Today the world's largest economies and corporations trade in data and its products to generate value in new disruptive markets. Within these markets vast streams of data are often inaccessible or untapped and controlled by powerful monopolies. Counter to this exclusive use of data is a promising world-wide "open-data" movement, promoting freely accessible information to share, reuse and redistribute. The provision and application of open data has enormous potential to transform exclusive, technocratic "smart cities" into inclusive and responsive "open-cities". This book argues that those who contribute urban data should benefit from its production. Like the city itself, the information landscape is a public asset produced through collective effort, attention, and resources. People produce data through their engagement with the city, creating digital footprints through social medial, mobility applications, and city sensors. By opening up data there is potential to generate greater value by supporting unforeseen collaborations, spontaneous urban innovations and solutions, and improved decision-making insights. Yet achieving more open cities is made challenging by conflicting desires for urban anonymity, sociability, privacy and transparency. This book engages with these issues through a variety of critical perspectives, and presents strategies, tools and case studies that enable this transformation.

Topographic Laser Ranging and Scanning, Second Edition, provides a comprehensive discussion of topographic LiDAR principles, systems, data acquisition, and data processing techniques. This edition presents an introduction and summary of various LiDAR systems and their principles and addresses the operational principles of the different components and ranging methods of LiDAR systems. It discusses the subsequent geometric processing of LiDAR data, with particular attention to quality, accuracy, and meeting standards and addresses the theories and practices of information extraction from LiDAR data, including terrain surface generation, forest inventory, orthoimage generation, building reconstruction, and road extraction. Written by leaders in the field, this comprehensive compilation is a must-have reference book for senior undergraduate and graduate students majoring or working in diverse disciplines, such as geomatics, geodesy, natural resources, urban planning, computer vision, and computer graphics. It is also vital resource for researchers who are interested in developing new methods and need in-depth knowledge of laser scanning and data processing and other professionals may gain the same from the broad topics addressed in this book. New in the Second Edition: A comprehensive array of new laser ranging and scanning technologies. Developments in LiDAR data format and processing techniques. Regrouping of surface modeling, representations and reconstruction. Enhanced discussions on the principles and fundamentals beyond small-footprint pulsed laser systems and new application examples. Many new examples and illustrations.

Although GIS has been in existence for over 20 years, the systems have only recently matured to the point where they have become accessible to geographers, planners, environmental scientists and others as an affordable and practical tool for spatial analysis. Much of the GIS literature is scattered over the journals and technical reports of a number of disciplines. These sources are often not widely available especially to the newcomer to the field. This text was assembled to bring together what we believe is a balanced sampling of written works that cover important aspects of the basic principles involved in GIS, as well as to provide some examples of GIS applications.

This book presents relevant and contemporary research on the remote sensing of landscapes, agriculture & forestry, geomorphology, coasts & oceans, natural hazards and wild habitats. It highlights the application of remote sensing in understanding natural processes and oceanic features, as well as in creating mapping inventories of water resources across different spatial and temporal scales. Recent advances in hyperspectral imaging and high spatial resolution offer promising techniques for exploring various aspects related to the fruitful and cost-effective monitoring of large-scale environments. In the field of forestry and agriculture, the book addresses topics such as terrain analysis, forest management, updating current forest inventories, and vegetation cover type discrimination. It also elaborates delineation of various geo-morphological features of the earth's surface and natural disasters, and includes a special section on the remote sensing of wild habitats. Readers working in interdisciplinary sectors engaged in remote-sensing-based research benefit from the techniques presented.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been experiencing a steady and unprecedented growth in terms of general interest, theory development, and new applications in the last decade or so. GIS is an inter-disciplinary field that brings together many diverse areas such as computer science, geography, cartography, engineering, and urban planning. Database Issues in Geographic Information Systems approaches several important topics in GIS from a database perspective. Database management has a central role to play in most computer-based information systems, and is expected to have an equally important role to play in managing information in GIS as well. Existing database technology, however, focuses on the alphanumeric data that are required in business applications. GIS, like many other application areas, requires the ability to handle spatial as well as alphanumeric data. This requires new innovations in data management, which is the central theme of this monograph. The monograph begins with an overview of different application areas and their data and functional requirements. Next it addresses the following topics in the context of GIS: representation and manipulation of spatial data, data modeling, indexing, and query processing. Future research directions are outlined in each of the above topics. The last chapter discusses issues that are emerging as important areas of technological innovations in GIS. Database Issues in Geographic Information Systems is suitable as a secondary text for a graduate level course on Geographic Information Systems, Database Systems or Cartography, and as a reference for researchers and practitioners in industry.

