Suzana Dragicevic

iCity: A GIS-CA modelling tool for urban planning and decision making

The objective of this study is to present a novel tool for predictive modelling of urban growth. The proposed tool, named iCity - Irregular City, extends the traditional formalization of cellular automata (CA) to include an irregular spatial structure, asynchronous urban growth, and a high spatio-temporal resolution to aid in spatial decision making for urban planning. The iCity software tool was developed as an embedded model within a common desktop geographic information system (GIS) with a user-friendly interface to control modelling operations for urban land-use change. This approach allows the model developer to focus on implementing model logic rather than developing an entire stand-alone modelling application. It also provides the model user with a familiar environment in which to run the model to simulate urban growth.

Assessing cellular automata model behaviour using a sensitivity analysis approach

Rapid advances in computer and geospatial technology have made it increasingly possible to design and develop urban models to efficiently simulate spatial growth patterns. An approach commonly used in geography and urban growth modelling is based on cellular automata theory and the GIS framework. However, the behaviour of cellular automaton (CA) models is affected by uncertainties arising from the interaction between model elements, structures, and the quality of data sources used as model input. The uncertainty of CA models has not been sufficiently addressed in the research literature. The objective of this study is to analyze the behaviour of a GIS-based CA urban growth model using sensitivity analysis (SA). The proposed SA approach has both qualitative and quantitative components. These components were operationalized using the cross-tabulation map, KAPPA index with coincidence matrices, and spatial metrics. The research focus was on the impacts of CA neighbourhood size and type on the model outcomes. A total of 432 simulations were generated and the results suggest that CA neighbourhood size and type configurations have a significant influence on the CA model output. This study provides insights about the limitations of CA model behaviour and contributes to enhancing existing spatial urban growth modelling procedures.

Collaborative geographic information systems

A Sample of Contents: Collaborative Geographic Information Systems: Origins, Boundaries and Structures Collaborative Geographic Information Systems and Science: A Transdisciplinary Evolution.

Modeling urban growth using a variable grid cellular automaton

Constrained cellular automata (CA) are frequently used for modeling land use change and urban growth. In these models land use dynamics are generated by a set of cell state transition rules that incorporate a neighborhood effect. Generally, neighborhoods are relatively small and therefore only a limited amount of spatial information is included. In this study a variable grid CA is implemented to allow incorporation of more spatial information in a computationally efficient way. This approach aggregates land uses at greater distances, in accordance with a hierarchical concept of space. More remote areas are aggregated into consecutively larger areas. Therefore the variable grid CA is capable of simulating regional as well as local dynamics at the same time. The variable grid CA is used here to model urban growth in the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) between 1996 and 2001. Calibration results are tested for goodness of fit at the cellular level by means of the kappa statistic and for land use patterns by means of cluster size analysis and radial analysis. Kappa results show that the model performs considerably better than a neutral allocation model. Cluster and radial analysis indicate that the model is capable of producing realistic urban growth patterns.

GIS-Based Multicriteria Evaluation and Fuzzy Sets to Identify Priority Sites for Marine Protection

There is an increasing momentum within the marine conservation community to develop representative networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) covering up to 30% of global marine habitats. However, marine conservation initiatives are perceived as uncoordinated at most levels of planning and decision-making. These initiatives also face the challenge of being in conflict with ongoing drives for sustained or increased resource extraction. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop large scale theoretical frameworks that explicitly address conflicting objectives that are embedded in the design and development of a global MPA network. Further, the frameworks must be able to guide the implementation of smaller scale initiatives within this global context. This research examines the applicability of an integrated spatial decision support framework based on geographic information systems (GIS), multicriteria evaluation (MCE) and fuzzy sets to objectively identify priority locations for future marine protection. MCE is a well-established optimisation method used extensively in land use resource allocation and decision support, and which has to date been underutilised in marine planning despite its potential to guide such efforts. The framework presented here was implemented in the Pacific Canadian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) using two conflicting objectives - biodiversity conservation and fisheries profit-maximisation. The results indicate that the GIS-based MCE framework supports the objective identification of priority locations for future marine protection. This is achieved by integrating multi-source spatial data, facilitating the simultaneous combination of multiple objectives, explicitly including stakeholder preferences in the decisions, and providing visualisation capabilities to better understand how global MPA networks might be developed under conditions of uncertainty and complexity.

A GIS-Based Irregular Cellular Automata Model of Land-Use Change

This study proposes an alternative cellular automata (CA) model, which relaxes the traditional CA regular square grid and synchronous growth, and is designed for representations of land-use change in rural-urban fringe settings. The model uses high-resolution spatial data in the form of irregularly sized and shaped land parcels, and incorporates synchronous and asynchronous development in order to model more realistically land-use change at the land parcel scale. The model allows urban planners and other stakeholders to evaluate how different subdivision designs will influence development under varying population growth rates and buyer preferences. A model prototype has been developed in a common desktop GIS and applied to a rapidly developing area of a midsized Canadian city.

