ClassInfo

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are an important supportive technology for the fields of planning and public policy. Many professional fields involve exploring location-based issues and the tools offered by GIS facilitates spatial visualization of phenomena such as crime, poverty, pollution, public health, land use, economics, environmental conditions and many others. GIS - a discipline in its own right - is now firmly woven into the fabric of government and into many business operations and it is vital that students of planning and public policy have a fundamental operational knowledge of the concepts, application, and potential of GIS technology.

This course introduces principles of geographic information systems and their applications in planning and policy analysis. The course is designed to give students an understanding of cutting-edge geospatial technologies, their capabilities, uses, and limitations. Representative applications for each discipline area are demonstrated in the computer laboratory portion.

The course will be offered in the format of lectures and labs.

Upon completion of this course students can expect to:

· Be familiar with core terminology, concepts, data types, usage and applications of GIS;

· Demonstrate and make use of a foundational set of technical GIS skills;

· Have a sound understanding of how GIS can be applied to planning and public policy work;

· Be able to communicate with and work effectively with experienced GIS professionals;

· Be able to apply spatial thinking and locational problem solving to the work of planning and public policy;

· Be able to frame, address and propose solutions to a diverse variety of planning and public policy problems by ‘thinking spatially' and using GIS technology.