Perspectives on geospatial information science education: an example of urban planners in Southern Africa

Abstract

Since the introduction of geographic information systems (GIS) in the 1960s, it has evolved tremendously to an extent that it permeates our daily lives. Initially, GIS usage started in the developed countries and now increasingly filtered to developing countries. The town planning profession was one of the early adopters of GIS. Geospatial information is a useful source of data that is needed in urban planning. In these days of the New Urban Agenda 2030, smart cities are even more required from planners in using geospatial information to face urban challenges such as sustainable urban development and climate change. Although GIS has promised a lot for urban planning, it has not reached its full potential. Moreover, many studies have focused on developed countries with limited studies on geospatial information application in municipalities and GIS education from a perspective of developing countries. In this study, a survey on the usage of geospatial information science (GSIS) in two cities, namely Bulawayo in Zimbabwe and Ekurhuleni in South Africa, was conducted, and an overview of the state of GIS curricula in planning schools is discussed. The results indicate that considerable progress has been made in the application of geospatial information in municipal planning; however, there are impediments limiting the full utilization of geospatial information in local municipalities. These impediments include: inadequate GIS curricula in planning schools, lack of resources, and lack of political will. These challenges manifest differently in well-resourced municipalities and those with limited resources. The study proposes planning-relevant GIS curricula to improve the level of GIS use in planning practice.

In Search of the Innovative Digital Solutions Enhancing Social Pro-Environmental Engagement

“…It has significant educational potential, as well as the ability to shape public awareness, which is one of the major future challenges related to sustainable development. It also fulfills the need of strengthening social participation in smart cities [3,9]. Such concept of The theoretical concept of a digital tool enhancing individual pro-environmental behavior presented in this paper is an attempt to address the above-mentioned challenges.…”

“…It has significant educational potential, as well as the ability to shape public awareness, which is one of the major future challenges related to sustainable development. It also fulfills the need of strengthening social participation in smart cities [3,9]. Such concept of a digital currency based on an application is also embedded in the three pillars introduced by Nerini et al [10], which are (1) innovative technology and integration, (2) innovation in governance, and (3) social innovation.…”

“…However, to shape such an approach, it is necessary to advance data-based climate science to communicate these findings to members of society [8]. Applications based on geospatial information systems, when used in municipal planning, can be considered supportive tools in responding to the need to build social engagement [9].…”

Perspectives of GIS Education in High Schools: An Evaluation of uMgungundlovu District, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

“…Due to its content benefits, GIS education has attracted the attention of various schools in different countries globally [29]. Musakwa [30] concurs by explaining that the use of GIS initially began in developed countries but is now increasingly filtering to developing countries. Developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia are amongst the few leaders of GIS education [19].…”

“…Balram [42] also asserts that early efforts to increase the infusion of GIS into education resulted to the value of explicit spatial thinking [2]. Moreover, the study by [30] focused on questions that assess the impact of GIS on student knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation skills. These GIS perspectives results proved that the use of GIS spatial terms and software enhances spatial thinking and spatial cognitive skills better than traditional teaching methods, such as rulers and calculators.…”