allowed on all compatible land uses, including replacing 20% of the forest with solar panels Biomass on 20% of agricultural land

46 Wind under Restrictive and Unrestrictive Land Use Scenarios Restrictive Land Use ± Unrestrictive Land Use

47 Solar-PV under Restrictive and Unrestrictive Land Use Scenarios Restrictive Land Use ± Unrestrictive Land Use

48 Biomass under Restrictive and Unrestrictive Land Use Scenarios Restrictive Land Use ± Unrestrictive Land Use

49 Power Density Map For Restricted Land Use Power Density W/m2 ± High : 1.60 Low : 0.0

50 Restricted Land Use Scenario Total Power Output Percentage of Current Consumption Percentage of Maryland s Land Required Percentage of Power from Wind Percentage of Power from Solar/PV Percentage of Power from Biomass 0.6 GW 1.5% 6.5% 7.0% 63.5% 29.5%

51 Power Density Map For Unrestricted Land Use ± Power Density W/m2 High : Low : 0

52 Unrestricted Land Use Scenario Total Power Output Percentage of Current Consumption Percentage of Maryland s Land Required Percentage of Power from Wind Percentage of Power from Solar/PV Percentage of Power from Biomass 12.4 GW 33.7% 34.4% 40.4% 58.2% 1.4%

53 Conclusions Land requirements for renewable energy systems are enormous Even taking up 35% of land, Maryland s renewable energy potential is much less than current energy consumption Renewables can only contribute a small fraction to our energy needs Without fossil fuels/nuclear, our economy MUST contract Oil/natural gas will peak soon and then decline

54 Ultimate Conclusion Our Present Economy is Unsustainable Economic Growth is Unsustainable We are planning for the Wrong Future We need to Plan For Economic Contraction

55

56

57

58

59 5. Future Development of GIS Education in Urban Planning Programs

60 Encouraging Trends Information technology and spatial data of various kinds are widely accessible GIS is becoming increasingly important in urban planning Advanced GIS methods are finding useful applications in urban planning Promising new developments in spatial data collection; spatial modeling; location-based services Urban planning faculty and students are increasingly technology-savvy

61 Remaining Issues (I) Lack of consensus on the basic content of GIS courses for urban planning students Learning commercial software functionalities (e.g. ArcGIS) vs. learning fundamental concepts and methods Mapping vs. spatial analysis, modeling, and exploration of potential new applications to urban planning Examining location and distance-based spatial relationships vs. exploring technology-modified spatial relationships

62 Remaining Issues (II) Students needs for GIS education are changing Faculty resource for teaching GIS within urban planning programs is also changing GIS knowledge is expanding and becoming increasingly multi-disciplinary New spatial phenomena of concern for urban planners (firm location, service provision, security and possible disruptions of transportation systems, etc)

63 Remaining Issues (III) Lack of critical mass for learning and teaching advanced GIS within urban planning programs Most urban planning students will only be interested in the basics of GIS Most urban planning faculty will not be involved in cutting-edge research in GIS Most urban planning programs will continue to rely on other departments to offer advanced GIS courses

64 Standard GIS Curriculum and Course Materials for Urban Planning? If the answer is yes, who should develop them? A function of NCGIA or UCGIS? A function of ACSP? How should the learning be connected with other urban planning courses? Relating GIS education to urban planning issues Incorporating urban planning methods into GIS education

65 University-Level Coordination in GIS Education and Research? As long as there are programs that rely on other departments to offer GIS courses, university-level coordination is desirable Seeking institutional support and funding - Effective coordination requires incentives for participation Coordination effort may not be sustainable without secure funding Experiences of University of Maryland GIS people and spatial analysis group

66 Program-Level Adaptation to the Changing Needs for GIS Education? Faculty appointment Updating curriculum and program s areas of concentration Customizing GIS for urban planning education?

67 Thanks You!