Provides a global perspective on drought prediction and management and a synthesis of the recent state of knowledge. Covers a wide range of topics from essential concepts and advanced techniques for forecasting and modeling drought to societal impacts, consequences, and planning. Presents numerous case studies with different management approaches from different regions and countries. Addresses how climate change impacts drought, the increasing challenges associated with managing drought, decision making, and policy implications. Includes contributions from hundreds of experts around the world.

This edited volume focuses on the use of remote sensing techniques to assess and monitor mountainous ecosystems in Africa, with a focus on tracking changes related to climate change and human activity. The book is timely, as the interaction of mountain environmental dynamics with conservation and sustainability is an under-researched issue. The chapters in this volume use remotely sensed data to study a variety of topics related to mountains and their ecosystems, including but not limited to vegetation, energy systems, environmental hazards, ecosystem services, diseases, climatic shifts, geological formations and geomorphological dynamics. The ability to monitor, assess and analyze mountainous regions is aided by the availability of remote sensing products such as optical and microwave sensors and low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The works presented here push the frontier of knowledge on mountain studies and will help shape local, national and global assessments and policies, including efforts toward the achievement of the African Agenda 2063. The book will be of interest to researchers and students in remote sensing, geography, ecology and sustainability, as well as to government organizations and conservation specialists.

This volume provides the first worldwide overview of Planning Support Systems (PSS) and of their application in practice. PSS are geo-technology related instruments consisting of theories, information, methods, tools, et cetera for support of unique professional public or private planning tasks at any spatial scale. The book desires to progress the development of PSS which are far from being effectively integrated into the planning practice. It provides an Internet-based worldwide inventory of innovative examples and successful applications of PSS in a number of different planning contexts. In depth insight into the purposes, content, workings, and applications of a very wide diversity of PSS is given. References to URLs where additional information can be obtained are very useful.

Provides a global perspective on drought prediction and management and a synthesis of the recent state of knowledge. Covers a wide range of topics from essential concepts and advanced techniques for forecasting and modeling drought to societal impacts, consequences, and planning Presents numerous case studies with different management approaches from different regions and countries. Addresses how climate change impacts drought, the increasing challenges associated with managing drought, decision making, and policy implications. Includes contributions from hundreds of experts around the world.

This book presents the latest advances in remote-sensing and geographic information systems and applications. It is divided into four parts, focusing on Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Optical Measurements of Forests; Individual Tree Modelling; Landscape Scene Modelling; and Forest Eco-system Modelling. Given the scope of its coverage, the book offers a valuable resource for students, researchers, practitioners, and educators interested in remote sensing and geographic information systems and applications.

This edited volume compiles a set of papers that present various applications of spatial analysis, both traditional and contemporary, on diverse subjects in a wide range of contexts. The volume is dedicated to the memory of the late Professor Pavlos Kanaroglou, McMaster University, Canada, who greatly contributed to scientific and applied research on spatial analysis. In his honor, the book offers a selection of various spatial analysis approaches to the study of contemporary urban transportation, land use, and air pollution issues. The first part of the book discusses selected general issues in spatial analysis; ontologies, agent-based modelling and accessibility analysis. The second part deals with urban transportation analysis and modelling issues; agent-based activity/travel microsimulation, bottleneck models, public transit use, freight transport and connected automated vehicles impact assessment. Part three focuses on integrated land use and transport analysis, discussing the land value impacts of public transport infrastructure, the role of transport provision on business evolution and commute distance considerations in urban relocation. The fourth part, on travel-related air pollution analysis, presents the development of a geo-information software for mapping Aerosol Optical Thickness in urban environments and the development of a neighborhood level, real time, internet-enabled, air pollution map in the Canadian urban context. This book will appeal to academics, researchers, graduate students, consultants, and practitioners working on topics related to spatial analysis, land use and transport analysis, planning and decision making, and air pollution studies.

