Training Modules and Data Sets

Six training modules were developed for this project. Together, they provide decision makers with tools to examine population data at the sub city scale. While each module stands alone, the modules are organized in a sequence of increasing complexity. Each module introduces the user to GIS and geographic concepts using a problem solving approach. The data set has been developed for training purposes exclusively for the purposes of this project. They can be viewed at http://www.geog.uwm.edu/UCGIS/labs. Prof. Jochen Albrecht wrote the training modules with assistance from Dr. Laxmi Ramasubramanian and graduate students Terry Johnson and Andy Park.

 
Module One:

Introduction to ArcView

This is a basic introduction to functionalities within ArcView 3.2 using data about the African continent and Senegal

Module Two:

Organizing Spatial Data

Users learn to import GPS data (X, Y coordinates) and digitize a portion of a map based on a satellite image.

Module Three:

Organizing Attribute Data

Users read in attribute data available originally in the form of spreadsheets or databases. Users can then edit, reorganize and manipulate the dataset within ArcView.

Module Four:

Simple Queries

Users perform basic functionalities available within ArcView such as Querying by Attribute, Querying by Location, Buffer, and Overlay. .

Module Five:

Analyzing Geographic Patterns and Processes

Users explore the entire training data set in order to investigate a specific problem by using a series of filters (successively narrowing search criteria). Since this module forms an integral portion of the UWM contribution, the interested reader is invited to have a look at a detailed discussion in the lab modules section (hyperlink) of this website.

Module Six:

Display and Presentation

In this module, users learn to display and print maps using the Layout function of ArcView. They also learn to insert their maps and tables into other programs such as PowerPoint in order to make presentations.

 

 

  

Data Development

The working data set is based on data from the 1987 Census of Population and Housing. The census data we received held over 800,000 records with data about individual attributes. However, in the absence of data regarding housing characteristics, the UWM team selected variables such gender, age, marital status, education level, languages spoken, residential status, employment status, and ethnicity from the dataset to display on maps at the sub-city scale. Some of the selected variables dovetail quite well with the Global Urban Observatory’s description of urban indicators related to Gender Equality. In addition, these variables can be used to develop proxy measures or indicators to better understand the nature of informal employment or migration in the Dakar region.

Base Map Development

At UWM, a digital map of Ouakam neighborhood (called a Commune d’Arrondissement) was created by digitizing paper maps acquired in Dakar. The Ouakam neighborhood consists of 35 smaller areal units, with each areal unit supporting an average population of approximately 1000 people. All our analyses are restricted to this scale

 
   

Presentations and Publications

Dr. Laxmi Ramasubramanian presented a paper titled Analyzing urban indicators using GIS: Building local capacity in developing countries through participatory research, which was included in the Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Computers in Urban Planning and Urban Management (CUPUM), July 18th–21st, 2001, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii. A modified version of the paper is currently under review for a special issue of Computers, Environment and Urban Systems.

Prof. Jochen Albrecht presented a paper titled Autocorrelation-proof Empirical Bayes Mapping for Urban Indicator Analysis, which was included in the Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Computers in Urban Planning and Urban Management (CUPUM), July 18th–21st, 2001, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Prof. Bill Huxhold participated in a special session of a United Nations Habitat conference.

Prof. Bill Huxhold presented preliminary findings from this project at a special session at the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) conference held in Long Beach, California.