GEOG 588
Planning GIS for Emergency Management

Overview

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Planning GIS for Emergency Management

The spatial dimensions of crises and emergencies provide key leverage points for decision makers to assess and address the consequences of such events to people and their environments. In recent years, it has become quite common for GIS to find its way into a wide variety of information systems used to manage emergencies. GIS is capable of answering the key questions decision makers and stakeholders need to know about an emergency situation, including: Who is affected? How has the emergency developed over space and time? Where are responder resources located and how should they be directed?

This course introduces you to a variety of ways in which GIS solutions can be incorporated into the process of managing an emergency. It focuses primarily on the broader aspects of determining system requirements and developing design plans/proposals for new systems intended to support spatial analysis and awareness of crisis situations. An added dimension I've incorporated into this course is an emphasis on emerging technology trends that I think are relevant to future GIS systems. We'll work together to check out the latest innovations in GIS-related technology and incorporate that awareness into how we envision new GIS systems for emergency management.

About the Orientation

In addition to introducing the basic concepts covered in this course, this orientation also serves as your guide to the structure of the course and to our online learning environment.

Objectives

At the successful completion of the Course Orientation, you should be able to:

  • navigate between this course text and the Canvas course management system;
  • articulate your expectations about how and what you will learn in this online course;
  • understand how and what instructors expect you to learn in your online course;
  • locate key information about the course, including assignments, due dates, technical information, places to get help, and course policies;
  • understand course policies, including academic integrity;
  • communicate with instructors and fellow students.

The next page in this lesson outlines the steps you need to perform to successfully complete this orientation.

Questions?

If you have any questions now or at any point during this week, please feel free to post them as comments here at the bottom of the page. We'll use page comments like this for discussions throughout the class.