Chapter 11: Environmental Geospatial Data and Geographic Information Systems

Questions
Exercises
Links

Summary
This ambitious chapter has addressed the important topic of information and data in environmental planning. For informed and knowledgeable planning decisions, the proper collection, analysis, and presentation of appropriate information is a critical and fundamental task. A planner’s role is to help decision makers, elected officials, the public, and other stakeholders make sense of the huge volume of potentially conflicting information.

For environmental issues relating to land use, spatial information is very important. Maps, aerial photos, and satellite images and data, increasingly available on the Internet, provide basic information. It is often important to complement this information with field data monitoring. The increasing availability of such information has helped planners assemble large amounts of data, but has made more difficult the planners’ task to pare down available information into that which is meaningful and appropriate. Analytical and display tools, like GIS, have enhanced the quality of intermediate and advanced assessment and especially the visualization of information that helps communicate key issues, relationships, and options to stakeholders.

Although often viewed as a technical planning activity involving mapping and remotely sensed data, field data gathering and analysis is enhanced by community involvement. The use of environmental and community indicators helps planners make sense of available information, focusing assessment linking information and community-determined goals. Many of the fundamentals discussed in this chapter will come to life in subsequent chapters on more focused elements of environmental land use planning.

Chapter 11 Discussion questions

1. The revolution in geospatial information has occurred because of the availability of affordable geographic information systems and digital data, especially satellite data. List and briefly explain three advances in satellite remote sensing that have improved its effectiveness for environmental land analysis and monitoring.

2. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are an increasingly important and affordable tool for environmental land planning. Consulting the chapters given in addition to chapter 11, comment on GIS can enhance the following environmental planning applications or approaches:
a. urban forestry (chapter 16):
b. watershed management (chapter 10):
c. environmental impact assessment (chapter 18):
d. build out analysis (chapter 18):
e. community participation (chapter 4):

3. Give two examples of environmental land information (e.g., wildlife habitat) that can be inventoried or analyzed from the following sources of spatial information:
a. Geologic map:
b. Aerial Photos:
c. Topographic Map:

Chapter 11 Exercises:

1. For your community, find and download from Internet sources, the following maps and geospatial information. Put these images in a PowerPoint presentation.
a. USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle topographic map (e.g., figure 11.6)
b. Digital Orthophoto Quarter Quad (DOQQ) photo (e.g., figure 11.10)
c. Landsat 7 land use land cover image
d. Maps from Internet mappers for Brownfields, Superfund sites, and Wetlands
e. Maps of natural hazards

2. Check out Visible Earth website (http://www.visibleearth.nasa.gov/), review the images and download your favorites into a PowerPoint presentation that illustrates the amazing visual products from Landsat, ASTER, and MODIS sensors.

3. As a group, develop a list of environmental indicators for your community or neighborhood. Describe a process for setting indicator goals or thresholds and measuring and monitoring the indicators.

4. If you would like to learn a few fundamentals of GIS and have access to ArcView 3.2 or 3.3, go to the following website and follow the instructions that guide you through several exercises: http://www.uap.vt.edu/classes/uap4374/question.html.