9 Geography, Environment and Geomatics
Environmental Studies (ENV)
Bending the Curve: Climate Change Solutions
Veerabhadran Ramanathan (University of California San Diego), Roger Aines (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), and Max Auffhammer (University of California Berkeley)
2019
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
This textbook book lays out ten solutions that together can bend the curve of climate warming below dangerous levels. These solutions fall into six categories: science, societal transformation, governance, economics, technology, and ecosystem management.
Format: PDF
Includes: Learning Companion to Bending the Curve (questions for review and discussion)
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ENV 1101 Global Environmental Challenges
ENV 3321 Human and Policy Dimensions of Environmental Change
Climate Lessons: Environmental, Social, Local
Edited by Marja Bakermans and Geoff Pfeifer (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)
2021
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
This course attempts to bring together knowledge of the science of ecological and climate systems and their changing status with knowledge of the social and communal structures within which these systems are embedded and through which they have been influenced. The book highlights key interests and insights of current students in their quest to think through these issues and to create a better world.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook and PDF
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ENV 1101 Global Environmental Challenges
ENV 3321 Human and Policy Dimensions of Environmental Change
Climate Toolkit: A Resource Manual for Science and Action∗
Frank D. Granshaw (Portland State University)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
The Climate Toolkit is a resource manual designed to help the reader navigate the complex and perplexing issue of climate change by providing tools and strategies to explore the underlying science. As such it contains a collection of activities that make use of readily available online resources developed by research groups and public agencies. These include web-based climate models, climate data archives, interactive atlases, policy papers, and “solution” catalogs. Unlike a standard textbook, it is designed to help readers do their own climate research and devise their own perspective rather than providing them with a script to assimilate and repeat.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Activities and resources
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ENV 1101 Global Environmental Challenges [especially chapters 9-10, 15-16, and 21]
Community Resilience to Climate Change: Theory, Research and Practice∗
Dana Hellman and Vivek Shands (Portland State University)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
This reader is an Open Educational Resource, meant to accompany a graduate or higher-level undergraduate university course in climate change resilience, adaptation, and/or planning. While the material is geared toward students in urban and regional planning, it may also be of interest to students of urban studies, public health, geography, political science, sociology, risk management, and others.
Each section of this volume includes (1) an introductory summary, (2) a reading list with full text articles, (3) student exercises meant to enhance understanding and facilitate in-class discussion, and (4) additional discussion prompts or activities for instructors to use in class. The format of materials is intended to convey key concepts, while leaving ample space for student exploration, discourse, and creativity. Lessons may culminate in an applied, imaginative final project, a sample framework of which is provided at the end of Section VI.
Formats: PDF and Word
Suggested for:
ENV 3321 Human and Policy Dimensions of Environmental Change
ENV 4129 Global Climate Change
Earth 2020: An Insider’s Guide to a Rapidly Changing Planet∗ 
Edited by Philippe Tortell (University of British Columbia)
2020
Licence: CC BY 4.0
Earth 2020: An Insider’s Guide to a Rapidly Changing Planet responds to a public increasingly concerned about the deterioration of Earth’s natural systems, offering readers a wealth of perspectives on our shared ecological past, and on the future trajectory of planet Earth. Written by world-leading thinkers on the front lines of global change research and policy, this multi-disciplinary collection maintains a dual focus: some essays investigate specific facets of the physical Earth system, while others explore the social, legal and political dimensions shaping the human environmental footprint. In doing so, the essays collectively highlight the urgent need for collaboration across diverse domains of expertise in addressing one of the most significant challenges facing us today.
Formats: Online and PDF
Includes: Videos of online panel discussions (May 2020)
Suggested for:
ENV 5101 The Anthropocene
Earth in the Future: Predicting Climate Change and Its Impacts Over the Next Century (EARTH 103N)∗
David Brice and Tim Bralower (Pennsylvania State University)
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Our planet is becoming hot. In fact, Earth may be warming faster than ever before. This warming will challenge society throughout the 21st century. How do we cope with rising seas? How will we prepare for more intense hurricanes? How will we adapt to debilitating droughts and heat waves? Scientists are striving to improve predictions of how the environment will change and how it will impact humans. Earth in the Future: Predicting Climate Change and Its Impacts Over the Next Century is designed to provide the state of the art of climate science, the impact of warming on humans, as well as ways we can adapt. Every student will understand the challenges and opportunities of living in the 21st century.
