Spatial Analysis and
Communicative GIS
Strategies in CDS
David Fiske, Grace Stainback
August 27th, 2015
Regional, spatial planning in the
Portland Metropolitan Area
“…the livability produced by this…is an important element of
the region’s economic strength. This is evidenced by the
growth in the key demographic of 25–34 year olds, especially
college educated. While this age group declined in the USA by
8% from 1990 to 2000, it grew by 12% in the Portland region
(Cortright, 2006). This labour force and talent is contributing
to the metropolitan area’s ability to compete in the global
economy, but continued in-migration will depend on the ability
of the region to continue to effectively serve its ‘brand’ as a
clean, green, liveable place.”
- Andrew Cotugno & Ethan Seltzer (2011) Towards a
Metropolitan Consciousness in the Portland Oregon
Metropolitan Area, International Planning Studies,
16:3, 289-304
Spatial Analysis
Showing the relationship
between planned
development/investment and
the surrounding setting.
For example, is the
development proposed close to
environmentally sensitive
areas, steep slopes, flood
prone areas?
GIS (Geographic Information
System) is the standard
analytical tool for performing
spatial analysis
Layered Land Use
“Layered Land Use”: all land functions in
social, economic and environmental ways.
Spatial analysis requires the combination
of multiple types of spatial data that
perform several functions relevant to a
CDS:
● identify patterns and changes over
time for development and
infrastructure
● make predictions for growth
● locate suitable development sites
● recognize environmental risks and
constraints
● situate your region in a larger
context
Recognizing how a city functions locally,
regionally and globally simultaneously is
important for sustainable development
planning.
Source: A Spatial Growth Strategy for Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh, Vietnam: EcoUrban Regional Planning, Colombia University 2010 Workshop
Land Suitability
Certain areas of the city are more
suitable for development than others
By avoiding preserved areas and riskprone areas, the city can help ensure
that development has a long-term focus
with a limited impact on the natural
environment.
Regional planning requires working
beyond the familiar political and
administrative boundaries of ward,
city, or province, and planning at the
scale of natural systems.
In order to minimize pressure on natural
systems while achieving social and
economic goals, it is important to
perform a land suitability analysis prior to
development.
Land Suitability
Environmental assessments should also
capture the important relationships
between cities and their surroundings. If
cities do not take into consideration
the impacts of urban production and
consumption
outside
the
city’s
boundaries (impacts on forests, rivers,
watersheds, biodiversity, coasts, climate
change), they will seriously deplete
the natural resources they depend on
and hinder future development. The
area covered by a CDS should also take
into
consideration
natural
resource
boundaries, such as watersheds and
coastal reef zones.
Past Flooding
2002-2009
Source: A Spatial Growth
Strategy for Quy Nhon,
Binh Dinh, Vietnam: EcoUrban Regional Planning,
Colombia University 2010
Workshop
Land Suitability
Source: A Spatial Growth
Strategy for Quy Nhon,
Binh Dinh, Vietnam: EcoUrban Regional Planning,
Colombia University 2010
Workshop
Land Suitability
● Dark = least suitable land
● Researchers utilized “layered land use”
method to identify environmental
preservation areas and risk-prone areas
to identify buildable land.
Some Factors:
●
●
●
●
Land inside the floodplain
Steep mountainsides
Agricultural areas
Proximity to protected habitat
Source: A Spatial Growth Strategy for Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh, Vietnam:
Eco-Urban Regional Planning, Colombia University 2010 Workshop
Recent study
analyzed the
relationship
between
urbanization and
other independent
variables
Some factors:
Topography
Slope of land
Distance to roads
Distance to rivers
and coastline
Land use types
Source: Coastal urban climate resilience
planning in Quy Nhon, Vietnam
Asian Cities Climate Resilience, Working Paper, 2015
Source: Coastal urban climate resilience
planning in Quy Nhon, Vietnam
Asian Cities Climate Resilience, Working Paper, 2015
Regional Land Information
System (RLIS)
Metro’s Data Resource
Center works with
regional partners to
collect and combine data
into a seamless dataset
for use in regional
decision-making.
More that 100 GIS data
layers to serve as spatial
data infrastructure for the
Portland Metropolitan
Area
Much of the data is
updated quarterly and
some files, more often
Community Mapping
Humans have always had spatial awareness
and used maps to understand their
surroundings
The average citizen can still be used as a
powerful source of spatial information today
Nippur, Babylonia, circa 1000 B.C.
Earliest known area map
drawn to scale
Quy Nhon, Vietnam, present
Community Mapping
The community as a primary data source for map-making,
spatial analysis, and problem-solving
Public participation + existing, accurate spatial data =
a powerful tool for localized analysis, planning and development
Goals of PPGIS:
Empowerment of marginalized populations
Current, accurate neighborhood-level data
Cooperative decision-making
Can be performed digitally (using a Web site and Google Maps) or
by hand and digitized later (using posters at events or in
community locations)
SuprMap: PPGIS application using Google Maps and a public survey to
create data for analysis, and files that can be imported into ArcGIS
Prioritize Portland (2015): PPGIS survey to aggregate data about Portland
residents’ transportation habits and concerns
Applications: Roadway infrastructure decisions, citywide transportation policy
Division Street Perceptions (2015):
PPGIS survey studying a quickly urbanizing area in Portland, to learn about public
use patterns and what kind of businesses would succeed in the neighborhood
Applications: Business plans, local economic development data, building codes
Community Mapping
Large maps and drawings
can be more effective than
digital mediums at events or
meetings, or when the
technology is not available.
Participant drawings can be
digitized later and used for
in-depth analysis, or
interpreted on their own to
illustrate themes and
community ideas.
PPGIS methods provide
more opportunities for a
CDS to meet community
engagement goals, and also
collects valuable data for
decision-making and
program implementation.
LAYERS:
Slope of the land
Erosion patterns
Groundwater pollution levels
Sprawl into natural areas
Planned roadway
LAYERS:
Habitat/biodiversity change
Climate change patterns
Flooding events
Water pollution levels
Infrastructure gaps
PPGIS for Quy Nhon: http://cds-quy-nhon.suprmap.org
Community Mapping Exercise
Environmental Issues OR Parks and
Open Space
Social AND Cultural Issues
Traffic AND Transportation Issues
Industrial AND Commercial Development