Spatial Analysis of Risk

Course Description

The objective of this course is to develop a spatial perspective on risk analysis empower students with GIS spatial data representation, visualization, and analysis methods that are fundamental to the spatial analysis of risk. Risk analysis is critical for public safety agencies and insurance companies, land developers, and by government planners for better disaster preparedness. Geographical Information systems and associated spatial analytical tools are widely used to characterize hazards (earthquakes, hurricanes, cyclones and floods) and their impacts of life, properties, and environment. Through a set of lectures, labs, and projects, students will develop skills and competencies in mapping hazards, exposure, and vulnerabilities, and integrating these risk components through geospatial relationships. A state-of-the-art GIS software (such as ArcGIS) will be used to support practical data processing (filtering, subsetting, reclassification), GIS analysis (location queries, buffer analysis, and spatial join/overlay), and visualization.