Introduction to Urban Mapping and Graphics

Catalog description

This course provides students with representational skills to illustrate key geographic and physical attributes as well as socio-economic conditions of urban environments that may further or impede sustainability. Lectures introduce students to census-based data sets that provide social statistics concerning urban populations. Maps and other sources for environmental urban data are explored for their utility in depicting urbanscapes. As students learn to source urban data, they also learn to appraise that data with concepts of bias, standpoint theory, and critical geography in mind. Through hands-on weekly exercises and assignments, students gain facility with geographic information systems (GIS) and digital software applications. They use these tools not only to create visual representations but also to analyze and evaluate urban conditions. During the last quarter of the semester, students generate their own analytical question(s) about a selected urban case study and employ the data sources with which they have become familiar to illustrate an evaluative framework for sustainability assessment.