Geospatial Data for Urban Planning and Smart Cities

Course overview

Geospatial Data for Urban Planning and Smart Cities is a practical, professional course designed to equip urban planners, GIS professionals, local government officers, development practitioners and technology professionals with the skills required to collect, manage, analyze and visualize geospatial information for modern urban planning and smart-city development. The course explores how location-based data can support land-use planning, infrastructure development, transportation management, environmental monitoring, population analysis, service delivery and evidence-based urban decision-making.

Participants learn how to work with different sources of urban geospatial data, including satellite imagery, aerial imagery, GPS data, GIS databases, open geospatial datasets, administrative boundaries, cadastral information, transportation networks, infrastructure data and selected IoT or sensor-generated information. The course combines GIS, remote sensing, spatial analysis, urban analytics, web mapping and smart-city concepts to demonstrate how geospatial technologies can help cities understand growth, identify infrastructure gaps, monitor development and improve the planning and management of urban areas.

Course objectives

• Explain the role of geospatial data in urban planning and smart-city development. Identify major sources and types of urban geospatial data. Collect, organize and manage spatial datasets for urban applications
• Understand how IoT, sensors, real-time data and AI can complement geospatial systems
• Develop a practical geospatial solution for an urban planning or smart-city scenario.
• Explore web GIS, location-based services and smart-city platforms. .
• Understand the role of GIS databases and spatial data infrastructure.
• Develop maps, dashboards and visualizations for urban decision-making. Apply geospatial techniques to infrastructure and utility planning.
• Analyze urban expansion, land-use change and development patterns.
• Analyze transportation networks and urban accessibility.
• Perform spatial analysis for urban planning and service delivery.
• Integrate satellite imagery and remote-sensing data into urban analysis.
• Use GIS to analyze land use, infrastructure, population and urban growth.
• . Understand coordinate reference systems and spatial data quality.

Who should attend

Course content

• Module 1: Introduction to Geospatial Data, Urban Planning and Smart Cities Explore the relationship between GIS, geospatial data, urban planning and smart-city development. Participants examine how location influences population distribution, land use, t
• Module 2: Urban Geospatial Data Sources and Data Acquisition Examine the different datasets required for urban planning and smart-city applications. Participants work with administrative boundaries, roads, buildings, parcels, land use, population, utilit
• Module 3: Spatial Reference Systems, Data Quality and Geospatial Data Management Develop a strong understanding of coordinate reference systems, projections, spatial accuracy and data quality. Participants learn how different datasets can use different c
• Module 4: GIS Database Design and Urban Spatial Data Management Learn how to organize urban geospatial information into structured GIS databases. Participants examine vector and raster data, spatial attributes, feature classes, layers and relationships b
• Module 5: Land Use, Land Cover and Urban Development Analysis Use GIS and remote-sensing data to understand how urban areas are organized and how they change over time. Participants analyze residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, recreational
• Module 6: Remote Sensing and Satellite Imagery for Urban Analysis Explore the use of satellite and aerial imagery for monitoring urban environments. Participants learn about image characteristics, spatial resolution, spectral information and appropriate
• Module 7: Urban Growth, Population and Spatial Demographic Analysis Analyze population distribution and urban growth using geospatial techniques. Participants examine population density, settlement patterns, demographic characteristics and the relationsh
• Module 8: Infrastructure, Utilities and Public-Service Planning Use geospatial data to support planning and management of critical urban infrastructure and public services. Participants analyze the location and distribution of roads, water networks, elec
• Module 9: Transportation, Mobility and Network Analysis Explore GIS techniques for understanding urban transportation and accessibility. Participants work with road networks, public transport routes, traffic-related information and points of interest to
• Module 10: Environmental Analysis, Climate Resilience and Urban Sustainability Apply geospatial analysis to environmental challenges affecting cities. Participants examine urban vegetation, surface water, drainage, flood-prone areas, heat exposure, pollu
• Module 11: Spatial Analysis, Suitability Modelling and Urban Decision Support Develop analytical workflows for selecting appropriate locations for urban facilities and development activities. Participants learn about proximity analysis, buffers, overlays
• Module 12: Urban 3D Mapping, Visualization and Digital City Models Explore advanced methods for visualizing urban environments. Participants examine 3D buildings, terrain, infrastructure and other urban features and consider how three-dimensional visuali
• Module 13: Web GIS, Dashboards and Smart-City Geospatial Platforms Learn how geospatial information can be made accessible through interactive web maps, dashboards and location-based applications. Participants explore the principles of web GIS, map servi
• Module 14: IoT, Real-Time Geospatial Data, AI and Smart-City Analytics Explore how emerging technologies can extend conventional GIS into intelligent urban management systems. Participants examine how sensors, IoT devices, GPS systems, connected infrastr
• Module 15: Integrated Smart-City Geospatial Planning Project Bring together the skills developed throughout the course through an integrated urban planning project. Participants select a realistic urban challenge and develop a complete geospatial workflo

General notes

• 1.Urban Expansion Monitoring Use satellite imagery and historical spatial data to identify areas of urban expansion and analyze changes in built-up land over time.
• 2. Public-Service Accessibility Map schools, hospitals, markets and other public facilities and identify communities that have limited access based on distance or network accessibility.
• . New Health Facility Site Selection Combine population density, existing health facilities, roads, settlement patterns and other criteria to identify potentially suitable areas for a new health facility.
• 4. Urban Flood-Risk Mapping Combine elevation, drainage, rainfall, land cover, built-up areas and watercourses to identify locations that may require additional flood-risk management.

Frequently asked questions

Schedule & fees