Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Conferences
URISA’s 46th Annual Conference &
Exposition
October 7–10, 2008 — New Orleans, LA
w w w. u r i s a . o r g
Contents
Refereed
Plus
EDITORIAL OFFICE: Urban and Regional Information Systems Association, 1460 Renaissance Drive, Suite 305, Park Ridge, Illinois 60068-1348;
Voice (847) 824-6300; Fax (847) 824-6363; E-mail info@urisa.org.
SUBMISSIONS: This publication accepts from authors an exclusive right of first publication to their article plus an accompanying grant of non-
exclusive full rights. The publisher requires that full credit for first publication in the URISA Journal is provided in any subsequent electronic or
print publications. For more information, the “Manuscript Submission Guidelines for Refereed Articles” is available on our website, www.urisa.
org, or by calling (847) 824-6300.
SUBSCRIPTION AND ADVERTISING: All correspondence about advertising, subscriptions, and URISA memberships should be directed to:
Urban and Regional Information Systems Association, 1460 Renaissance Dr., Suite 305, Park Ridge, Illinois, 60068-1348; Voice (847) 824-6300;
Fax (847) 824-6363; E-mail info@urisa.org.
URISA Journal is published two times a year by the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association.
© 2008 by the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal
or personal use of specific clients, is granted by permission of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association.
Educational programs planned and presented by URISA provide attendees with relevant and rewarding continuing education experience. However,
neither the content (whether written or oral) of any course, seminar, or other presentation, nor the use of a specific product in conjunction there-
with, nor the exhibition of any materials by any party coincident with the educational event, should be construed as indicating endorsement or
approval of the views presented, the products used, or the materials exhibited by URISA, or by its committees, Special Interest Groups, Chapters,
or other commissions.
SUBSCRIPTION RATE: One year: $295 business, libraries, government agencies, and public institutions. Individuals interested in subscriptions
should contact URISA for membership information.
US ISSN 1045-8077
Abstract: High-quality three-dimensional building databases are essential inputs for urban area geographic information systems.
Because manual generation of these databases is extremely costly and time-consuming, the development of automated algorithms
is greatly needed. This article presents a new algorithm to automatically extract accurate and reliable three-dimensional build-
ing information. High overlapping aerial images are used as input to the algorithm. Radiometric and geometric properties of
buildings are utilized to distinguish building roof regions in the images. This is accomplished with image segmentation and
neural network techniques. A rule-based system is employed to extract the vertices of the roof polygons in all images. Photogram-
metric mathematical models are used to generate the roof topology and compute the three-dimensional coordinates of the roof
vertices. The algorithm is tested on 30 buildings in a complex urban scene. Results showed that 95 percent of the building roofs
are extracted correctly. The root-mean-square error for the extracted building vertices is 0.35 meter using 1:4000 scale aerial
photographs scanned at 30 microns.
Introduction objects. Each model has several pose and shape parameters. The
parameters are estimated by fitting the model to the images using
Three-dimension building information is required for a variety least-squares adjustment. The algorithm is limited to parametric
of applications, such as urban planning, mobile communication, models only. In Shmid and Zisserman (2000), lines are extracted
visual simulation, visualization, and cartography. Automatic in the images and matched over multiple views in a pair-wise
generation of this information is one of the most challenging mode. Each line then is assigned two planes, one plane on each
problems in photogrammetry, image understanding, computer side. The planes are rotated, and the best-fitting plane is found.
vision, and GIS communities. Current automated algorithms Planes then are intersected to find the intersection lines.
have shown some progress in this area. However, some deficien- Henricsson et al. (1996) presented another system to extract
cies still remain in these algorithms. This is particularly apparent suburban roofs from aerial images by combining two-dimensional
in comparison to manual extraction techniques, which, although edge information together with photometric and chromatic
slow, are essentially perfect in accuracy and completeness. attributes. Edges are extracted in the images and aggregated to
Recent research covers extracting building information from form coherent contour line segments. Photometric and chromatic
high-resolution satellite imageries, high-quality digital elevation contour attributes for adjacent regions around each contour are
models (DEMs), and aerial images. For example, QuickBird and assigned to it. For each contour, attributes are computed-based
IKONOS high-resolution satellite imageries are used to acquire on the luminance, color, proximity, and orientation, and saved
planemetric building information with one-meter horizontal ac- for the next step. Contour segments then are matched using their
curacy (Theng 2006, Lee et al. 2003). However, aerial images are attributes. Segments in three dimension are grouped and merged
the primary source used to acquire accurate and reliable geospatial according to an initial set of plane hypotheses.
