Tlmt 601

Please Follow directions or I will dispute 

please answer original forum with a minimum of 250 words and respond to both students separately with a minimum of 100 words each

first page- Original Forum with References 

Second Page - Cline response with references 

third page - Kim response with references 

Original Forum 

esearch Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  What is a Geographic Information System (GIS) and how is it related to Transportation Economics? What can GIS do to help transportation economists to save money? What impact might GIS have on future projects in transportation?

 

Student Response 

Cline 

According to the software company ESRI, a geographic information system (GIS) provides the " framework to organize, communicate, and understand the science of our world" (esri.com, 2020). As can be seen from it's name, GIS is based in geography, and uses multiple inputs from mapping, geospatial data analysis, and computer appllications to give the user information necessary to manage and improve existing projects and resources, while effectively forecasting and predicting future needs. In short, GIS allows the user to see a geographic representation of issues and projects, and determine potential needs and impacts.

In terms of transportation economics, planning and project execution, GIS can provide multiple tools and datasets.  GIS will allow the user to map the current infrastructure against proposed growth areas to identify potential issues which may require strategic planning (such as the impact that the addition of an industrial park and housing development will have on existing regional transportation networks). This is not merely limited to the forecasting of planned change. GIS can also give the user the ability to map impacts of unforeseen events (i.e. natural disasters), and assist with development of response plans for these events. During the planning process, GIS can assist  with the setting of operational priorities within projects, as well as monitor changes (and their affects) not only within the existing project but also impacts of activities and projects within neighboring municipalities. In short, GIS gives agencies and planners a tool in which a graphic, geographic representation of existing data can be developed in order to base decisions more on fact and less on desires of individuals, communities and political forces which control the finances required to execute planning and projects. 

What is GIS? (n.d.). Retrieved September 16, 2020, from https://www.esri.com/en-us/what-is-gis/overview

Kim

GIS (Geographic Information System) in my own words is digitized mapping system with descriptive data that can be managed in terms of analysis, manipulation, and queries. GPS (Global Positioning System) simply pinpoints where you are at a given moment in real time, however, without GIS support, most people will still be lost. I used to do mounted recon so with military GPS – I knew where my vehicle was at in reference to grid coordinates but those numbers wouldn’t have meant anything if I didn’t know how to read or reference the grid coordinates on the map. GIS can communicate a lot of transportation data on a map including rail racks, highway networks, buildings, traffic flow, congestion, accident locations and etc. The map in GIS is not just a static map that can’t be modified, it is rather an interactive. Maps present an efficient mechanism for storing and communicating geographic information, and map displays can be integrated with reports, three-dimensional views, photographic images, and other multimedia outputs. (Sinha & Labi, 2007). You can tailor digitized maps accordingly to your purpose in GIS.

GIS can play an important role in Transportation Economics to plan (forecast), analyze, and make decisions about transportation system. According to Farooq et al. (2018), it is possible to analyze, forecast, simulate, and implement an imaginary transportation model, expansion road network analysis, and regional road network design using GIS. When improving a transportation system, a company wants to reduce cost and improve efficiency. For example, GIS can provide an analysis of current route, time and modes combination to calculate cost, and simulation of different routes and transit time using different kind of transportation modes to forecast any benefit.

References

Farooq, A., Xie, M., Stoilova, S., Ahmad, F., Guo, M., Williams, E., Gahlot, V., Yan, D., & Mahamat Issa, A. (2018). Transportation Planning through GIS and Multicriteria Analysis: Case Study of Beijing and XiongAn. Journal of Advanced Transportation, 2018, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/2696037

Sinha, K. C., & Labi, S. (2007). Transportation decision making: Principles of project evaluation and programming . Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Chapter 19. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/apus/reader.action?docID=792589 

Pira