Examining Urban Planning Through GIS (Geographic Information Systems)-Based Computational Modeling

• In Event: Spatial and Geographic Analysis in Environmental Education Research

Abstract

Introduction & Objectives

All over the world, cities, towns and regions face complex yet important decisions about their future. As population changes, communities need to choose where and how to shape themselves. We have been providing opportunities for urban students in the United States to answer this question for their neighborhood through the adoption of parcels of land within their city that are scheduled for redevelopment. Students engage in an environmental action planning process in which they serve as scientists, urban planners, and sustainable experts for local community development corporations and make recommendations for how to re-develop unused or vacant property in their city. Our students use CommunityViz which is a geospatial urban planning software package that enables students to set up alternative futures (scenarios) and analyze the ecological and economic impacts of different design decisions on their neighborhood (see Figure 1 and Figure 2). Further, students utilizing CommunityViz can make interactive three-dimensional (3-D) models of real places (see Figure 3).

Theoretical Framework(s)

Our work is built upon the theory of pedagogical praxis that suggests that new technologies make it possible for students to participate in meaningful learning activities by serving as a bridge between professional practices and the needs of learners (Shaffer, 2004). This approach is particularly important in environmental and sustainability education because modern technological tools can serve as a bridge, or connector, between students’ connected world in which they are immersed and the natural and built environments.

Modes of Inquiry & Data Sources

In this poster we describe the design of our program and curriculum, the impact on student learning, their ability to design sustainable neighborhoods, and how the model is being scaled. We share case studies of subsets of students regarding how they designed and re-redesigned their neighborhoods and what was learned during this process.

Results

Consistent with the research base on designing scientific and technological interventions, we have found it crucial to design projects that engage students in investigating and solving environmental problems that are locally and socially relevant to their lives with the outcome of creating a plan of action to instigate change (Almquist et al., 2009; Barnett et al., in press; Barnett, MaKinster, Trautmann, Houle, & Mark, in press). However, what we have found that, rather than letting science emerge from the ground-up from a social and environmental justice problem, starting with the social and environmental justice problem and using scientific processes to solve the problem is far more engaging and motivating for students. Further, this approach has allowed students to better understand the connections between their lived world and the scientific world. Lastly, we have found that students are developing a much stronger sense of the needs of a place through visualization of a problem and by using GIS technology to view the problem holistically.

Scholarly Significance

Further, outside of the work of Beckett and Shaffer (2005) virtually no work exists on how engaging students in urban planning supports their interest and motivation to study science.

Authors

• Michael Barnett, Boston College

• Dennis J DeBay, Boston College

• Sheron L. Mark, Loyola Marymount University

• Amy Anderson, Placeways, LLC.