The thesis describes the methodology of evaluation of extreme events and development of cartographic information system for this purpose. Existing complex risk assessment systems in the world are analysed highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. Author proposes original integrated risk assessment methodology based on integration of information from different geographic data sources. A cartographic information system designed by the author allows for the assessment of extreme events threats and risks. The developed methodology includes methodology of cartographic information system component development and deployment. The work describes necessary extreme events data, methods of their collection and database design principles. The created model enables the user to collect the data on extreme hazard events and to aggregate several threats into a single synthetic threat. The concepts of risks and threats and risk assessment methodology are explained. The author introduces project of an information system operating in the Lithuanian Geographic Information Infrastructure and integrated in the Lithuania spatial information portal. The system is tested with several consistent spatial data sets for Lithuania. The thesis presents experimental results that show increased geological and meteorological risk areas in Lithuania. Finally, methodological and practical conclusions about the methods and system customization, reliability and compliance with standards are presented. / Disertacijoje aprašoma ekstremalių įvykių vertinimo kartografinės informacinės sistemos kūrimo metodologija. Analizuojamos pasaulyje egzistuojančios kompleksinės rizikos vertinimo sistemos išryškinami jų trūkumai ir privalumai. Atliktos analizės pagrindu sukuriama originali daugeliu duomenų šaltinių pagrįsta kompleksinio rizikos vertinimo metodologija ir aprašoma autoriaus suprojektuota informacinė sistema leidžianti vertinti ekstremalių įvykių grėsmes ir riziką. Sukurta metodologija apima kartografinės informacinės sistemos sudedamųjų dalių kūrimo ir diegimo metodiką. Aprašomi sistemos veikimui reikiamų duomenų tipai, jų surinkimas, ekstremalių įvykių duomenų bazės kaupimo principai, sukuriamas ekstremalių įvykių grėsmių skaičiavimo ir kelių grėsmių apjungimo į vieną sintetinę grėsmę modelis. Aprašomas rizikos ir grėsmės santykis ir rizikos vertinimo metodologija. Disertacijoje taip pat pateikiama visos sistemos, veikiančios Lietuvos geografinės informacijos infrastruktūroje, ir integruotos Lietuvos erdvinės informacijos portale projektas. Sistema išbandyta su Lietuvoje pasiekiamais ir realiai egzistuojančiais erdvinių duomenų rinkiniais. Pateikiami eksperimento metu gauti rezultatai, rodantys padidintų geologinių ir meteorologinių rizikos rajonus Lietuvoje. Darbo pabaigoje pateikiamos metodologinės ir praktinės išvados apie metodų ir sistemos pritaikymą, patikimumą ir atitikimą standartams.

Statistics Sweden is an administrative agency that delimits built-up areas and produces statistics regarding them. The statistics provide information about the area of the built-up areas, their population number, number of gainfully employees working in the built-up areas, and of buildings. Now Statistics Sweden wishes to extend such statistics by producing a measure regarding how well developed the service is in each built-up area. This study is a contribution to this statistical improvement work and the purpose is to – by employing geographical information systems and cluster analysis – classify the Swedish built-up areas according to 1) service width and 2) service degree. A particular built-up area has a high service width if it has many different service functions, such as pharmacies, schools and grocery stores. It has a high service degree if it has many service functions per 1000 inhabitants. The result consists of two different “urban hierarchies”, one in which one can identify the level of service width of each built-up area and one in which one can position each built-up area according to its service degree. This study shows that built-up areas with a high service width also have manyinhabitants. In contrast, this is not the case for built-up areas with a high service degree: built-up areas with high service degree have relatively few inhabitants. The study shows that built-up areas with high service degree have a higher quota number of people employed in the locality / number of residents, which indicates that these built-up areas are “commuting localities” – built-up areas where people work but not necessarily live. The results from the two separate modes of classification also show that the service width and service degree do not display a positive correlation. Built-up areas with high service degree are thus not the same built-up areas that those scoring high onservice width; if anything, the relationship is rather the opposite.

