Gis course syllabus ifg june 2011 new

Applied Spatial Analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Time: Location:

Instructors:

June 8‐10, 2011 Department of Border Region Studies, University of Southern Denmark, Alsion building, Sønderborg, Denmark Rooms: M304‐M307 (Red Box) Daniel Lewis (UCL) and Felix Weinhardt (LSE)

An Introduction for Economists and Policy Makers This 3‐day course in Spatial Analysis and GIS has been specially created in order best introduce Economists and policy makers to the value of integrating spatial approaches in research and analysis.

It is intended that the first day be an introduction to GIS in order to equip the participant with the basic prerequisites of mapping of data. The second and third day will develop some of the myriad uses of GIS and spatial analysis as they best apply to the participants. The course will proceed as follows:

Day 1: Getting to know GIS and spatial data.

The first day is a basic introduction that should allow participants to go away understanding what a GIS and how to make maps and query spatial data.

10.00 – 11.30 Lecture 1: Introduction to GIS In the morning we will establish what a GIS is and what spatial data is. We will discuss the basic prerequisites to using spatial data, particularly the representation of spatial phenomena as discrete objects, or as continuous fields. We will also give examples of where GIS has been used effectively in economic and public policy research, and why incorporating distance measures and analysis of spatial patterns are important.

12.30 – 14.00 Practical 1: Using a GIS for Query, Measurement and Data Management The first afternoon session introduces ESRI's ArcGIS software package and demonstrates its utility in querying a spatial dataset, in terms of both classic database‐style 'attribute' queries, and spatial 'topology' queries. Basic methods for measurement are discussed, and some basics for managing spatial data are established. This session finishes with the first hands on session in which participants will get to experience working with spatial data and making basic calculations.

14.30 – 16.00 Practical 2: Cartography 101 The last session of the first day will introduce the basics of making maps, discussing aspects of cartography such as layout, colour theory, classification and scale. We will stress the importance of appropriate representation and consider what this actually means in practice. The session, and day, finishes with the second hands on session in which participants will learn how to create maps and present spatial data.

Day 2: Spatial Analysis in GIS. The second day introduces some important concepts in spatial analysis using GIS. The first session deals with some vector based approaches, and the second some raster based analyses. The final

session allows for participants to conduct a straightforward hedonic analysis integrating spatial data from ArcGIS with the statistical STATA. 10.00 – 11.30 Lecture 2: Vector and raster based analyses in GIS The morning session will introduce some key concepts in performing statistical analyses in GIS: spatial autocorrelation, and the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP), both vector based concepts.

We will then introduce analysis using raster based methods, including density surface, interpolation of data and zonal statistics.

12.30 – 14.00 Practical 3: Vector and raster based analyses in GIS The third hands on session will follow up with practical demonstrations of these elements of GIS using open‐source data on London. These include: spatial join, calculate distances, point densities, buffering, zonal statistics, field calculations, and data management.

14.30 – 16.00 Practical 4: Hedonic Modelling in GIS and STATA The final session will give participants the chance to experience a small project integrating spatial measurement into a hedonic regression analysis, which includes getting online data into GIS. This basic example will illustrate the value of GIS to economists, as well as demonstrating a useful approach to manipulating spatial data and coupling outputs from GIS with statistical software.

Day 3: Some advanced topics in GIS This final day aims to give participants an insight into some of the more advanced functions of spatial analysis.

10.00 – 11.30 Lecture 3: Location based analyses The first afternoon session will consider service provision. Firstly in terms of defining optimal location through what is known as 'location‐allocation' and the p‐median problem, and secondly, through the Entropy Maximising Spatial Interaction Model, which allows hypothesis testing of service provision.

12.30 – 14.00 Lecture 4: Zone Design The final session of the workshop discusses zone design through the use of spatially constrained clustering, demonstrating how spatially contiguous building blocks can be aggregated into larger districts based on compositional attributes.

14.30 – 16.00 Practical 5: Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) This session introduces GWR, a local spatial regression technique that uses a kernel to integrate a distance decay function into the model. This method is much better at managing spatial heterogeneity than standard regression models. The final hands on session demonstrates the use of GWR within ArcGIS. Any remaining questions regarding the earlier hand on sessions will also be discussed.

This workshop is presented by: Daniel Lewis - Daniel studied for Bachelors in Geography at LSE and a Masters in GIS at UCL. His PhD work, which focuses on the spatial analysis of healthcare and healthcare services, is undertaken in affiliation with UCL Geography and the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) at UCL, with industrial support from Southwark Primary Care Trust. Daniel has been teaching GIS for three years.

Felix Weinhardt – Felix studied for a Bachelors and Masters in Geography and Urban Economics at LSE. His current PhD work focuses on applied microeconometric analysis of social interactions in neighbourhoods and schools. He also works as Research Assistant at the Spatial Economics Research Centre (SERC) at LSE. Felix holds the associate level Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education, a teaching qualification for UK universities, and has been teaching applied GIS for two years.

Practical issues: The course is free of charge and will be occupied on the basis of “first come-first serve” as there is a limit on the number of participants. Travel cost and accommodation is at the expense of the participants. Trail licenses of ArcGis will be available during the course and preinstalled on dedicated laptops for the course. The license will only be available during the course. Contact person and registration: Janne Øe Hobson, hobs@sam.sdu.dk. Sign up for the course no later than June 1, 2011.