information. Lin and Nevatia (1998) proposed an algorithm to Fischer et al. (1997) extracted three-dimensional buildings
extract building wireframes from a single image. However, a from aerial images using a generic modeling approach that depends
single image does not provide any depth information. A pair of on combining building parts. The process starts by extracting
stereo images could also be used to extract building information low-level image features: points, lines, regions, and their mutual
(Avrahami et al. 2004, Chein and Hsu 2000). Using one pair relations. These features are used to generate three-dimensinal
of images is insufficient to extract the entire building because of building part hypotheses in a bottom-up process. A step-wise
hidden features that are not projected into the image pair. model-driven aggregation process combines the three-dimensional
Kim et al. (2001) presented a model-based approach to building feature aggregates to three-dimensional parameterized
generate buildings from multiple images. Three-dimensional building parts and then to a more complex building descriptor.
rooftop hypotheses are generated using three-dimensional roof The resulting complex three-dimensional building hypothesis
boundaries and corners extracted from multiple images. The gen- then is back-projected to the images to allow component-based
erated hypotheses then are employed to extract buildings using an hypothesis verification.
expandable Bayesian network. Wang and Tseng (2004) proposed A semiautomated approach is used in Förstner (1999) to
a semiautomatic approach to extract buildings from multiple solve the building-extraction problem. First, the user has to define
views. They proposed an abstract floating model to represent real the building model and find the building elements in one image
(a) (b)
Figure 2. Split-and-merge segmentation results for the images of five buildings: (a) original images, (b) final regions
(a) (b)
Figure 4. DEM (a) and DSM (b) for an area with several buildings, same vertical scale
space then is searched and analyzed to determine a measure for repeated iteratively until the DSM is extracted. The differences
border linearity. Border linearity is measured as the percentage of between the DEM and the DSM then are computed and used to
the number of points in the larger four cells to the total number of represent height information. The use of the height information
border points. Figure 3 shows a parameter space for a roof region in preference to the elevations makes the algorithm applicable for
and another parameter space for a nonroof region. both flat and slope terrains. Figure 4 shows the DEM and DSM
A digital elevation model (DEM) is used to quantify the of an area with several buildings.
height of each region. First, the digital surface model (DSM), Each point in the image then is assigned a height value by
i.e., representing bare ground, is extracted. Minimum filters are projecting the differences between the DEM and the DSM back
used to perform this task (Masaharu and Ohtsubo 2002, Wack to the image using the image registration information, the pixel
and Wimmer 2002). The filtering process detects and conse- location in the image, and the DEM elevation. For each image
quently removes points above the ground surface to recognize point a ray is generated, starting from the exposure station of the
high points in the data set. The minimum filter size should be camera and directed toward the point. The intersection between
large enough to include data points that are not noise. However, the ray and the DEM defines the location of the corresponding
iterative approaches could be used to avoid the effect of noise. DEM post. The height information at this location then is used
In this research, the size of the filter is 9x9 pixels. The filtering is as the height of the corresponding image point. The region height
Three-Dimensional Polygon
Extraction
Polygon Correspondence
After extracting the building roof polygons from the images, poly-
gon correspondence should be established. A new technique to
Figure 5. The implemented neural network find corresponding polygons based on their geometrical properties
(a) (b)
Figure 6. The detection rate (a) and the false alarm rate (b)
Abstract: In this paper, we present a hybrid approach, robust principal component geographically weighted regression (RP-
CGWR), in examining urbanization as a function of both extant urban land use and the effect of social and environmental
factors in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area (TCMA) of Minnesota. We used remotely sensed data to treat urbanization via
the proxy of impervious surface. We then integrated two different methods, robust principal component analysis (RPCA) and
geographically weighted regression (GWR) to create an innovative approach to model urbanization. The RPCGWR results show
significant spatial heterogeneity in the relationships between proportion of impervious surface and the explanatory factors in
the TCMA. We link this heterogeneity to the “sprawling” nature of urban land use that has moved outward from the core Twin
Cities through to their suburbs and exurbs.
