Understanding geographic information systems (GIS) and techniques of environmental simulation is important to professional urban planners, especially in settings where physical planning projects, large and small, are an issue of public importance. Planners are often expected by both public officials and community groups to assess critically GIS analyses and computer-generated simulations offered in support of and in opposition to proposed projects. Understanding how primary spatial data are collected for proposals at all scale levels is an increasingly important professional skill. Through this project, the School of Planning purchases a differential global positioning system (DGPS) and digital electronic transit to provide direct instruction to its undergraduate planning students in primary spatial data collection in courses on planning design, site planning, GIS, and environmental simulation. The purpose of this instruction is to prepare the school's graduates with a technological skill that is important in both professional and public policy terms.