Formats: Website and HTML files downloadable as a .zip file (after completing the “Course Download Questionnaire”)
Suggested for:
ENV 2304 Climatology
Environmental Biology∗
Edited by Matthew R. Fisher (Oregon Coast Community College) (OpenOregon)
2017
Licence: CC BY 4.0
Environmental Biology enables students to develop a nuanced understanding of today’s most pressing environmental issues. This text helps students grasp the scientific foundation of these issues so that they can better understand the world around them and their impact upon it. This open textbook covers the most salient environmental issues, from a biological perspective. The text is designed for an introductory-level college science course. Topics include the fundamentals of ecology, biodiversity, pollution, climate change, food production, and human population growth.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Lecture slides, end-of-chapter summaries and review questions with answer key
Reviews: Open Textbook Library – BCcampus
Suggested for:
ENV 1101 Global Environmental Challenges [especially chapters 1 and 4-11]
Environmental Science: A Canadian Perspective∗
Bill Freedman (Dalhousie University)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
This textbook is intended to provide the core elements of a curriculum for teaching environmental science at the introductory level in Canadian colleges and universities. This book is suitable for students beginning a program in environmental science, environmental studies, or sustainability. It is also appropriate for arts students who require a science elective, and for science students who require a non-major elective. Not many introductory textbooks in environmental science are written in a way that provides a deep examination of issues that are particularly important in Canada, and the ways they are being dealt with by governments and society-at-large. Canada has unique national and regional perspectives that should be understood by Canadian students, and it is regrettable that many of them are studying from textbooks whose focus is not their own country. This book, however, was written from the ground-up to provide Canadian information and examples. This national context is integrated throughout the text, along with North American and global data that provide a broader perspective. Special Canadian Focus boxes illustrate important examples of environmental issues in our national context. At the same time, Global Focus boxes enhance the international context for learning about issues, while In Detail boxes examine particular topics in greater depth.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Instructor resources, student resources, review questions, discussion questions, and summaries
Reviews: BCcampus
Suggested for:
ENV 1101 Global Environmental Challenges [especially chapters 15-19 and 21-22]
Financial Impact of Climate Change∗
Todd Thexton (Royal Roads University)
2021
Licence: CC BY 4.0
This open online course introduces participants to the financial risks and impacts associated with climate change. This four-week course introduces participants to the financial risks and impacts associated with climate change. Participants will explore a range of risk pathways that link climate and economic systems, including:
• physical risks related to direct exposure to climate hazards in the value chain;
• transition risks arising from abrupt transitions to a low-carbon economy;
• systemic risks transmitted throughout the economy;
• extreme risks arising from the complex dynamic nature of climate-economy systems.
Topics will be explored through the use of case study examples, group-based analysis and problem-solving. The learning is supported by readings, videos and live, interactive online sessions. Participants are encouraged to share their own knowledge and expertise in group-based discussion forums. Upon completion of the course, participants will have a foundational understanding of the relationship between climate change and the economy. Participants will develop their ability to identify climate-related financial risks within their own organizations—critical groundwork for effective planning and decision-making for mitigation and adaptation. As an introductory course, this course is suited to those with limited previous experience in climate-related finance or economics. However, a basic understanding of climate science is presumed.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, PDF, and more
Suggested for:
ENV 3321 Human and Policy Dimensions of Environmental Change
Global Warming in Local Discourses: How Communities around the World Make Sense of Climate Change∗
Edited by Michael Brüggemann and Simone Rödder (Universität Hamburg)
2020
Licence: CC BY 4.0
Global news on anthropogenic climate change is shaped by international politics, scientific reports and voices from transnational protest movements. This timely volume asks how local communities engage with these transnational discourses. The chapters in this volume present a range of compelling case studies drawn from a broad cross-section of local communities around the world, reflecting diverse cultural and geographical contexts. From Greenland to northern Tanzania, it illuminates how different understandings evolve in diverse cultural and geographical contexts while also revealing some common patterns of how people make sense of climate change. Global Warming in Local Discourses constitutes a significant, new contribution to understanding the multi-perspectivity of our debates on climate change, further highlighting the need for interdisciplinary study within this area. It will be a valuable resource to those studying climate and science communication; those interested in understanding the various roles played by journalism, NGOs, politics and science in shaping public understandings of climate change, as well as those exploring the intersections of the global and the local in debates on the sustainable transformation of societies.
