In this course, students will learn fundamental concepts and widely used methodologies for assessment of hazard vulnerability and social vulnerability using geospatial data and analysis techniques. They will benefit from themed lectures on hazards, vulnerability, resilience, and data processing, reading assignments, in-class reading discussions, and assignments that primarily use ArcGIS Pro, as well as other geospatial and quantitative analysis software such as Geoda and RStudio. This course will not use a simple hazard-by-hazard approach, but will integrate perspectives from the...

This Advanced GIS Workshop teaches more sophisticated concepts in GIS analysis, techniques for the planning, automation and reproducibility of GIS workflows, and strategies for communicating results broadly. Students will practice a range of technical skills essential for both academic research and practical applications. The python programming language is introduced with no prior coding experience required. We primarily use ArcGIS Pro, while also incorporating open-source software and various freely available Python packages in the course. This is a methodology-focused course designed...

This is an introductory level course in the conceptual and analytic tools used to understand how spatial distributions of exposure impact on processes and patterns of disease. It covers methods that allow: (i) examination of patterns of health and disease in place and time, (ii) application of geospatial technologies and methods for epidemiology, (iii) analysis of time-space relations, (iv) identification of clusters and diffusion of disease, and (v) study of geographical...

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...

This course introduces Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and their applications to public policy, political economy, and international relations. The course will enable students to work with GIS data structures and understand cartography, transformations, georeferencing, geocoding, and spatial analysis. It will provide students with hands-on experience in using open-source GIS software to visualize and analyze multiple types of data, including administrative records, historical maps, boundaries, weather/climate, roads, and satellite images/remote sensing. Applications will include...

An introduction to the GIS and remote sensing methods used by archaeologists to document and analyze datasets at the scale of the site and the region. This class will involve the hands-on use of printed maps, aerial photography, satellite imagery, digital terrain models, GPS-based observations, and UAV (drone) photogrammetry to approach archaeological research questions. Students will gain competence in creating spatial data for fieldwork, print publication, and online visualization...

Planning decisions are often idealized as being "evidence-based" or "data-driven." Spatial data often comprise the data and evidence that support such these decisions. In this course, you will learn how to create spatial datasets, both by assembling them from existing sources and by collecting data in the field. You will also learn data visualization techniques to identify spatial relationships within and between spatial datasets. You will learn to identify the arguments that...

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...

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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We live in the post-PC era. We have far more smartphones, tablets, and wearable devices than desktops and laptops. Mobile geospatial information systems (GIS) allow users to view, capture, update, and analyze geospatial data from a mobile device anywhere and anytime. With the popularity and location awareness of mobile devices, mobile GIS has become an indispensable part of geospatial solutions in sustainable development, health and human services, emergency management, and...

Spatial data – which is prevalent in climatology, meteorology, geology, oceanography, ecology and many other fields – requires specialized statistical tools for analysis due to the inherent dependence which exists between samples taken at nearby locations (or times). In this introductory course in spatial statistics, we'll cover central topics including spatial point processes, lattice models, and geostatistics. Theory (mathematical models and background) will be presented in concert with inference and prediction (statistics and estimation) with an emphasis on numerical examples to...

This seminar will use mapping as a methodological technique to examine social and environmental issues. Students will be expected to use mapping software to examine spatial data for a location and topic of their choice for their final paper. Weekly discussions will be conducted in class on various mapping related topics. References will range from books like "How to lie with Maps" to current journal articles examining the use of GIS in social science.

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This course is a workshop for students who have taken the introductory Geographical Information Systems course and want to explore detailed applications. The course will meet two times a week for a lecture and a laboratory exercise.

Course catalog listing

Instructor: Jill Kelly

This is an introductory level course in the conceptual and analytic tools used to understand how spatial distributions of exposure impact on processes and patterns of disease. It covers methods that allow: (i) examination of patterns of health and disease in place and time, (ii) application of geospatial technologies and methods for epidemiology, (iii) analysis of time-space relations, (iv) identification of clusters and diffusion of disease, and (v) study of geographical epidemiology of selected infectious and noninfectious diseases.

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Maps both represent reality and create it. It is in the context of this contention that this course presents the fundamentals of mapping, spatial analysis, and visualization. In a design process, the act of mapping selectively narrates site conditions. By choosing what features, forces, and flows to highlight—and which to exclude—the designer creates the reality in which their intervention will be situated.

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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...

Web GIS, the combination of the web and geographic information systems (GIS), is a promising field. It has extended online maps and geospatial intelligence to the offices of millions and the hands of billions. This course aims to provide students with the principles and essential knowledge needed for managing web GIS projects, teach students the latest geospatial cloud technologies needed for building modern web GIS applications, and inspire students with real-world case studies. Technologies taught in this course include cloud GIS (ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise), browser-based web...

Maps and empires have entangled histories. In this intensive January session course, we study the Russian Empire through deep dives into some of the most important maps produced in the nineteenth century. Politics, ethnic tension, environmental change, the history of data—we dig into all of this and more. In the final unit we analyze (and map) the cholera epidemic of 1892—a public health crisis that swept across Europe and Asia.

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We live in the post-PC era. We have far more smartphones, tablets, and wearable devices than desktops and laptops. With their advantages in mobility and location awareness, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of geographic information systems (GIS) solutions in sustainable development, health and human services, emergency management, and utilities. Consumer mobile GIS applications, such as Google Maps, Google Earth, Waze, and Zillow, have put the basic GIS capabilities in everyone's hands. This course focuses on enterprise mobile GIS, which offers a much wider variety of...

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...

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...

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.

Course Catalog Listing

Instructor: Jill Kelly

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...

Planners today have access to unprecedented amounts of data on the built environment and the people who use it. These data come from a wide variety of sources ranging from traditional administrative data and survey data to emerging sources of passively-collected and crowdsourced data. By then end of this course, you will be able to confidently navigate unfamiliar datasets and create information that you can use to (1) improve your own understanding of places and spatial phenomena at the national, regional, and neighborhood scales and (2) communicate your ideas and conclusions to others....

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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Maps both represent reality and create it. It is in the context of this contention that this course presents the fundamentals of mapping, spatial analysis, and visualization. In a design process, the act of mapping selectively narrates site conditions. By choosing what features, forces, and flows to highlight—and which to exclude—the designer creates the reality in which their intervention will be situated.

...

This seminar will use mapping as a methodological technique to examine social and environmental issues. Students will be expected to use mapping software to examine spatial data for a location and topic of their choice for their final paper. Weekly discussions will be conducted in class on various mapping related topics. References will range from books like "How to lie with Maps" to current journal articles examining the use of GIS in social science.

...

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...

This course is a workshop for students who have taken the introductory Geographical Information Systems course and want to explore detailed applications. The course will meet two times a week for a lecture and a laboratory exercise.

Course catalog listing

Instructor: Jill Kelly

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.

Course catalog listing

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