The potential of Web-based GIS

and integrated tools for storing, manipulating, visualizing, and analyzing spatial data. As a new and emerging technology in the early 1970s, GIS had a profound influence on the capabilities of geographic analysis, and in retrospect marked a turning point in the reinforcement of geography as an explicitly spatial discipline. Also, at that time and on a parallel course, ArpaNet – the first established prototype of the Internet networking system, followed by an adoption of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in 1980s – was a force in the rapid development of Information Technology and Telecommunications (Comer 2000). The benefits of the implementation of the HyperText Markup Language (HTML), the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and the World Wide Web (henceforth referred to as Web) as one of the main application of the Internet in the early 1990s was beginning to be recognized in GIS research (Hardie, 1998). GIS are usually centralized and need knowledgeable users for effective operation. With Internet technology, GIS was now able to make its concepts more open, accessible, and mobile to everyone thereby facilitating notions such as democratization of spatial data, open accessibility, and effective dissemination. In 1993 the Xerox Corporation developed its Map Viewer as the first experimental tool for interactive spatial data exploration over the Web. In 1994, The Alexandria Digital Library Project funded by the US National Science Foundation established the first distributed library service for spatially referenced data. With a short history of only about 10 years, the integration of the Internet and GIS technology has produced an expanding area of research referred to as Web-based GIS, Internet GIS, On-line GIS, and Internet distributed GIServices. Early implementations were mainly dissemination of static maps, then interactive maps with pan-identify-zoom features, support for client/ server designs, and advanced cartographic and geo-visualization tools (Kraak and Brown 2001). Out of this progression, Internet-based GIS emerged and expanded to yield Internet distributed GIServices with the capabilities to interact with multiple and heterogeneous systems and servers that support more advanced GIS functions. The expansion of Internet-based J Geograph Syst (2004) 6:79–81 DOI: 10.1007/s10109-004-0133-4

A Web GIS collaborative framework to structure and manage distributed planning processes

Abstract.Rapidly changing planning contexts, new stakeholder demands, and intensified natural resource conflicts have resulted in questions about the adequacy of traditional resource planning. These questions include the lack of representation of some stakeholder groups (equity) and the inability to actively participate (access) in the planning stages due to the synchronous and place-based protocols of the process. A deficiency in equity and access reduces the wider acceptance of planning outcomes and on claims about democratic decision-making. In this study, the Web GIS Collaborative Spatial Delphi framework was designed to create a distributed, collaborative, and continual setting to address equity and access. Cognitive mapping, the Delphi procedure, and consensus approaches are the main components integrated to structure a shared virtual space for problem-solving and planning. Web mapping tools, priority ranking and rating, exploratory map analysis, and data visualizations provide analytical support. The framework is based on participant recommendations from summative evaluations of four planning workshops. The implications of the framework and future directions are discussed. This research is part of a wider program to design effective planning and decision-making tools on the Web.

A collaborative GIS method for integrating local and technical knowledge in establishing biodiversity conservation priorities

Methods for establishing biodiversity conservation priorities are urgently required, as the number of species and habitats that are threatened increases relative to the material resources available for their conservation. The identification of priority areas demands the integration of biophysical data on ecosystems together with social data on human pressures and planning opportunities. But comprehensive and reliable data are rarely available to demarcate where the need for action is most urgent and where the benefits of conservation strategies can be maximized. Strategic conservation initiatives cannot wait for the creation of comprehensive databases. In order to fill the missing data gaps, the combined knowledge of local and technical experts can be used. This study presents a collaborative geographic information system (GIS) method for integrating the knowledge of local and technical experts with existing spatial environmental data to establish priority areas for biodiversity conservation. Procedures for structuring and framing the discussions, establishing assessment criteria, integrating knowledge with data, and building consensus are incorporated into the method. The method provides a novel cooperative mechanism to aid spatial knowledge management and inclusive biodiversity planning.

A fuzzy set approach for modelling time in GIS

Abstract This paper describes an application of fuzzy set theory to perform temporal interpolation in a raster GIS database. Specific fuzzy membership functions have been derived to simulate spatial changes between consecutive snapshots registered in the database. The proposed approach is tested on a very dynamic rural-urban environment of Montreal Metropolitan area in Quebec, Canada, covering the period from 1956 to 1986 with a temporal resolution of ten years. A user friendly software package named FUZZY_TEMP was developed and integrated in the GRASS4.1 environment in order to perform the implementation of the developed concepts.