Keywords: Land use, urbanization, robust principal component principal component geographically weighted regression
analysis, geographically weighted regression (RPCGWR)—to examine both the location of urban land use
and the relative influence of socioeconomic, demographic, policy,
Introduction and environmental factors. We integrate two different methods,
We have long altered the land by clearing forests, farming, and robust principal component analysis (RPCA) and geographically
building settlements. This land change has serious social and weighted regression (GWR) to create a novel alternative to stan-
environmental impacts, many of which are increasingly evident dard statistical approaches. First, to reduce the dimensions and
in urban areas that now host the majority of the world’s popula- number of primary regressors, we applied principal component
tion. In the United States, urbanization is driven primarily by analysis (PCA) to the explanatory variables. To account for the
suburbanization or decentralized, low-density residential land influence of outliers in standard PCA, we conducted a robust
use, and creation of far-flung suburbs or exurbanization. While principal component analysis (RPCA) by employing a projection
suburbanization offers important benefits such as affordable pursuit approach. Second, to capture spatial heterogeneity in the
housing, it also has negative impacts on systems ranging from urban landscape, we conducted GWR on the robust principal
transportation to natural habitat to infrastructure efficiencies to components (RPCs). We compared the results of the RPCGWR
inner-city economies (Burchell et al. 1998, Daniels 1999, EPA with a standard global principal component regression (RPCGR)
2001). and used a series of visual and statistical comparisons to better
The magnitude and nature of urbanization impacts are tied understand how RPCGWR lends insight into the complex dy-
not only to the amount of land converted to urban use but also namics of urban land use.
to its spatial configuration and pattern (IGBP-IHDP 1995).
Dispersed urbanization, for example, creates infrastructure inef- Study Area and Background
ficiency by spreading out roads or sewer networks. Despite the Urbanization has profound implications for the environmental
importance of spatial patterning in determining impacts of urban- and socioeconomic sustainability of communities such as the Twin
ization, a good deal of urban research focuses on aggregate mea- Cities Metropolitan Area (TCMA) of Minnesota (see Figure 1).
sures such as commute time or population density (Galster et al. This 7,700 km2 seven-county area is the economic hub of a mul-
2001). Though this synoptic view is a critical avenue for research, tistate region. Home to 2.8 million people, it is forecasted to top
it may not capture the temporal and fine-scaled spatial patterns 3.5 million by 2020. It is also a major center of sprawl, the rapid
and processes of urbanization (Hasse and Lathrop 2003). expansion of low-density suburbs into formerly rural areas and the
A variety of approaches meet the need to examine and creation of urban, suburban, and exurb agglomerations buffered
model land use at fine spatial scales, and to these we add a new from others by undeveloped land. The metropolitan region also
one. Methodologies range from simple mathematical formulas has seen a marked increase in sprawl and associated aspects such
and gravity models to sophisticated spatiotemporal simulations as traffic congestion (CEE 1999, Schrank and Lomax 2004).
(Kaimowitz and Angelsen 1998, Lambin 1994, Parker et al. The TCMA is an ideal setting for examining land use. The
2003). In this paper, we present a hybrid approach—robust region exemplifies the spatial and temporal dynamics of urban-
Figure 2. Schematic diagram showing methodological framework Figure 3. Scree plot for RPCA on TCMA variables
Abstract: The United States has several laws that restrict the movement of registered sex offenders. The majority of these laws
are spatial in nature. However, only a few studies have investigated the use of spatial technology (geographic information system)
to analyze the implications of these laws. This study uses GIS to map and identify the offenders who violate the laws policed by
federal agencies. Also, the perceived risk because of the sex offenders’ existence in the community is mapped to assist law-enforcement
agencies identify the potential suspects when sex crimes are reported. Spatial analysis revealed that more than 50 percent of the
offenders resided within the restriction distance of the places where children congregate. Immediate and lateral risk zones were
created around each offender to measure the risk each offender brings to the community in which he or she resides. Finally, this
study proposes the use of spatial technology to communicate sex-related crimes to increase the awareness of communities at risk
of sex-crime victimization.
Introduction their community. This notification system exists in all the states,
Several studies in the past decade have analyzed sexual abuse and makes it mandatory for the offenders to inform the respec-
on males and females under the age of 18 in the United States tive state authorities about their movements anywhere in the
(Tjaden and Thoennes 1998, Greenfield 1997). Finkelhor United States. This information then is made public to notify
(1994) informed that one in five females and one in seven males the communities of the offenders’ details. The Jacob Wetterling
are sexually abused by the age of 18. The fear, both personal act sets minimum standards by federal administration for states.
and altruistic, of becoming a victim of sexual abuse consciously Individual states, on the other hand, can impose more stringent
or semiconsciously exists in the community. This fear has been requirements on the offenders. In Texas, the Code of Criminal
rekindled even more with the recent unfortunate events of sex- Procedure, SB1054, Article 42.12, Section 13B (Texas Legislature
related crimes throughout the nation. Online, 78th Legislature) mandates the Child Safety Zone (CSZ)
In an attempt to redeem neighborhoods of these mishaps, for the state of Texas to be “within 1,000 feet of premises such
law-enforcement agencies have regulated various sex offender as school, day-care facility, playground, public or private youth
restriction statutes that can help manage the risk posed by sex center, public swimming pool, or video arcade facility, places
offenders. While numerous statutes have been in place for about where children generally gather.” Currently, the state of Texas
four decades now, the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children stipulates anywhere from 200 feet to 1,000 feet for this zone,
and Sexually Violent Offenders Registration Program1 (42 U.S.C. which follows the drug-free zone restrictions used in the state.
