Intro: GIS for Sustainability

Welcome to GEOG20230 - Intro: GIS for Sustainability. This module will introduce you to the use and application of a Geographic Information System (GIS) which allows the acquisition, processing, analysis and visualisation of location-based data. With the increasing application of GIS in research and practice across a wide range of disciplines and sectors including the three pillars of sustainability and, as such, this technical skill is valuable, transferable and highly sought after. This module will particularly introduce you to the basics of GIS and its applications in sustainable development using mainly the ArcGIS Online (AGOL) software. Applying the problem-solving approach and hands-on practical sessions, you will be trained on the collection, visualization and analysis of sustainability-related geographic data with real-world working examples, and exercises focused on broad analytic themes that GIS is designed to handle. The lectures will initially focus on mapping and the main parts of a GIS. Later lectures and the assessments will be concerned with the tasks that GIS is designed to handle, i.e. digitisation, spatial analysis, data management. An aspect of the course, for which you will be assessed, is the integration of GIS work with broader analyses and writing skills to produce relevant and comprehensible reports. In the end, you will have technical skills and competencies in GIS which is highly desirable while your problem-solving, decision making, and academic writing skills will be sharpened.