RYERSON UNIVERSITY
Department of Geography
GEO 141: GEOGRAPHY AND GIS
Instructor: Stephen Swales
Office: A612
Phone: 979-5000 ext. 6179
Fall 2007 sswales@ryerson.ca
Office Hours Posted
This is a Required Professional Course offered to students in the Geographic Analysis Program.
Students are required to use their Ryerson e-mail address. This address will be the only one used to communicate wit. It is your responsibility to check your Ryerson e-mail regularly.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course introduces the student to the fundamentals of Geography and Geographical
Information Systems (GIS). The value of the geographical perspective in addressing numerous societal problems is explored. GIS, as an integral tool of the Geographer, is introduced to the student with hands-on applications in a variety of areas, including public service, commercial enterprise and environmental analysis. In lectures, laboratory assignments and fieldwork, students become familiar with the practical utility of both the geographical perspective and the tool of GIS.
The course is organised around key geographical topics and concepts with GIS applications in each major topical area.
COURSE EVALUATION:
Labs, Assignments & Participation 60
TOPICS
1. Geography and Geography at Ryerson
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Geographical Perspectives
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Field Observations
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Reading landscapes
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Global tour, “Walk’about”
2. Resources for Geographical Study
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Learning to learn: the Internet
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Library Resources
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GIS Labs
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Geographical Data Sources o Primary and secondary data o Census geography

3. Tools for Geographical Study
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Maps
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GIS
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Spatial Associations
4. Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
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Points, Lines and Polygons
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Raster and Vector
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GIS Components
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GIS Functions
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Functions of GIS (Lab)
5. Spatial Analysis
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Geographical Patterns
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Distance Decay and Friction of Distance
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Intervening opportunities
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Gravity Models
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Mobility/the “death of distance”?
6. Urban Populations
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Population Composition o Socioeconomic o Demographic o Ethnic & Lifestyle
7. Environmental Analysis
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Sustainability, Pollution, Remediation
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Raster Mapping of Nickel Deposits (Lab)
8. Geography of Commercial Activities
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Supply and Demand
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Actual and Theoretical Trade Areas
9. Geography of Public Services
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Service Areas
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Equity and Efficiency
10. GIS in Spatial Analysis
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Buffering
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Overlay (selection)
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Spatial Joins

LABS
GIS Basics
Campus Safety
Learning to Learn: The Internet
PCB Remediation Strategies in MapInfo and ArcGIS
Census Geography (COGG)
Distance Decay (Lab)
Sources of University Students (Lab)
Basic Thematic Mapping (choropleth, dot density, graph, etc.)
Raster Mapping
Table Creation and Geocoding
Simple Raster Interpolation: Thiessen Polygon Service Areas
Buffering
Overlay (Theme-on-theme)
TEXT AND OTHER READINGS
Textbook:
Heywood, I., S. Cornelius and S. Carver (3 rd
ed) An Introduction to Geographical Information
Systems , (Harlow, Essex: Longman 2006)
Abler, Ronald; Adams, John S.; and Gould, Peter. Spatial Organization: The Geographer's View of the World
(Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1971)
Birkin, M, G. Clarke, M. Clarke and A. Wilson, Intelligent GIS , (GeoInformation International/Wiley 1996)
Bourne, Larry S. and Ley, David F. (eds.) The Changing Social Geography of Canadian Cities (Montreal and
Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1993)
Bunting, Trudi and Filion, Pierre (eds.) Canadian Cities in Transition 2 nd
ed. (Toronto: Oxford, 2000)
Cadwallader, Martin., Analytical Urban Geography , (New York: Prentice Hall, 1993)
Chang, K.T., Geographic Information Systems, ( New York: McGraw Hill, 2004)
Chrisman, Nicholas Exploring Geographic Information Systems , 2 nd
ed.(New York: Wiley, 2002)
Clarke, Keith C. Getting Started in Geographic Information Systems , 3rd ed. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001)
Clarke, G. and Stillwell, J. Applied GIS and Spatial Analysis (Wiley, London 2003).
Cloke, Paul, Crang, P. and Goodwin, Mark (eds.) Introducing Human Geographies (London: Arnold, 1999)
Delaney, Julie Geographical Information Systems: An Introduction (South Melbourne: Oxford, 1999)
Draper, Diane Our Environment: A Canadian Perspective 2 nd
ed. (Scarborough, Ont,: ITP Nelson, 2002)
Flowerdew, Robin and Martin, David (eds.) Methods in Human Geography: A Guide for Students Doing a
Research Project , (Harlow, Essex: Longman, 1997)
Freedman, Bill Environmental Science: A Canadian Perspective , 2 nd
ed. (Toronto: Prentice Hall, 2001)

Haggett, Peter Geography: A Global Synthesis (Harlow, Essex: Prentice Hall, 2001)
Hartshorn, Truman A. Interpreting the City: An Urban Geography , 2nd. ed. (New York: Wiley & Sons, 1992)
Harvey, David Explanation in Geography (London: Edward Arnold, 1969)
Hay, Iain Communicating in Geography and the Environmental Sciences (South Melbourne: Oxford, 2000)
Heywood, Ian, Cornelius, Sarah and Carver, Steve An Introduction to Geographical Information Systems ,
(Harlow: Longman, 2002)
Hoggart, Keith, Lees, Loretta and Davies, Anna Researching Human Geography (London: Arnold, 2002)
Jones, Ken and Simmons, Jim. Location, Location, Location: Analyzing the Retail Environment , 2nd. ed.
(Toronto: Nelson, 1993)
Kitchin, Rob and Tate, Nicholas J. Conducting Research into Human Geography: Theory, Methodology and
Practice (Harlow, Essex: Prentice Hall, 2000)
Kneale, Pauline E. Study Skills for Geography Students: A Practical Guide (London: Arnold, 2003)
Kuby, Michael, Harner, John and Gober, Patricia Human Geography in Action 2 nd
ed. (New York: Wiley, 2002)
Knox, Paul, Sallie Marston and Alan Nash Human Geography (Toronto: Pearson, 2004)
Knox, Paul. and Steven Pinch, Urban Social Geography ( Harlow, Essex: Pearson, 2000)
Limb, Melanie, and Dwyer, Claire Qualitative Methodologies for Geographers (London: Arnold, 2001)
Longley, P. A., M .F. Goodchild, D. J. Maguire and D. W. Rhind Geographic Information Systems and Science ,
(Chichester: Wiley, 2001)
Lounsbury, John F. and Aldrich, Frank T. Introduction to Geographic Field Methods and Techniques
(Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill, 1986)
Martin, D, “Geographical Information Systems and Spatial Analysis”, in R. Flowerdew and D. Martin (eds.)
Methods in Human Geography: A guide for students doing a research project . (Harlow: Longman 1998)
Northey, M. and Knight, D. B., Making Sense in Geography and Environmental Studies: A Student's Guide to
Research, Writing and Style 2 nd
ed. (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2001)
Norton, William, Human Geography (Toronto: Oxford, 2004)
Royal Commission on the Future of the Toronto Waterfront. Regeneration: Toronto's Waterfront and the
Sustainable City: Final Report [David Crombie, Commissioner] (Ottawa and Toronto: Minister of Supply and
Services Canada and Queen's Printer for Ontario, 1992)
Stoddard, Robert H. Field Techniques and Research Methods in Geography (Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall Hunt,
1982)
Swales, Stephen (ed.), Marketing Geography (Toronto: Pearson, 2004)
Yeates, Maurice. The North American City , 5th ed. (New York: Longman, 1998)