14071 et seq.) of 1994 reshaped the way law enforcers managed This study investigates the locations of sex offenders’ residences
Registered Sex Offenders (RSOs) in the United States. This law with respect to the CSZ using a standard 1,000-foot buffer (as
required convicted sex offenders to register and notify their law mandated by the Texas legislature and currently under discussion
administrators of their movement. Information about offenders in the legislature2) around the child facilities on proximity to an
such as each offender’s name, age, gender, height, weight, race, RSO, area of risk owing to the RSO presence, and how such
and details of the offense are provided to the state authorities such information can be communicated to the general public.
as the State Department of Public Safety. The movement of RSOs within and between different states
After the death of Megan Kanka at the hands of a convicted with varying restriction laws makes it difficult for the offenders
sex offender living across the street in New Jersey, President and the supervising authorities to exactly determine the distance
Clinton signed an amendment to this law, requiring all states to between the residences of the offenders and the CSZ. However,
make the information about pedophiles and rapists available to current trends in modern technology such as using a geographic
the general public (Beck and Travis 2004, Engeler 2005). When information system (GIS) have made it feasible to closely super-
this law was signed in May of 1996, the local citizenry was and vise the mobility restrictions of the registered sex offenders. GIS
continues to be informed of the whereabouts of sex offenders in 2. The existing Texas legislature requires a distance of 1,000 feet.
1. Details of the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and However, the Board of Pardon and the judiciary system can decide
Sexually Violent Offenders Registration Program can be obtained this distance case by case. However, Martha Wong, Texas state
at the Cornell University Law School U.S. Code collection representative, has moved for an amendment that mandates that all
at http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode42/usc_ offenders be subjected to a 1,000-foot distance throughout the state
sec_42_00014071----000-.html. of Texas. Details regarding the House Bill 1828 can be found on the
Texas legislature Website at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/.
parks, and day-care centers in Bryan/College Station was not December 2004. Although the large increase in access to this
in adherence with the state restriction of 1,000 feet in Texas. Website can be attributed to the press release, the monitoring and
Although this percentage may vary with continuous moving in assessment of total number of hits on the Website in future can
or out of the offenders in Brazos County, the findings at this show if the individuals of the community accessed the Website
snapshot of time reveal that a high percentage of these offenders to constantly update themselves. Such assessment can indicate
reside within the CSZ. increased communication of sex crime–related information
through the Web-based GIS service. Except for December 2004
Locating Known Offenders (holiday season), there was an increase in access to the Bryan
The zones were classified based on the risk level and proximity, County Website in May of 2005 when the Web-based service
according to the following six divisions: (i) Low Immediate Risk was launched.
Zones, (ii) Low Lateral Risk Zones, (iii) Moderate Immediate
Risk Zones, (iv) Moderate Lateral Risk Zones, (v) High Immedi- Discussion
ate Risk Zones, and (vi) High Lateral Risk Zones (see Figure 3). Sex-crime analysis, like any other crime analysis, is associated with
These zones may or may not overlap for two or more offenders the notion of place with a geographical location. Occurrence of
based on the distance between each other. Using GIS, the loca- crime has a spatial dimension that has been explored since the
tion where the child was reported missing can be georeferenced. 1970s (Chainey and Ratcliffe 2005). Using GIS to analyze the
Upon identifying that location, a list of registered sex offenders sex-crime occurrence now is advocated more than ever (Grubesic,
who lie within the immediate risk zone and lateral risk zone can Mack, and Murray 2007). Thus, it is important to use spatial
be generated for the purpose of investigation. technology efficiently to analyze the occurrence of crime and as
This risk-level analysis provides a platform from where the a communication tool to disseminate sex crime–related informa-
authorities can identify the registered offender residing in the tion. This study used GIS to analyze the location of sex offenders
closest proximity of a reported victim, or provide some indication within the CSZ. Enforcement of a 1,000-foot buffer for CSZ
as to where to direct the investigations after a victim is reported would result in a high percentage of offenders being in violation
missing. of the law and require relocation by the authorities to avoid hav-
ing them in close proximity to children. However, irrespective
Community Notification of where the offenders reside, they bring some amount of risk to
The press release of the new Web-based GIS service was an- the community. GIS can help map that risk using existing law
nounced on May 5, 2005. Access to this Website was monitored as a framework to help locate potential offenders in proximity
and automatically recorded to measure the number and sources to the location where a sex crime was committed. Advancement
of hits (see Figure 4). The hits on the city of Bryan RSO Website in spatial technology allows dissemination of sex crime–related
shared about 50 percent of all the hits on the city of Bryan Website information to individuals of the community to increase their
immediately after the press release of the new Web-based tool. awareness about existing offenders in the neighborhood.
