This course will survey the theory and application of airborne and satellite remote sensing, primarily as a tool for spatial social science. Students will learn the basics of electromagnetic radiation, reflection and absorption, satellite and sensor technology, and digital image analysis, with a focus on data acquisition and preparation. Students will learn the use of software for image processing and analysis, the fundamentals of raster GIS, and the use of a scriptable online platform for quick remote processing. Applications will have a social focus, including urbanization and...

Read more about GOV 1021 - Spatial Models of Social Science

Urban planners engage in many complex processes that defy easy representation. This course provides first-semester urban planning students with the graphic and technical skills needed to reason, design, and communicate these processes with geospatial data. This knowledge will be embedded within a larger critical framework that addresses the cultural history of categorization, data collection, and cartography as tools of persuasion for organizing space. Visual expression is one of the most compelling methods to describe the physical environment, and students will learn techniques...

Read more about VIS 2129 - Spatial Analysis and the Built Environment

This course introduces students to remote sensing data, methods and tools used for the study of global environmental change. The growing concern about human impact on the environment has led to the development of new observation and analysis tools to tackle and monitor types, magnitudes, and rates of environmental changes. Timely observations by Earth observation (EO) satellite systems and improved mapping and analysis tools are enabling a better understanding of the environmental interactions that underlie our Earth systems, which is critical for developing sustainable solutions. This...

Read more about ISMT E-158 - Remote Sensing Data and Applications

This course introduces the concepts and components of a geographic information system (GIS). It also teaches the essential skills of spatial data management, analysis, and visualization through the use of the ArcGIS software package. Upon completion of this course, students understand the fundamental concepts of a GIS including spatial data models, spatial analysis, and cartographic principles. They also gain hands-on training in spatial data collection, editing, transformation, and mapping, as well as spatial analysis operations such as location-based query, address geocoding, terrain...

Read more about ISMT E-150 - Introduction to GIS

Maps and empires have entangled histories. In this course we will examine the evolution of geographic information technology and the way imperial states and subjects used atlases, boundary surveys, town plans, and topographical maps to manage information flows and generate political and cultural capital. We will learn to speak the language of maps: particularly maps of the Russian Empire. Through units devoted to Siberia, the Black Sea, and European Russia, we will reconstruct the history of an empire through maps held right here at Harvard.

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Read more about HIST 1947 - The Imperial Map: Geographic Information in the Age of Empire

This courses teaches the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a collection of hardware and software tools that allow users to visualize and analyze geographic data in its spatial configuration. Students will learn the theory of geospatial analysis alongside practical methods for acquiring, manipulating, displaying, and analyzing cartographic data.

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Read more about GOV 1008 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

From Mexico to India, San Francisco to Tokyo, natural disasters have shaped both the surface of our planet and the development of civilizations. These catastrophes claim thousands of lives and cause tens of billions of dollars in damage each year, and the impact of natural disasters is only increasing as a result of human population growth and urbanization. This course uses the methods and skills associated with earth science to help you to develop an understanding of both the causes and impacts of these events. By the end of this course, then, you will be able to understand the ways in...

Read more about GENED 1098 - Natural Disasters