Formats: Online and PDF
Suggested for:
ENV 1101 Global Environmental Challenges
Introduction to Climate Science∗
Andreas Schmittner (Oregon State University)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
This book describes how Earth’s climate is changing, how it has been changing in the recent geological past and how it may change in the future. It covers the physical sciences that build the foundations of our current understanding of global climate change such as radiation, Earth’s energy balance, the greenhouse effect and the carbon cycle. Both natural and human causes for climate change are discussed. Impacts of climate change on natural and human systems are summarized. Ethical and economical aspects of human-caused climate change and solutions are presented.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, and PDF
Suggested for:
ENV 4129 Global Climate Change
Sustainable Cities: Adding an African Perspective∗
Nadine Ibrahim (University of Waterloo)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Sustainable Cities: Adding an African Perspective is a course that introduces students to the theories and strategies to reimagine cities from an urban sustainability perspective. The course modules are beginner level building blocks that cater to the new inter-disciplinary trend around Cities Engineering.
The modules provide an introduction to concepts of sustainability, urbanization, climate change; strategies for best practices in the design of new cities and redesign of existing ones; and tools and methodologies for environmental assessments, material flows, and urban metabolism. Each module is expected to take 2-3hours for completion, this includes following the videos, reading through the global cities and African cities examples, and completing assessments, contributing to discussions and reflections. The course activities and interactions will enable students to design cities in developed and developing world contexts, in addition to engineering the great African cities of the future. The course is organized in 4 modules, where each module begins with an introduction to definitions and theories, followed by academic research on the topic, then showcases case studies from global cities in developed and developing world contexts, and from African cities.
Includes: Assessments with quizzes, discussions, and reflections.
Formats: Online, textbook in PDF, assessments in Word
Suggested for:
ENV 2110 Sustainable Cities
Geography (GEG)
Advanced Analytic Methods in Geospatial Intelligence (GEOG 885)∗
Todd Bacastow (Pennsylvania State University) and Dennis Bellafiore
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
General James Clapper, former United States Director of National Intelligence and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), once said “everything happens somewhere.” He stressed that there are aspects of time and place to every intelligence problem. In this course, you will examine how time and place work with general intelligence techniques to create geospatial intelligence. You will learn and apply critical thinking skills, structured analytical techniques, and other intelligence methods in a geospatial context. You’ll also learn how to reduce personal and organizational bias by conducting an Analysis of Competing Hypotheses, by R. Heuer, a 45-year veteran of the CIA. As a result, you will be better prepared for the world of geospatial intelligence analysis.
Formats: Website and HTML files downloadable as a .zip file (after completing the “Course Download Questionnaire”)
Suggested for:
GEG 6102 Practical GIS for Graduate Studies
GEG 6103 Spatial Data Science
Cartography and Visualization (GEOG 486)∗
Cary Anderson (PennState-University Park)
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Maps are powerful visual tools, both for communicating ideas and for facilitating data exploration. In GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization, you will learn design principles and techniques for creating maps with contemporary mapping tools, including ArcGIS Pro. In this lab-focused course, you’ll apply cartographic theory to practical problems, with a focus on design decisions such as selecting visual variables, classifying and generalizing data, applying principles of color and contrast, and choosing projections for maps. You will also be introduced to future-focused application topics such as augmented and virtual reality, mapping with multivariate glyphs, the visual depiction of uncertainty, interactive geovisualizations and (geo)visual analytics, and decision-making with maps and mapping products. Successful completion of this course will signify mastery in map production for communication and research; you will be practiced in making, analyzing, critiquing, and sharing high-quality maps.