Also, May of 2005 reported three times the total hits (67,777) The high percentage (more than 55 percent) of violators liv-
compared to all other months except the holiday month of ing in the CSZ can be a concern for the local community. It has to
be noted that this high percentage was due to the fact that these
Conclusion
This study investigated the use of spatial technology to map and
communicate sex crime–related information. GIS was used to
map the locations of places where children congregate, such as
parks, schools, and day-care centers, and the residences of regis-
tered sex offenders in Brazos County, Texas. Based on the locations
Summary by Month
Daily Average Monthly Totals
Month
Hits Files Pages Visits Sites KBytes Visits Pages Files Hits
May 2005 67777 47263 15354 459 4939 14997006 8739 291740 898001 1287773
Apr 2005 24242 15410 5354 213 3219 11878090 6410 160623 462325 727261
Mar 2005 23776 14236 6270 226 3495 9754452 7033 194376 441340 737066
Feb 2005 22161 13352 5563 262 3456 10149913 7362 155774 373879 620522
Jan 2005 21700 13195 5621 356 4625 9163086 11064 174271 409075 672723
Dec 2004 58305 23736 27928 957 16659 18585619 29684 865796 735838 1807461
Nov 2004 15938 10612 3633 146 1814 6621826 4399 109006 318375 478166
Oct 2004 16401 11292 3709 144 2001 6963752 4478 114988 350074 508444
Sep 2004 15797 11035 3564 127 2062 7617430 3816 106937 331051 473912
Aug 2004 15989 10820 3642 127 1926 42513587 3942 112922 335437 495687
Jul 2004 15598 10979 3533 135 1866 7155400 4209 109529 340363 483545
Jun 2004 14743 10325 3455 120 1845 6884369 3623 103675 309772 442290
Figure 4. Chart and table of total number of hits to access the sex offender Web service
Abstract: Nowadays, large transportation household surveys cannot be conducted without the help of powerful management
and support tools, and the information technologies are useful for preparing, conducting, and postanalyzing such surveys. In the
Greater Montreal Area (GMA), the 2003 household survey followed the general methodology that has been developed over the
past 20 years to integrate the finest software, databases, and methods. The tools making up the household survey information
system (HSIS) are based on the totally disaggregate approach and its object-oriented extension. This paper presents the background
and the fundamentals of the Montreal 2003 survey information system, and describes the way in which it has been assembled,
illustrating the functional and technical architectures that were used. It also emphasizes the transposition of the method to other
transportation survey activities and planning tools. The final discussion stresses the “winning” elements involved in conducting
a modern transportation household survey successfully.
Introduction Methods for Transport planning. With the advent of new tech-
Large household surveys always have presented a methodological nologies, combining spatial information systems and computa-
challenge for transportation planners and authorities. Conduct- tion capacities, travel surveys have become an integral part of the
ing a survey of more than 70,000 households is not a simple task continuing transportation planning process and assist many types
because of the sample size and the complexity of the survey itself. of transportation studies.
Every planner knows that transportation data are strongly related In the Transportation Research Board Millennium Paper of
to the spatial elements of a territory and to the transportation the Committee on Travel Surveys Methods, Griffiths et al. (2000)
network (roads and public transit), and that the survey tool must identify future directions for travel survey methods:
take these specificities into account. Today, even though intelligent • The improvement of the quality standards of travel surveys
transportation systems (ITSs) have provided new ways to collect through full and honest documentation of the survey process.
data, large transportation surveys still are needed. Data collected The need to document all stages of the survey process also
from these operations now are well integrated in the fields of appears as the most overriding conclusion of a conference
transportation planning, finance, and management. held in 1997 on raising the standards of travel surveys
This paper presents the information technologies that were (Richardson 2002).