This is a comprehensive guide to the characteristics and use of high resolution optical images from satellite-borne sensors, concentrating on sensors designed for mapping. It considers in detail the SPOT series of satellites and sensors with a ground sample distance (GSD) of less than 15m, operational since SPOT 1 and particularly the commercial sensors launched since 1999 with GSD of less than 1m The book explains to students, anyone working in map production and scientists working in fields other than mapping, the way in which high resolution imagery is obtained and the issues which surround its collection and use. It deals progressively with the fundamentals of mapping from imagery, followed by the key features in the design of sensors and methods of data storage and transmission, including data compression. Subsequent chapters cover the sensors, calibration, sensor models and the methods of determining the orientation elements and extracting coordinates from the images. Rigorous orientation, use of rational polynomial coefficients (RPCs) and approximate methods are covered.Results from tests showing the accuracy which can be obtained, generation of digital elevations models, their accuracy and the production of orthoimages are included, as are image processing and data fusion. Finally, future missions and the issues which face further development are discussed. High Resolution Optical Satellite Imagery is written by a team of acknowledged international experts and is the only comprehensive text on the subject.

This book discusses how emerging groundwater risks under current and potential climate change conductions reduce available groundwater resources for domestic use, and agriculture and energy production. The topics discussed throughout this book are grouped into five sections; (i) Sea Level Rise, Climate Change, and Food Security, (ii) Emerging Contaminants, (iii) Technologies and Decision Support Systems, (iv) Surface Water-Groundwater Interactions, and (v) Economics, and Energy Production and Development. This book is unique and different from other groundwater hydrology books in that it uses a holistic approach in investigating the risks related to groundwater resources. This book will be of interest to a wide audience in academia, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and environmental entities. This book will greatly contribute to a better understanding of the emerging risks to groundwater resources and should help responsible stakeholders make informed decisions in this regard.

This book provides the first comprehensive compilation of cutting-edge research on Merapi volcano on the island of Java, Indonesia, one of the most iconic volcanoes in the world. It integrates results from both the natural (geology, petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, physical volcanology) and social sciences, and provides state-of-the-art information on volcano monitoring, the assessment of volcanic hazards, and risk mitigation measures. As one of Indonesia's most active and dangerous volcanoes, Merapi is perhaps best known for its pyroclastic density currents, which are produced by gravitational or explosive lava dome failures (commonly referred to as Merapi-type nuees ardentes). Merapi's eruptions have posed a persistent threat to life, property and infrastructure within the densely populated areas on the volcano's flanks, as demonstrated most recently by catastrophic eruptions, which attracted worldwide media interest.

The GeoInfo series of scientific conferences is an annual forum for exploring research, development and innovative applications in geographic information science and related areas. This book provides a privileged view of what is currently happening in the field of geoinformatics as well as a preview of what could be the hottest developments and research topics in the near future.

This book introduces flood inundation area and flood risks assessment based on a comprehensive monitoring system using remote sensing and geographic information system technologies. Taking the 2011 flood disaster of Ayutthaya in Thailand as an example, it presents a flood intrusion zone identification method based on remote sensing technology, spatial information technology and geographic information system for flood disaster monitoring and early warning system. It introduces the study area and data, vegetation index, improved support vector machine and flood intrusion zone identification method. It also analyzes the flood remote sensing parameters and waterborne diseases, method of risk assessment of waterborne disease outbreak, waterborne disease outbreak risk monitoring based on backpropagation neural network and its expert system. It not only promotes a new interdisciplinary approach both in public health and space information technology, but also greatly supports decision makers in disaster reduction.

