GeoDesign Summit: Plenary Session Abstracts, Day 1
Partial list, subject to change…
The What and Why of Geodesign
Tom Fisher, Dean, College of Design, University of Minnesota
What is geodesign and why is it essential to the world we now occupy? Geodesign combines the power of geographic information systems to analyze and comprehend the world as it is with that of design to envision the world as it might be. Geodesign combines science and art—what is with what could be—in a way that allows us to predict the consequences of our decisions on the future. This is particularly important in a world in which many of the systems on which we depend—our financial, housing, food, transportation, and myriad ecological systems—are in the midst or at the brink of collapse. Geodesign can help us spot these systemic failures before they occur and help us decide how best to deal with them.
GeoDesign in Conservation Planning: Stakeholder Driven Geoprocessing through Greenprinting
Will Rogers, President, The Trust for Public Lands
Spatial by Design: Understanding the Special Role of GIS
Michael Goodchild, Professor of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara
Geodesign is envisioned as a technology that helps designers and decision makers create better environments. As such, it requires functions for input of baseline landscapes, design options, and data that may assist in evaluating alternative designs as well as functions for visualizing, predicting the effects of designs, and measuring those effects using appropriate metrics. Some of these functions are available in GIS for some kinds of applications, and others are available in other software environments that we would not describe as GIS. We, therefore, face a number of alternatives: add functions to GIS, add functions to other types of software, or develop entirely new environments. Goodchild will review these options, discuss the implications of each choice, and outline a program of development.
Visualizing Complex Systems: The Role of the National Academy of Environmental Design in Advancing Evidence-Based Design Research
Kim Tanzer, Dean, School of Architecture, University of Virginia
The phrase “one picture is worth a thousand words” captures the importance of visualization in efficient, meaningful communication. Beginning with a brief historical reflection, this talk will highlight several current projects in which GIS-based visualization is used to understand and respond to challenging environmental circumstances. It will conclude by describing the National Academy of Environmental Design, and suggesting the role visualization might play in proposing sustainable environmental scenarios.