used for the 2003 Greater Montreal Area Household Survey • The use of mixed-mode survey designs to meet the data
(Quebec, Canada). It also emphasizes the technological back- needs of the surveyor in ways that create the least burden
ground and architectures that were required to yield the best and the greatest flexibility for the respondents. The concept
results possible from the survey. Following a recounting of the of common cognitive space between an interviewer and a
history of the household survey in the Montreal area, the totally respondent was outlined by Brög (2000). The purpose of
disaggregate approach and transportation object-oriented model- survey tools is to maximize this common space to facilitate
ing, two key elements that helped support and develop the 2003 the exchange of information between the two agents and to
tools, are presented in the background section. The third part of lessen the respondent burden.
the paper, “Survey Information System Framework,” describes • A move toward a more continuous survey to provide more
the methodology that was used to prepare and synchronize the timely data in an economical manner, which also would
various software programs and databases. The “Implementation” develop and preserve technical and managerial skills in the
section is aimed at demonstrating the functions of the software conduct of complex surveys.
that was used for the survey. The conclusion reports some findings • The judicious use of new technologies to augment existing
on the 2003 experience in Montreal. survey techniques.
Zoning sys- 1,192 zones 1,264 zones 1,496 zones 70,000 PC 30,000 TG44,600 TG 77,800 TG
tem/ Geocodes 70,000 PC100,000 AR 160,000 AR
9,000 SN 89,000 PC 119,000 PC
40,000 IN34,000 SN 40,200 SN
191,000 IN 201,000 IN
AR: Address ranges, IN: Intersections, PC: Postal codes, SN: Street names, TG: Trip generators
to store and process data on households, people, and trips. Set- Transportation Object-Oriented Modeling
ting aside its many features and special functionalities, the TDA Transportation object-oriented modeling (TOOM) is based on
is briefly defined here by its two essential elements: the use of transportation objects, which are special components
• Individual trip data processing throughout the transportation intended for the modeling, observation, planning, and analysis
analysis process, maintaining all trip characteristics (time, of a transportation system. For this purpose, these objects have a
purpose, modes, itinerary) with their associated person and variable state in time and space, and are characterized by special
household; properties and methods. A road link object, for example, has
• Use of X-Y coordinates, monuments, and place declarations common road properties (length, name, number), but also can
as the basic spatially referenced system for origin, destination, have time-varying properties (such as pavement condition).
residential, and intermodal junction locations for each trip Four metaclasses of transportation objects are involved in
and other spatialized objects in the system. dynamic and spatialized relations:
• Immobile (static) objects have fixed locations in time and
In terms of data completeness, the TDA does not use an space. Their roles are to describe the territory and serve as
origin-destination matrix, which would aggregate and dissolve transportation movement beacons. Some examples are the
information, but rather maintains origin-destination survey trip trip generator, postal code, census tract, and zone objects.
files containing information on trips, people, and households • Dynamic objects are the transportation actors. These objects
intact. The use of the most fully defined information improves “decide” and contribute to their movements. They represent a
the level of resolution of the system, while at the same time group of persons (household, person), a moving object (bus,
preserving any possible aggregation. As reported by O’Donnell car), or even moved objects (goods).
and Smith David (2000), possibilities are widened because the • Kinetic objects are the movement describers. Some examples
number of dimensions distinguished by the information system are the trip, transit link (simple kinetics), or the path and
is increased. The use of special analysis modules, combined with transit route (compound kinetics) objects.
the presence of an underlying GIS, provides useful tools to the • System objects are groups of embedded objects, with their
planner such as three-dimensional load profiles (see Figure 1). set of relations. They can be operational (transit network,
These load profiles help to calibrate the modules and validate the road network), informational (survey, census), or globally
results of the survey using ground counts and other observed data comprehensive (urban system).
over the transit network.
Abstract: The Olomouc region in the Czech Republic has undergone significant changes in the past several decades, including
the change in political system of the country in 1989. Although the political and cultural transformation generally is recognized
as an important driver of land use (Ptáček 2000), few studies were conducted that would empirically assess and quantify land-
use/land-cover changes in the Czech Republic, especially in the context of the postsocialistic transformation (Fanta et al. 2004,
Zemek et al. 2005). This study presents an approach for identifying major land-use/land-cover changes in the Olomouc region,
applying remote-sensing techniques to compare data from multispectral satellite sensors acquired 12 years before and 12 years
after the revolution in 1989. The study closely covers specific trends in land-cover changes: changes in agricultural areas, forested
areas, and residential development. The results support initial assumptions that the land cover will reflect the changes in the hu-
man perception of landscape and natural resources, such as a smaller need for intensive agriculture, a shift to an environmentally
friendly management of forested areas, or increased development and suburbanization.