These proceedings present selected research papers from CSNC 2018, held during 23rd-25th May in Harbin, China. The theme of CSNC 2018 is Location, Time of Augmentation. These papers discuss the technologies and applications of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and the latest progress made in the China BeiDou System (BDS) especially. They are divided into 12 topics to match the corresponding sessions in CSNC 2018, which broadly covered key topics in GNSS. Readers can learn about the BDS and keep abreast of the latest advances in GNSS techniques and applications.

This book highlights the application of Geographical Information System (GIS) and nature based algorithms to solve the problems of water and water based renewable energy resources. The irregularity in availability of resources and inefficiency in utilization of the available resources has reduced the potentiality of water and water based renewable energy resources. In recent years various soft computation methods (SCM) along with GIS were adopted to solve critical problems. The book collects various studies where many SCMs were used along with GIS to provide a solution for optimal utilization of natural resources for satisfying the basic needs of the population as well as fulfilling their burgeoning energy demands. The articles depict innovative application of soft computation techniques to identify the root cause and to mitigate the uncertainty for optimal utilization of the available water resources. The advantage of SCM and GIS were used to maximize the utilization of water resources under cost and time constraints in face of climatic abnormalities and effect of rapid urbanization.

The aim of the conference is to present and discuss new methods, issues and challenges encountered in all parts of the complex process of gradual development and application of digital surface models. This process covers data capture, data generation, storage, model creation, validation, manipulation, utilization and visualization. Each stage requires suitable methods and involves issues that may substantially decrease the value of the model. Furthermore, the conference provides a platform to discuss the requirements, features and research approaches for 3D modeling, continuous field modeling and other geoscience applications. The conference covers the following topics: - LIDAR for elevation data - Radar interferometry for elevation data - Surface model creation - Surface model statistics - Surface model storage (including data formats, standardization, database) - Feature extraction - Analysis of surface models - Surface models for hydrology, meteorology, climatology - Surface models for signal spreading - Surface models for geology (structural, mining) - Surface models for environmental science - Surface models for visibility studies - Surface models for urban geography - Surface models for human geography - Uncertainty of surface models and digital terrain analysis - Surface model visual enhancement and rendering

Archaeology has been historically reluctant to embrace the subject of agent-based simulation, since it was seen as being used to "re-enact" and "visualize" possible scenarios for a wider (generally non-scientific) audience, based on scarce and fuzzy data. Furthermore, modelling "in exact terms" and programming as a means for producing agent-based simulations were simply beyond the field of the social sciences.
This situation has changed quite drastically with the advent of the internet age: Data, it seems, is now ubiquitous. Researchers have switched from simply collecting data to filtering, selecting and deriving insights in a cybernetic manner. Agent-based simulation is one of the tools used to glean information from highly complex excavation sites according to formalized models, capturing essential properties in a highly abstract and yet spatial manner. As such, the goal of this book is to present an overview of techniques used and work conducted in that field, drawing on the experience of practitioners.

The African Seas include marginal basins of two major oceans, the Atlantic and the Indian, a miniature ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and an infant ocean, the Red Sea. Understanding the wide spectrum of environmental features and processes of such a varied collection of marine and coastal regions requires that in situ observation systems be integrated and actually guided, by the application of orbital remote sensing techniques. This volume reviews the current potential of Earth Observations to help in the exploration of the marginal seas around Africa, by virtue of both passive and active techniques, working in several spectral ranges - i.e. measuring either reflected visible and near-infrared sunlight, as well as surface emissions in the thermal infrared and microwave spectral regions, or again the surface reflection of transmitted lidar or radar impulses of visible or microwave radiation. The in-depth evaluation of the advantages offered by each technique and spectral region and in particular by the development of advanced multi-technique systems, contributes to the assessment of the abundant natural resources that the Seas of Africa have to offer, of those in dear need of being - sustainably - exploited and of others that should be protected and maintained in their still pristine conditions.