Formats: Website and HTML files downloadable as a .zip file (after completing the “Course Download Questionnaire”)
Suggested for:
GEG 2320 GIS and the Digital Earth
GEG 4301 Coding the Digital Earth
Cloud and Server GIS (GEOG 865)∗
Ryan Baxter (Pennsylvania State University) and Sterling Quinn (Esri)
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Is your understanding of Cloud GIS a bit hazy? Does thinking about it leave you in a fog? We’ve designed GEOG 865, Cloud and Server GIS, to help you understand how all of the various pieces of architecture fit together. By the end of the class you’ll have a clear understanding of esri’s and others’ offerings in the space, how to implement ArcGIS Enterprise on Amazon EC2, make online maps with Carto and Mapbox, and engage in some blue sky thinking of your own in our weekly discussions about trends and directions.
Formats: Website and HTML files downloadable as a .zip file (after completing the “Course Download Questionnaire”)
Suggested for:
GEG 4301 Coding the Digital Earth
Community Resilience to Climate Change: Theory, Research and Practice∗
Dana Hellman and Vivek Shands (Portland State University)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
This reader is an Open Educational Resource, meant to accompany a graduate or higher-level undergraduate university course in climate change resilience, adaptation, and/or planning. While the material is geared toward students in urban and regional planning, it may also be of interest to students of urban studies, public health, geography, political science, sociology, risk management, and others.
Each section of this volume includes (1) an introductory summary, (2) a reading list with full text articles, (3) student exercises meant to enhance understanding and facilitate in-class discussion, and (4) additional discussion prompts or activities for instructors to use in class. The format of materials is intended to convey key concepts, while leaving ample space for student exploration, discourse, and creativity. Lessons may culminate in an applied, imaginative final project, a sample framework of which is provided at the end of Section VI.
Formats: PDF and Word
Suggested for:
GEG 4129 Global Climate Change
Earth Science∗
Claire M. Coyne (Santa Ana College) (Lumen Learning)
2017
Licence: CC BY 4.0
This text includes introductions to concepts from level I earth science courses, from geology to water systems. It was developed through Lumen Learning and a professor of Geology and Earth Sciences from Santa Ana College.
Format: Online
Includes: Learning objectives, vocabulary, summaries, review questions, embedded videos, and points to consider
Suggested for:
GEG 1301 The Physical Environment [as supplementary resource]
Geographic Information System Basics∗
Jonathan E. Campbell and Michael Shin (UCLA)
2014
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
This textbook integrates key concepts behind the technology with practical concerns and real-world applications. Recognizing that many potential GIS users are nonspecialists or may only need a few maps, this book is designed to be accessible, pragmatic, and concise. It also illustrates how GIS is used to ask questions, inform choices, and guide policy. From the melting of the polar ice caps to privacy issues associated with mapping, this book provides a gentle, yet substantive, introduction to the use and application of digital maps, mapping, and GIS.
Formats: Online and PDF
Suggested for:
GEG 2320 GIS and the Digital Earth
Geographic Information Technologies∗
R. Adam Dastrup and Lisa C. Young (Maricopa Community Colleges)
2020
Licence: CC BY 4.0
Adaptation of: Essentials of Geographic Information Systems integrates key concepts behind the technology with practical concerns and real-world applications. Recognizing that many potential GIS users are nonspecialists or may only need a few maps, this book is designed to be accessible, pragmatic, and concise. Essentials of Geographic Information Systems also illustrates how GIS is used to ask questions, inform choices, and guide policy. From the melting of the polar ice caps to privacy issues associated with mapping, this book provides a gentle, yet substantive, introduction to the use and application of digital maps, mapping, and GIS.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook and PDF
Suggested for:
GEG 2320 GIS and the Digital Earth
GIS and the Digital Earth Labs∗
Michael Sawada, Anders Knudby, Galen Richardson, and Claudia Sauro (University of Ottawa)
2023
Licence: CC BY 4.0
This resource was created as part of a project to develop open-access lab notes for the University of Ottawa’s “GIS and the Digital Earth” course and its French counterpart “SIG et la Terre numérique”. It contains lab notes for five labs with exercises for this introductory course, as well as the data needed for students to work through the labs. All labs are based on ArcGIS Pro, and require students to have access to this software.
