Jochen Albrecht

Imprecise reasoning in geographic information systems

Abstract The concept of space underlying geographic information systems is basically Euclidean, requiring all subjects to adhere to the same view of space. This makes most attempts to deal with imprecise or uncertain geographic information difficult or sometimes even impossible. In this paper, we describe a way of incorporating imprecise qualitative spatial reasoning with quantitative reasoning in geographic information systems that is not restricted to Euclidean geometry. The ideal is to use fuzzy sets to model qualitative spatial relations among objects, like The downtown shopping mall is close to the harbor. The membership function of such a fuzzy set defines a fuzzy distance operator, for which a new algorithm is introduced in this paper.

Implementing a New Data Model for Simulating Processes

The paper describes the development of a new methodological approach for simulating geographic processes through the development of a data model that represents a process. This methodology complements existing approaches to dynamic modelling, which focus on the states of the system at each time step, by storing and representing the processes that are implicit in the model. The data model, called nen, focuses existing modelling approaches on representing and storing process information, which provides advantages for querying and analysing processes. The flux simulation framework was created utilizing the nen data model to represent processes. This simulator includes basic classes for developing a domain specific simulation and a set of query tools for inquiring after the results of a simulation. The methodology is prototyped with a watershed runoff simulation.

The Community Loss Index: A New Social Indicator

The Community Loss Index (CLI), a new social indicator, focuses on the understudied role of place as a source of stress and an aggregator of individual experiences. Building on the relationship between loss and stress, the index attempts to capture collective loss, defined as the chronic exposure by neighborhood residents to multiple resource losses at the same time. Using maps, the article analyzes the spatial distribution of six types of loss in New York City and the characteristics of people who live in high- and low-loss neighborhoods. Regionalization reveals a neighborhood-based concentration of loss, patterns of loss that are both widespread and variable by location, and that a group’s vulnerability to the adverse effects of community loss depends on where the group lives. The CLI provides a place-based context for investigating neighborhood-based collective loss and allows community members and public officials to fine-tune interventions based on actual community needs.

The Moving Target: A Geographic Index of Relative Wellbeing

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been widely used by health planners and professionals to map and describe disease occurrence, spread, and exposure. Increasingly, GIS is being used to measure accessibility to health services in order to better manage scarce resources and to ensure equity and accountability. We argue that health planners can use readily available census data to understand the demands and needs of particular population by identifying key indicators that have a direct or indirect impact on individual health and community well-being. We present an Index of Relative Wellbeing, a weighted basket of 10 key variables from the Census that can be used to describe the health status of a particular census area. Health planners can use this index within a GIS to conduct spatial and temporal analyses. Our research demonstrates that the spatial distribution of health inequalities can be carefully documented and be directly used in the policymaking arena.

Geo-Ontology Tools – the missing link

Numerous authors have presented ontology building tools that have all been developed as part of academic projects and that are usually adaptations of more generic tools for geo-spatial applications. While we trust that these tools do their job for the special purpose they have been built, the GIScience user community is still a long way away from off-the-shelf ontology builders that can be used by GIS project managers. In this article, we present a comparative study of ontology building tools described in some twenty peer-reviewed GIScience journal articles. We analyze them from the perspective of two application domains, crime analysis and transportation/land use. For the latter, we developed a database schema, which is substantially different from the three main templates commonly used. The crime analysis application uses a rule base for an agent-based model that had no precursor. In both cases, the currently available set of tools cannot replace manual coding of ontologies for use with ESRI-based application software. Based on these experiences, we outline a requirements list of what the tools described in the first part of the article are missing to make them practical from an applications perspective. The result is an R&D agenda for this important aspect of GIScience.

The geography of greenhouse gas emissions from within urban areas of India: a preliminary assessment

This paper examines the patterns of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from urban areas in India–a rapidly growing and urbanizing nation. It uses a new dataset, Emission Data for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR), to estimate the urban share of national GHG emissions. It presents a geographic picture of emission variation by urban form (urban population size, area size, density, and growth rate), and economic (GDP and GDP per capita), geographic (location of emissions released: 20, 40, and 80 km from urban areas), and biophysical (ecosystem and climate: cooling degree days) characteristics. Dependent variables include emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and hexafl uoride (SF6) from 14 source activities (agricultural soils, agricultural wastes, aviation, energy, fossil-fuel fi res, fugitive escapes from solids, industry, livestock, navigation, non-road transport, oil and gas production, residential, road transport, and waste) for the year 2000 that are allocated on a 0.1° global grid. We examine 721 urban areas with more than 50,000 residents (accounting for 92% of the total Indian urban population), present fi ndings, and compare our results with urban-level carbon footprint analyses. The results demonstrate that GHG emissions from urban areas in India are lower than that presented in the literature, and that differences in emissions levels vary with urban form, economic, geographic, and biophysical variables.

