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Geography 579

GIS and Spatial Analysis

Instructor:

Prof. Jim Burt and Prof. A-Xing Zhu

Brief Course Description:

This is an advanced course covering analytical methods used in GIS and spatial analysis. The course is intended to provide students with a firm understanding of the theoretical/conceptual side of algorithms found in GIS software. We are concerned with the assumptions and underlying mathematical basis for widely-used techniques, and the degree to which analytical capabilities are constrained by those assumptions.

Among the topics covered are methods for line generalization, map transformation, spatial interpolation, terrain analysis, network analysis, spatial overlay, and basic measurement operations. The emphasis is on the usefulness and limitations of competing algorithms, as opposed to optimal implementation.

Objectives:

1) To provide students with a proper understanding of the usefulness and the limitations of GIS analytical techniques with the hope that students will observe these limitations when using these GIS techniques.

2) To develop students' analytical ability so that they would naturally seek the limitations of GIS techniques which are new to them so that misuse or abuse of existing and new GIS analytical techniques can be avoided.

Prerequisites:

GEOG 377 or GEOG 360 or equivalents.

Course Syllabus (Fall, 2007):

(click here)

Lecture Materials:

(Only available at Learn@UW)

Lab Materials:

(Only available at Learn@UW)