Implementing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in a developing country can improve spatial planning and decision-making. Utilizing a Participatory GIS framework of maximizing community empowerment and limiting marginalization, this thesis research explores the barriers associated with implementing GIS in Dangriga, Belize and how to overcome those barriers. The research included the identification of local needs that could benefit from the use of GIS, the collection of local data through group and individual data collections, and the utilization of locally collected data to conduct GIS training sessions. It was learned that Dangriga faces many barriers found in other developing countries: institutional inertia, resource and technical availabilities, and a lack of trained personnel. Through the collection of local data and training sessions utilizing the data, the barriers of implementing GIS in Dangriga can be minimized.

The growing necessity for meaningful climate change response has encouraged the development of global warming mitigation and adaptation initiatives. Urban solar energy generation is one opportunity that has been investigated by numerous cities through various solar potential Web-applications. However, as solar feasibility can vary considerably across a small geographic area due to variations in local topography and feature shading, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to be implemented. This thesis investigates how a Web-based spatial decision support system (SDSS) can enable non-experts to explore urban solar feasibility and, to a lesser extent, issues related to urban heat. First, a conceptual framework is developed that investigates the linkages between SDSS, Web technologies, public participation, volunteered geographic information, and existing green energy initiatives. This framework identifies the relevance between these fields of study as well as a number of opportunities for improving on past work and taking advantage of new technical capabilities. Second, in order to test the opportunities identified, SunSpot was developed. This Web-SDSS investigates rooftop solar feasibility as well as land cover and surface temperature dynamics relating to the urban heat-island effect in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A number of solar resource datasets were developed in order to facilitate the decision making capabilities of SunSpot. This was done using a combination of different topographical data sources, atmospheric data, and a raster-based irradiance model called Solar Analyst. Third, a number of in-person workshops were conducted to obtain feedback on SunSpot’s usability and ability for users to understand the visual layers and results. Finally, this feedback was analyzed to identify the successes and challenges of SunSpot’s capabilities and design. This revealed a number of recommendations for further development of SunSpot, as well as opportunities for future research relating to the development of local scale solar resource data and the development of similar Web-SDSS applications.

Detta arbete handlar om regionala röstningsmönster i riksdagsvalet 2010 hos riksdagspartierna Socialdemokraterna och Moderaterna. Dessa mönster analyseras fram genom ett antal kartor och diagram som är framställda från statistik från Statistiska Centralbyrån, SCB. Genom att välja ut fyra socioekonomiska faktorer; genomsnittsinkomst, eftergymnasial utbildning, industriarbetare samt befolkningstäthet, kunde en generell bild på kommunnivå skapas över vilka röstningsmönster som fanns vid riksdagsvalet 2010. Genom att kombinera dessa faktorer syntes mönster bland Sveriges 290 kommuner, var i landet de två partierna var starka respektive svaga. På detta lades de mönster som uppenbarades i de socioekonomiska faktorerna, varpå slutsatser kunde dras utifrån kombinationen av dem.

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This research proposes an on-line Environmental Information System for Planners (EISP). The Environmental Information System for Planners has been developed in collaboration with five local authorities as a web-based system designed to support decision making within the UK planning framework. It has been built as a ‘proof-of-concept’ system to demonstrate the value to urban planning of making information on environmental issues more widely accessible. The EISP has been designed to support three principal planning functions carried out by Local Authorities: Pre-planning enquiries; Development control decisions; and Strategic planning. The system incorporates 12 environmental themes: Air quality (PM10); Shallow undermining; Landslide susceptibility; Groundwater protection; Flood risk; Drainage; Land contamination; Proximity to landfill; Biodiversity; Natural heritage designations; Man-made heritage; and Natural Ground Stability (Geohazards). The design framework is based upon a series of decision flow diagrams, each covering one of the above themes. These decision flows take account of current planning procedures in the UK. Industry-standard web technologies have been employed to integrate the flows and develop the functionality that will allow the planner access to the system through secure web pages. Underpinning the system is an environmental Geographical Information System (GIS) that contains the most up-to-date data, information and models relevant to each of the environmental themes listed. The planning regulations are subject to change and so the system has been designed in a modular way so that new legislation can be accommodated without the need for a complete system rewrite. This modular approach also means that the system can be readily adapted to reflect local priorities and to draw on local datasets. The EISP was successfully tested and the thesis concludes with a costed business case study for commercial implementation and rollout of a production EISP system populated with appropriate environmental data within UK local authorities.

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