Topic outline

  • Geographical Information Systems

    Image courtesy of Abhijit Ekbote (A Geo-referenced map of Mumbai suburb surveyed in 1924)

     

    Instructor(s) Abhijit Akbote

    As Taught in Winter 2016 (November to March) & Monsoon 2017 (June to October)

    Level Master of Urban Design & 5th Year undergraduate GIS Elective 

    Type Lecture and practice

    • Syllabus Page

      Primary intent of the course is to understand the basic principles of Geographical Systems and its areas of applications in the field of Urban Studies. The course on GIS (Geographic Information System) for students of masters in urban design and urban conservation aims to look at a specific method of making maps through the designing of data structure, recording the set of information through remote sensing and on-site documentation and retrieving the same in the form of maps and inferences.

  • 1. Session

    Tutorial on 'Introduction to the basics of GIS'

    Class 1

    Image courtesy Abhijit Ekbote from his masters thesis

    The lecture will talk about the history of GIS, its relevance to the challenges faced by urbanisation and the current areas of application of GIS. The session will end with a broad introduction to the concept of Open Source platforms and the interface of Quantum GIS.

    Recommended reading:

  • 2. Session

    Introduction to the BINUCOM Case Study, QGIS Interface, Attribute Tables, Handling different types of Data in QGIS, Querying, etc.

    Casestudy Location Map

    The session will be divided in two parts, where in the first half there will be an introduction to the BINUCOM theme, which is Accessibility to Designated Open Spaces by Informal Settlements. This will help in guiding the future exercises in QGIS so that the objectives of the case study are met. The curriculum will be explained to the students, along with the schedule, deliverables and assignment dates.

    The second half of the session will be on the introduction to the QGIS software interface conducted in the computer lab, so that the students follow the demonstration given in the lecture. The session will end with a questions and answers session regarding the presentations and demonstration made.

    Abhijit Ekbote (2017): Accessibility of designated open spaces to informal settlements in Mumbai

  • 3. Session

    Geo-referencing Tutorial

    georeferencing

    This session will give a live demonstration of how a development plan sheet can be georeferenced in QGIS using the georeferencer plugin. The students will follow on screen instructions and will themselves georeference a DP sheet, which will familiarise them with the interface and the fundamentals of georeferencing. This will lay a foundation for creation of vector data.  

    Tutorial by Abhijit Ekbote:  HOW TO GEO-REFERENCE A RASTER MAP Case Taken : A Development Plan Sheet of Mumbai

  • 4. Session

    Geo-referencing - working class

    This session will be primarily a continuation of the earlier session where the case study DP sheets (1991 DP and 2034DP sourced from MCGM), Existing Land Use (2012 ELU map sourced from MCGM) and Slum maps (map showing informal settlements sourced from SRA) will be shared with the students. They will work in the class, based on their learnings of the last session, and georeference the two maps. They will act as the base layer on which they can start creating vector layers.

    • 5. Topic: Creating Vector Data Types & Designing Attribute Structure

      This session will be a lecture cum demonstration of the method of creating vector data types, such as points, lines and polygons. The students will be exposed to the ways in which the attribute structure can be designed, so that queries can be constructed to obtained the desired analytical maps.  

      • 6. Topic: Terrain Analysis using GRASS

        Terrainanalysis

        This session will expose the students to do terrain analysis of a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) file, using the GRASS plugin inside QGIS. The data output for this exercise will be watersheds, streams, contours, slope analysis and aspect maps. 

      • 7. Session

        The following steps will be covered in this session:-

        • Understanding the existing data structure of MMR-EIS on the designated open spaces of Mumbai.
        • Identifying the sub-parameters which are relevant towards understanding the accessibility to informal settlements.
        • Tutorial on how to use Open Data Kit for on site data collection.

        • 8. Session

          Site visit for data collection using Open Data Kit will distribute the councillor wards amongst the student groups. These groups will create a 'form' for mobile data collection before going on site. The respective groups will collect data on access by informal settlers to designated open spaces.

          • 9. Session

            Site visit for data collection (K West Ward) to be continued.

          • 10. Session

            Extracting data from the server in .csv format and joining the point data with the open space shape files in QGIS.

            • 11. Session

              Setting the accessibility grading parameters and assigning the grade value as a numerical digit.

            • 12. Session

              Completing pending work and merging the entire class work as a single GIS Database. Creating maps showing the accessibility indices of various designated open spaces will be created and submitted as a final submission.