Think of a research question that can be addressed through spatial methods.
It can be
something related to your thesis project, to a course you are taking, or something else
entirely. Search for the relevant data (see also resources published on Canvas) and use
ArcMap to visualise it (you don’t need to make a complete map in this case).
Submit your map together with a short reflection (300 words), consider the following
questions: What is your question? How would you use your data to answer it? What are
some possible limitations, data biases or obstacles? Can you think of any alternative
dataset / method?
At this point, you don’t have to run the analysis (of course, you can if you want to): it is
sufficient for you to think about it.
The question we are dealing with is ‘How do the application of potential accessibility (PA)
metrics to the multimodal Randstad public transport system highlight the lack of cohesive
regional-level planning?’. This is the thesis question that Ciarán is currently working on,
which is based on a paper that heavily uses GIS components. The aim is to use the
steps of a potential accessibility analysis and apply this to the Randstad area, which will
highlight the less accessible areas of the Netherlands in terms of public transport. This
will then be cross-referenced with the evolved commuter flows in the region, to identify
whether there are comparatively inaccessible points in the regional-level public
transport.
This is a complicated question, and the exact methods of conducting this still need to
be examined, but there are a few steps. The first is using the 1000 x 1000 meter (or
smaller, depending) grid blocks of the Netherlands to form a base. These can be
selected to be just areas within the definition of the Randstad that I progress with. Data
on the various train, metro, tram, and bus stops within the Randstad, also needs to be
loaded in. A number of existing papers provide an overview of conducting the potential
accessibility methods
Then this data can be analyzed, and compared to existing scholarship, and other data
involving commuter flows. Data will also have to be collected on the commuting flows -
while it is likely that some form of this will be publicly accessible through data APIs,
there will also be some work required in coalescing this into a workable format.
An alternative potential data set, proposed by Gil & Read (2012) is to analyse the urban
area in terms of modal environments. Measuring the centrality of public transport
compared to mobility patterns of the population, and using a link that shows the
connection between different forms of public transport in the randstad can show both
patterns of mobility of residents and accessibility by the proximity of one type of public
transport to another type. This can be done by interlaying transport routes over one
another.
Screengrab of exported PDF
This was performed by locating a 1000x1000 dataset of the Netherlands. Within this,
the color scale was changed to become more legible. We also added the train stations
from a separate dataset, and altered the display elements (icon, label) in order to
become more legible. Within this, we also performed a 1km walking buffer to the
stations. We then exported the map as a PDF.
References:
Chen, Jie, Jianhua Ni, Changbai Xi, Siqian Li, and Jiechen Wang. 2017. “Determining
Intra-Urban Spatial Accessibility Disparities in Multimodal Public Transport
Networks.” Journal of Transport Geography 65 (December): 123–33.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2017.10.015.
Gil, J., & Read, S. (2012). Measuring sustainable accessibility potential using the mobility
infrastructure’s network configuration. ResearchGate.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jorge-Gil-5/publication/258242235_Mea
suring_sustainable_accessibility_potential_using_the_mobility_infrastructure
Goliszek, S. (2021). GIS tools and programming languages for creating models of public
and private transport potential accessibility in Szczecin, Poland. Journal of
Geographical Systems, 23(1), 115–137.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10109-020-00337-z
(https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10109-020-00337-z.pdf)