Introduction reaching the present 33 percent of the total vegetation cover in the
The Czech Republic currently is undergoing transformation from country (ÚHÚL 2006). Most of the forest is far from its natural
the centralized regime of a communist dictatorship towards a composition, for it was converted to monocultures of Norway
modern democratic state. Fanta et al. (2005) recognizes three main spruce (Picea abies), serving predominantly a productive function.
events in the last half century that had profound consequences for However, since the boom of environmental consciousness in the
the country and its land use. First, the communist coup d’état and 1990s, a distinctive tendency has grown towards alternative ap-
the following collectivization of land in the 1950s that introduced proaches in forest management considering the natural species
large-scale collective farming, especially intense in the Olomouc composition and potential vegetation (Neuhäuslová 1998).
region, which aimed at the maximum production of agricultural Residential development. As in other parts of Europe, the issue
commodities. Second, the abolition of the totalitarian political of suburbanization was well identified in the Czech Republic in
system in 1989, which was followed by the restitution of private the 1990s (Ptáček 1998; Jackson 2002). However, it is repre-
land ownership in the 1990s, the reintroduction of democracy sented by a relatively small extent of residential development in
and a market economy, and the development of market-driven vicinities of larger cities, and does not bear the typical traits and
forms of land use. Third, the preparation of the Czech Republic negative effects of the American-type large-scale suburban sprawl
for ingression into the European Union in 2004, including its as described by Václavík (2004).
complete association with the EU environmental and agricultural The main objective of this study is to analyze relevant remote-
policies, and its search for appropriate methods and forms of sensing data from 1976 and 2001 and to identify the locations,
land use. types, and trends of the main land-use and land-cover changes in
This research pays closer attention to specific trends in land- the past 25 years. Although the issue of land change is examined
use changes within the past 25 years: changes in agricultural areas, based on the background of political transformation of the coun-
forest areas, and residential development. These particular trends try, this article does not explicitly address the effect of political
can be described as followed. transitions on land-cover change. However, it was assumed that
Agricultural areas. Political transition in the Czech Republic the land cover will reflect some changes in the human perception
lead to marginalization of intensive agricultural areas, i.e., a pro- of landscape and natural resources, such as the decreased need
cess driven by a combination of socioeconomic and environmental for intensive agriculture, the shift to an environmentally friendly
factors caused by farming that ceased to be viable at many places, management of forested areas, or the increased development and
resulting in frequent abandonment of the agricultural land (Fanta suburbanization. The hypothesis is that the later satellite image
et al. 2004). Extensive areas of previously cultivated land in the of the Olomouc region study site will exhibit a smaller total area
country now are laying fallow or were converted to secondary of intensive agriculture and more meadows and pastures, fewer
grasslands—meadows and pastures. coniferous forests, and more mixed or deciduous tree cover, as
Forested areas. Since the time of their minimum extent at well as an overall higher residential development.
the end of the 18th century, forested areas have been increasing,
area. As there were no meteorological data available for the time of resample module using parameters from the ETM image and map
MSS image acquisition, an absolute atmospheric correction could corners as ground control points was applied, producing a total
not be performed. Instead, the Principal Component Analysis root-mean-square error of 0.8 m, which is less than 0.5 pixels.
(PCA) was run, using standardized variance/covariance matrix The MSS 1976 and ETM 2001 images were classified using
and all four MSS bands as inputs. PCA created four principal the Maximum Likelihood supervised classification because most
component images in which the first two explained more than 98 of the land-cover mapping projects have applied either supervised
percent of the total variance and the remaining two components or unsupervised parametric classification algorithms to identify
contained most of the noise. The original four MSS bands were spectrally distinct groups of pixels (Smits et al. 1999). With
restored through an inverse PCA technique using the first two supervised classification, the spectral signatures of the known
components. land-cover categories are first developed, using digitized training
The study area of the Olomouc region is located in the sites. The software then uses a specific algorithm to assign all
overlap of the ETM images 036-343 and 036-344 from 2001. pixels in the image data set into defined land-cover classes (Jensen
A composite of the two overlapping images was created using 2004). The Maximum Likelihood classification is based on the
a mosaic technique by spatially orienting them and optionally probability density function that is associated with a particular
balancing the numeric characteristics of the image set based on training site signature. All pixels are assigned to the most likely
the overlapping areas. The average mosaic method was applied category based on an evaluation of the subsequent probability
to average the base image values with the adjusted overlap image that the pixel belongs to the signature (class) with the highest
values. In addition, the WINDOW module, extracting subimages probability of membership (Jensen 2004). Seven land-cover
from the set of original images, was utilized to isolate the desired categories were recognized in the Olomouc region: water, de-
extent of the study area. ciduous forest, coniferous forest, mixed forest, developed (urban)
The last step before actual image classification was to syn- areas, areas of (intensive) agriculture, and meadows (grassland).