Ferry Parking and Landside Access Study: Implementing Public Outreach and Impact Assessment

Through federal regulations, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) are mandated to perform public outreach and impact assessment. Although there are some established parameters, the quality and effectiveness of public outreach efforts vary widely, and in many instances information dissemination becomes the central focus of public outreach efforts. However, information dissemination, although essential, is not as effective as a two-way process of public involvement in which members of the public may provide feedback to shape agency initiatives. Research conducted for the Ferry Parking and Landside Access Study is used to describe best practices in public outreach, focusing on socio-economic and community impact assessment. The landside access study represents a dedicated effort by the New York MPO to approach planning for waterborne services by using a comprehensive approach based on land use. With emphasis on land-use criteria, the focus is on people and impact, unlike the traditional demand analysis seen in past ferry studies. By acknowledging regulatory shortcomings and outlining a plan for implementing public outreach and impact assessment, success for consensus building is likely. Practitioners are encouraged to examine the effectiveness of their own public outreach and impact assessment methods.

Placemaking: Why Everything Is Local

We often understand planning as an activity for and by people with “space” being the object rather than the subject of planning. If we want to understand whom the plans are for, then we need to know who the people are. Eventually, this will involve actually talking to and planning with the people we are trying to serve. And ideally, we know the area and their residents well enough to not have to go through preliminary surveys. Data, in all its diversity and messiness, helps us from making the mistake of relying completely on our instincts. We deal with the myriads of ways we can get hold of the data that underlies every rational planning process. We juxtapose traditional (though sometimes altered in their character by the surprising variety of provenance) outsider perspectives like demographic profiles with various community-based techniques such as behavior maps, participant observation, sensor, perceptual mapping, or modern survey techniques. Regardless of how all this data is generated, it then needs to be critically assessed to be used in geographic information systems to eventually perform spatial analyses. We regard GIS and Geodesign as local techniques because this is where they show their strengths. We outline the opportunities afforded by these techniques but also provide cautionary notes on their constraints and reflect on the role of planners in a world where technically skilled but nonprofessional citizens are confounding officials with their data wizardry. By necessity, this overview is very high level, and we provide numerous suggestions for further reading at the end of this chapter.

Planning as Storytelling

Planning, in essence, is a set of future-oriented activities where individuals and groups organize their current understandings of their circumstances in order to be better prepared for the future. Whether we are aware of it or not, all of us plan constantly. Planning is not a set of activities that is related to one’s chronological age or activities that are restricted to the human species. We could say that planning is hardwired into our psyche. Yet, in the United States, there is considerable skepticism and wariness about the role of planning in/for the public realm; many people believe that planning infringes on individual property rights while others believe that planning creates new and onerous regulations that inhibit growth and development. In resource-poor communities, planning is viewed as an enterprise that only serves the interests of the wealthy and powerful. When elected officials engage in conversations about planning, they are often feted by some sections of the electorate while being simultaneously vilified by others. Our society’s ambivalence toward planning places limits the kinds of projects, programs, and policies that local governments can pursue.

Planning Challenges and the Challenges of Planning

In this chapter, we look at the multifaceted nature of planning in the public realm. The chapter presents a thumbnail sketch of planning history and identifies three major global trends: urbanization, changing sociodemographic characteristics, and climate change that affect every aspect of planning. These trends will manifest differently across geographic regions, and the chapter argues that planners must think critically about how their projects or programs may be impacted by these trends. For example, American planners must address sprawl, crumbling infrastructure, declining investments in public transportation, an aging population, diversity, environmental quality challenges, and consequences of climate change. In addition, planners must confront societal shifts such as the devaluation of their professional expertise, societal polarization, and lack of a commitment to civic obligations. The chapter then discusses the role that technologies have played in shaping and informing planning practices. The chapter concludes by drawing attention to the persistent challenges of social inequality and poverty that severely limits the potential of good planning. The chapter is the gateway to the discussion of our case studies in Chapter 3 and methods in Chapters 4 and 5.