Claus Rinner

The use of Web 2.0 concepts to support deliberation in spatial decision-making

Technologies associated with the second-generation of the World-Wide Web enable virtually anyone to share their data, documents, observations, and opinions on the Internet. In less than three years, mapping platforms such as Google Maps have sparked an exponential growth in user-generated geographically referenced content. However, the “serious” applications of Web 2.0 are sparse and this paper assesses its use in the context of collaborative spatial decision-making. We present an online map-based discussion forum that enables Internet users to submit place-based comments and respond to contributions from other participants. We further use the geographic references in a thread-based master plan debate for a university campus to simulate this debate in the map-based forum. This allows us to demonstrate how the online map provides an overview of the status and spatial foci of the debate, and how it can help us understand the spatial thought processes of the participants.

Toronto's Urban Heat Island—Exploring the Relationship between Land Use and Surface Temperature

The urban heat island effect is linked to the built environment and threatens human health during extreme heat events. In this study, we analyzed whether characteristic land uses within an urban area are associated with higher or lower surface temperatures, and whether concentrations of “hot” land uses exacerbate this relationship. Zonal statistics on a thermal remote sensing image for the City of Toronto revealed statistically significant differences between high average temperatures for commercial and resource/industrial land use (29.1 °C), and low average temperatures for parks and recreational land (25.1 °C) and water bodies (23.1 °C). Furthermore, higher concentrations of either of these land uses were associated with more extreme surface temperatures. We also present selected neighborhoods to illustrate these results. The paper concludes by recommending that municipal planners and decision-makers formulate policies and regulations that are specific to the problematic land uses, in order to mitigate extreme heat.

Patterns of Urban Violent Injury: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis

Objectives Injury related to violent acts is a problem in every society. Although some authors have examined the geography of violent crime, few have focused on the spatio-temporal patterns of violent injury and none have used an ambulance dataset to explore the spatial characteristics of injury. The purpose of this study was to describe the combined spatial and temporal characteristics of violent injury in a large urban centre. Methodology/Principal Findings Using a geomatics framework and geographic information systems software, we studied 4,587 ambulance dispatches and 10,693 emergency room admissions for violent injury occurrences among adults (aged 18–64) in Toronto, Canada, during 2002 and 2004, using population-based datasets. We created kernel density and choropleth maps for 24-hour periods and four-hour daily time periods and compared location of ambulance dispatches and patient residences with local land use and socioeconomic characteristics. We used multivariate regressions to control for confounding factors. We found the locations of violent injury and the residence locations of those injured were both closely related to each other and clearly clustered in certain parts of the city characterised by high numbers of bars, social housing units, and homeless shelters, as well as lower household incomes. The night and early morning showed a distinctive peak in injuries and a shift in the location of injuries to a “nightlife” district. The locational pattern of patient residences remained unchanged during those times. Conclusions/Significance Our results demonstrate that there is a distinctive spatio-temporal pattern in violent injury reflected in the ambulance data. People injured in this urban centre more commonly live in areas of social deprivation. During the day, locations of injury and locations of residences are similar. However, later at night, the injury location of highest density shifts to a “nightlife” district, whereas the residence locations of those most at risk of injury do not change.

A geographic visualization approach to multi-criteria evaluation of urban quality of life

This paper proposes to use principles of geographic visualization in conjunction with multi‐criteria evaluation methods to support expert‐level spatial decision‐making. Interactive maps can be combined with analytical tools to explore various settings of multi‐criteria evaluation parameters that define different decision‐making strategies. In a case study, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to calculate composite measures of urban quality of life (QoL) for neighbourhoods in Toronto. The AHP allows for an interactive exploration of decision‐making strategies, while offering a view on spatial patterns in the evaluation results. In particular, an interactive blending between a classical and a contemporary QoL model is supported. This feature is used in a pilot study to assess the usefulness of geographic visualization in urban QoL evaluation. Three user interviews provide positive feedback on the utility and usability of the tool that was operated by the investigator.

The Role of Maps in Neighborhood-Level Heat Vulnerability Assessment for the City of Toronto

Extreme hot weather is a threat to public health, and it is anticipated that the number of hot days and the duration of extreme heat events will increase with climate change. Already, heat-related illness and mortality is the dominant natural hazard in many countries. While everybody is at risk to varying degrees, there are known factors relating to heat exposure and sensitivity that make some population groups more vulnerable than others. The objective of this paper is to assess cartographic design decisions in creating heat vulnerability maps, and how they may affect the usefulness of different map types. Spatial patterns of heat vulnerability were visualized using maps representing individual exposure and sensitivity indicators, composite vulnerability indices, and geographical hot spots of vulnerability. The composite indices were calculated using the ordered weighted averaging (OWA) multi-criteria analysis method. Hot spots were determined using local indicators of spatial association (LISA). This study is part of an ongoing project which aims to identify vulnerable populations within the City of Toronto, Canada, in order to support targeted response and mitigation. The maps were found to be a valuable addition to the hot weather planning toolkit supporting neighborhood-level interventions.