chronize the spatial resolution of the images from both times. The Training sites were digitized based on the personal knowledge of
original resolution of the MSS image was 57x57 meters. For the the study area and ground-truth data of aerial photographs and
purpose of its comparison with the ETM image with resolution orthophotographs. Spectral signatures of individual land-cover
of 30x30 meters, the MSS image needed to be resampled. The classes were developed and assessed for their separability. Spectral
ABSTRACT: For better or worse, computers have revolutionized every aspect of our lives. As we quickly make the transition from
an industrial to an information age, computer literacy skills have become a basic necessity. Technology skills are now referred to
as the “Fourth R” in education, as coined by Michael Goodchild. To successfully learn and use GIS (Geographical Information
Systems) technology, one must incorporate the skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Understanding and utilizing a GIS
system requires a holistic combination of reading instructions, data, and maps; writing hypotheses, reports, and presentations;
and using arithmetic to understand queries and spatial analysis. Thus the 4th R as it relates to GIS is a new elevated skill that
incorporates the three original R’s in education. Teaching GIS may be just the boost our public educational system needs to
adequately prepare students for entrance into the emerging global society.
Mapping the Future Success thinking spatially and to provide them with the opportunity to
compete in an international society.
of Public Education
As we quickly move forward in the information age our nation’s
public school systems are placed precariously at a crossroad. While The Significance of GIS in
most school districts strive to incorporate new technologies, many Public School Curriculum
teachers simply don’t have the luxury of time to teach material that We live in a global society where competition for those skilled in
may not be directly aligned with state and federally mandated high geospatial technologies will only increase. Governments interna-
stakes tests, including new computer technology skills. There is tionally have paid close attention to the evolving technological
an urgent need to educate our students in technology, driven by shifts and view the development of technology skills as the foun-
the business and world economies. We must become a premier dation of the country’s future. So must we if we want our next
digital nation or face the consequences of not taking action. The generation to be competitive and viable in the global marketplace.
ramification of these students falling through the cracks strikes For the sake of our future and the future of our youth, we have
at the heart of public education and bankrupts all stakeholders: a responsibility to teach them how to effectively utilize the new
parents, teachers, school administrators, students, and society at and emerging geospatial technologies that are increasingly needed
large. Teaching GIS and geospatial technology may be just the in our new world.
boost our public educational system needs to adequately prepare Social and financial implications of GIS prompted the “U.S.
students for entrance into the emerging global society. Department of Labor to identify GIS as one of the three most
important emerging and evolving fields, along with nanotechnol-
Why GIS ogy and biotechnology, with over 900,000 additional jobs in the
Many young students today have not known a world without U.S. in geospatial technology expected from 2002 to 2012” (U.S.
computers; they are naturally curious and gravitate to the tech- Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration,
nology. The GIS system is a perfect vehicle to deliver necessary 2005). In addition “NASA says that 26% of their most highly
content and contextualize the lesson so that students will not only trained geotech staff is due to retire in the next decade, and the
be engaged but will be motivated to gain the knowledge presented. National Imagery and Mapping Agency is expected to need
Using this application in the classroom promotes critical thinking 7,000 people trained in GIS in the next three years” (Gewin and
skills for students in addition to honing their communication Virginia, 2004). With the aging of our many professionals in the
and presentation skills. current geospatial workforce, there are a number of organizations
In 2005, the National Research Council published a report seeking to recruit the next generation.
entitled “Learning to Think Spatially: GIS as a Support System What this means is that those of us in the geospatial industry
in the K-12 Curriculum” that identified the importance of have an obligation to our chosen field, to ensure its continued
promoting spatial thinking skills across curriculum subjects. As growth and success. By not preparing the next generation to take
indicated by the report, GIS has the potential to successfully the helm of this industry we turn our backs on providing for the
cultivate those skills. The overarching goal of this educational future sustainability of GIS and spatial technology.
initiative is to create the next generation of students skilled in
other departments and out in the field help others benefit from your work.
Copyright © 2007 ESRI. All rights reserved. The ESRI globe logo, ESRI, and www.esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of ESRI in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.