This book presents a systematic analysis of challenges in the field of Geographical Information Systems and Science, geographical analysis, and regional science for Ontario, one of the fastest-changing provinces in Canada and one of North America's largest economic hubs. In nine chapters, the book offers advanced spatial analysis techniques and digital data content to integrate Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as tools to tackle regional and urban challenges. The chapters address the following main topics: 1) state-of-the-art approaches for regional discrepancies, 2) investigations of available methods for advanced spatial analysis, 3) identification of regional patterns and land use dynamics, 4) availability of Web 3.0 data content for regions without standardized data, and 5) the limitations and challenges of urbanization and its impact on landscape, heritage and ecosystems.   The volume is divided into four sections dealing with key issues in Ontario, each addressing the use of GIS for crucial regional decision-making. The book will be of interest to researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, planners, regional scientists, and policy makers.

This comprehensive Handbook summarizes existing work and presents new concepts and empirical results from leading scholars in the multidisciplinary field of behavioral and cognitive geography, the study of the human mind, and activity in and concerning space, place, and environment. It provides the broadest and most inclusive coverage of the field so far, including work relevant to human geography, cartography, and geographic information science. Behavioral and cognitive geography originated as a contrast to aggregate approaches to human geography that treat people as homogenous and interchangeable; to models of human activity based on simplistic and psychologically implausible assumptions; and to conceptualizations of humans as passive responders to their environment. This Handbook is highly multi- and interdisciplinary, featuring scholars from geography, geographic information science, and more than ten other academic disciplines; including: psychology, linguistics, computer science, engineering, architecture and planning, anthropology, and neuroscience. The contributors adhere to scientific rigor in their approach, while fully engaging with issues of emotion, subjectivity, consciousness, and human variability. Thoroughly informed by the history of geography and of the cognitive sciences but also providing guideposts for future research and application, this Handbook will be an essential resource for researchers, lecturers and students in geography, psychology, and other social, behavioral, cognitive, and design sciences. Contributors include: P. Agarwal, A.P. Boone, T.T. Brunye, H. Burte, R.C. Dalton, C. Davies, R.M. Downs, S.I. Fabrikant, A.L. Gardony, N.A. Giudice, P. Gober, K.G. Goulias, S. Hadavi, M. Hegarty, S.C. Hirtle, C. Hoelscher, T. Ishikawa, P. Jankowski, J. Krukar, C.A. Lawton, H.J. Miller, D.R. Montello, J. Portugali, M. Raubal, V.R. Schinazi, W.C. Sullivan, H.A. Taylor, T. Tenbrink, T. Thrash, P.M. Torrens, D.H. Uttal

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) either as standard GIS or custom made Historical GIS (HGIS) have become quite popular in some historical sub-disciplines, such as Economic and Social History or Historical Geography.
Mainstream history, however, seems to be rather unaffected by this trend. More generally speaking: Why is it that computer applications in general have failed to make much headway in history departments, despite the first steps being undertaken a good forty years ago?
With the spatial turn in full swing in the humanities, and many historians dealing with spatial and geographical questions, one would think GIS would be welcomed with open arms. Yet there seems to be no general anticipation by historians of employing GIS as a research tool. As mentioned, HGIS are popular chiefly among Historical Geographers and Social and Economic Historians. The latter disciplines seem to be predestined to use such software through the widespread quantitative methodology these disciplines have employed traditionally. Other historical sub-disciplines, such as Ancient History, are also very open to this emerging technology since the scarcity of written sources in this field can be mitigated by inferences made from an HGIS that has archaeological data stored in it, for example. In most of Modern History, however, the use of GIS is rarely seen. The intellectual benefit that a GIS may bring about seems not be apparent to scholars from this sub-discipline (and others).
This book wants to investigate and discuss this controversy. Why does the wider historian community not embrace GIS more readily? While one cannot deny that the methodologies linked with a GIS follow geographical paradigms rather than historical ones, the potential of GIS as a 'killer application' for digital historical scholarship should be obvious.
This book brings together authors from Geography and History to discuss the value of GIS for historical research. The focus, however, will not be on the "how," but on the "why" of GIS in history.