The spatial dimensions of multi-criteria evaluation – case study of a home buyer's spatial decision support system

This paper explores the spatial aspects of GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation. We provide a systematic account of geographically defined decision criteria based on three classes of spatial relations: location, proximity, and direction. We also discuss whether the evaluation score of a decision alternative should be directly influenced by neighbouring scores and outline a methodology for distance-based adjustment of evaluation scores. A home buyer case study is employed to demonstrate how spatial criteria can be included in a spatial decision support system and to investigate the effect of geographically adjusting the evaluation scores of decision alternatives. The case study demonstrates how spatial criteria can be presented to decision-makers and their effects be observed in the decision outcome. Further, the spatial adjustment of evaluation scores using the performance of neighbouring properties smoothes the distribution of scores across the study area and allows decision-makers to consider a locations environment.

Geomatics in injury prevention: the science, the potential and the limitations

Background: Geomatics describes the activities involved in acquiring and managing geographical data and producing geographical information for scientific, administrative and technical endeavors. As an emerging science, geomatics has a great potential to support public health. Geomatics provides a conceptual foundation for the development of geographic information systems (GIS), computerized tools that manage and display geographical data for analytical applications. As descriptive epidemiology typically involves the examination of person, place and time in the occurrence of disease or injury, geomatics and GIS can play an important role in understanding and preventing injury. Aim: This article provides a background to geomatics for those in the injury prevention field who are unfamiliar with spatial analysis. We hope to stimulate researchers and practitioners to begin to use geomatics to assist in the prevention of injury. Methods: The authors illustrate the potential benefits and limitations of geomatics in injury prevention in a non-technical way through the use of maps and analysis. Results: By analysing the location of patients treated for fall injuries in Central Toronto using GIS, some demographic and land use variables, such as household income, age, and the location of homeless shelters, were identified as explanatory factors for the spatial distribution. Conclusion: By supporting novel approaches to injury prevention, geomatics has a great potential for efforts to combat the burden of injury. Despite some limitations, those with an interest in injury prevention could benefit from this science.

Locally weighted linear combination in a vector geographic information system

Weighted linear combination is a multi-criteria decision analysis technique that can be used by decision-makers to select an optimal location from a collection of alternative locations. Its local form takes into account the range of attribute values within a user-defined neighbourhood in accordance with the range-sensitivity principle. This research explores locally weighted linear combination in a vector-based geographic information system. A custom application in ArcGIS 10 allows the user to select a neighbourhood definition from a standard set including contiguity, distance, and k-nearest neighbours, for which local weights are generated. A case study on vulnerability to heat-related illness in Toronto is used to illustrate the technique. The impact of local weighting on the heat vulnerability index is examined using visual analysis of the spatial patterns of heat vulnerability under the global and local approaches, as well as the sensitivity of the local approach to the selected neighbourhood definition. A trade-off analysis of the local weights is also presented. The combination of socio-demographic and environmental determinants in a locally weighted index results in patterns of heat vulnerability that could support targeted hot weather response at a micro-geographic level within urban neighbourhoods.

Exploring the Boundaries of Web Map Services: The Example of the Online Injury Atlas for Ontario

Abstract Injury from causes such as falls, traffic accidents, or violence is a major public health issue globally. Injury prevention research aims to identify vulnerable populations and places by analyzing the spatial patterns of demographic and socio-economic risk factors associated with elevated injury rates. The stakeholders in injury prevention and control are often distributed across government and public health institutions, non-profits, and even the private sector (e.g. insurance firms). While this situation calls for distributed, online research tools, their implementation may conflict with health data confidentiality and license limitations for socio-economic data. In this paper, we present the Online Injury Atlas for Ontario, which was designed with the explicit goal to make use of, and contribute to, the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure. We propose a service-based architecture that integrates publicly accessible map services with protected data layers. Thereby, we demonstrate the benefits of using spatial data infrastructures alongside private data at different levels of protection. In addition, we discuss the extensive data processing needs and specific cartographic design requirements of a Web atlas in the health and social sciences domain.

Online Map Design for Public-Health Decision Makers

Abstract Injury places a heavy burden on public-health resources that is not distributed evenly in space, making the mapping of injury and its socio-demographic risk factors an effective tool for prevention planning. In a survey of health-related interactive Web mapping applications we found great variation with respect to content, cartography, and technical aspects. Based on the survey results, input from a group of potential end users, cartographic design principles, and data-set requirements, we created a Web site with static, animated, and interactive injury maps. We mapped injury rates and possible socio-demographic risk factors for the City of Toronto. Through the three functionally different types of maps, a variety of ways to explore the same public-health data sets could be demonstrated. The results highlight the practical options available to public-health analysts and decision makers who wish to expand their data-exploration and decision-support tools with a spatial component.