you’re working on a GIS capstone project! That’s a great opportunity to dive deep into spatial data analysis and mapping. Could you tell me a bit more about what you’re thinking? I can help brainstorm topics, outline a workflow, or suggest tools and datasets depending on your interest.
Some initial topic ideas in case you’re looking for inspiration:
Environmental & Conservation
- Mapping Urban Heat Islands: Identify areas of a city with higher temperatures using remote sensing and suggest green infrastructure improvements.
- Deforestation Analysis: Use satellite imagery to track changes in forest cover over time.
- Habitat Suitability Modeling: Map suitable habitats for a threatened species based on environmental and land use data.
Urban Planning & Development
- Optimal Site Selection for Public Facilities: Combine demographic, land use, and transportation data to find the best location for a new park, clinic, or school.
- Urban Sprawl Analysis: Measure urban growth patterns over the last 20 years in a specific region using historical satellite images.
Disaster Management
- Flood Risk Mapping: Identify flood-prone areas based on topography, land cover, and rainfall data.
- Evacuation Route Planning: Model optimal routes for emergency evacuations in disaster-prone areas.
Socioeconomic Studies
- Crime Mapping & Hotspot Analysis: Use kernel density estimation to identify crime hotspots and correlate with socio-economic factors.
- Public Health & Disease Mapping: Track disease outbreaks (like malaria or dengue) and analyze correlations with environmental variables.
Tools & Tech you could use:
- QGIS / ArcGIS for spatial analysis and map creation.
- Google Earth Engine for processing large remote sensing datasets.
- Python (with GeoPandas, Rasterio, Folium) for custom analysis and automation.
- PostGIS for spatial database management.
