Staffing the Revolution: GIS Education for Planners

Abstract

Computerized information processing is profoundly altering, even revolutionizing, the potential for planning and decision support resulting in greatly increased demand for professionals with the knowledge and skills to use this new technology, especially its expression in geographic information systems (GIS). Drawing upon the authors' experience in teaching GIS to planners, this article proposes a strategy for staffing the planning side of the GIS revolution. It speculates about reasons for lag in introducing GIS in planning schools, describes the potential for use of GIS tools in planning, and presents a case study of the introduction of GIS into the curriculum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Development of an integrated GIS and land use planning course: impacts of hybrid instructional methods

“…Traditionally, GIS education/training for planners has been concentrated in geography or other cognate programs (Godschalk & McMahon, 1992;Wikle & Finchum, 2003), because the planning discipline is often faced with an acute shortage of skilled educators to teach GIS (Fagin & Wikle, 2011;Garner & Zhou, 1993;Jeffress & Meyer, 2006;Montagu, 2001). This reliance raises an important pedagogical question for planning education.…”

“…However, planning programs have historically responded slowly in the incorporation of GIS education resulting in a shortage of GIS-skilled planners (Dramowicz, Wightman, & Crant, 1993;Drummond, 1995;Garner & Zhou, 1993;Godschalk & McMahon, 1992;Yeh, 2005). For example, Dramowicz et al (1993) have shown that 12% of planning programs worldwide have adopted GIS courses in their curriculum compared to 54% in geography.…”

Applications and Trends of Remote Sensing in Professional Urban Planning

“…The literature notes that over the past 20 years, the majority of planning programs have undergone a ‘quiet revolution’ in which GIS courses are now required of students (Chapin 2003; Drummond 1995; Godschalk and McMahon 1992). Baccalaureate and post‐baccalaureate planning programs commonly promote urban‐oriented courses in urban policy, planning, management and even GIS; seldom, if ever, do they require their students to take remote sensing courses.…”

A Critical Look at the Use of Computing Technologies in Planning Education

“…The real problems lie in the other dimension of technology-knowledge, technique and organisation" (p. 443). As GISs evolved and became recognized as valuable tools for planning, these real problems were, in fact, investigated and solutions proposed (Harris and Batty 1993;Godschalk and McMahon 1992;Campbell and Masser 1995). Campbell and Masser (1995) examine experiences of planning agencies in implementing GIS programs.…”