Formats : PDF, zip (on GitHub)
Used in :
GEG2320 GIS and the Digital Earth
Introduction to Climate Science∗
Andreas Schmittner (Oregon State University)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
This book describes how Earth’s climate is changing, how it has been changing in the recent geological past and how it may change in the future. It covers the physical sciences that build the foundations of our current understanding of global climate change such as radiation, Earth’s energy balance, the greenhouse effect and the carbon cycle. Both natural and human causes for climate change are discussed. Impacts of climate change on natural and human systems are summarized. Ethical and economical aspects of human-caused climate change and solutions are presented.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, and PDF
Suggested for:
GEG 4129 Global Climate Change
Introduction to Geomatics∗
Scott Bell (University of Saskatchewan)
2020
Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
This open textbook was developed as a supplement to Geography 222.3 (GEOG 222), Introduction to Geomatics at the University of Saskatchewan.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, PDF, and MOBI
Suggested for:
GEG 2320 GIS and the Digital Earth
Introduction to Human Geography∗
R. Adam Dastrup (Salt Lake Community College)
2015
Licence: CC BY 4.0
This textbook includes chapters on Population and Migration, Cultural Geography, Political Geography, Sustainable Development, Food, Water, & Agriculture, Urban Geography, Environmental Issues, and Living with Disasters.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Learning outcomes, essential questions, embedded videos, and summaries
Suggested for:
GEG 1302 Places and Spaces of Human Activity [chapters 2-5]
Introduction to Human Geography – 2nd Edition∗
David Dorrell, Joseph Henderson, Todd Lindley, and Georgeta Connor (Georgia Gwinnett College)
2018
Licence: CC BY 4.0
Geography is a diverse discipline that has some sort of connection to most every other academic discipline. This connection is the spatial perspective, which essentially means if a phenomenon can be mapped, it has some kind of relationship to geography. Studying the entire world is a fascinating subject, and geographical knowledge is fundamental to a competent understanding of our world. In this chapter, you will learn what geography is as well as some of the fundamental concepts that underpin the discipline. These fundamental terms and concepts will be interwoven throughout the text, so a sound understanding of these topics is critical as you delve deeper into the chapters that follow.
Formats: PDF and Word
Includes: Sample questions, exercises, and lecture slides
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
GEG 1302 Places and Spaces of Human Activity [chapters 2-4 and 8-9]
Laboratory Manual for Introductory Geography, First British Columbia Edition∗
Stuart MacKinnon (UBC Okanagan), Katie Burles (College of the Rockies), Terence Day (Okanagan College), Fes de Scally (UBC Okanagan), Nina Hewitt (UBC), Crystal Huscroft (Thompson Rivers University), Gillian Krezoski (University of Victoria), Allison Lutz (Selkirk College), Craig Nichol (UBC Okanagan), Andrew Perkins (Simon Fraser University), Todd Redding (Okanagan College), Ian Saunders (UBC Okanagan), Leonard Tang (Langara College), and Chani Welch (Okanagan College)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
This lab manual is a cross-institutional project from British Columbia (BC), Canada that provides 22 labs to be implemented within first-year post-secondary physical geography courses. The labs have been developed to be easily adapted for various course structures, durations, and differing laboratory learning objectives set out by instructors. Instructor notes are provided for each lab that outline the instructional intent of the lab author, along with some suggestions for modification. The lab manual consists of 22 labs that cover an introduction to physical geography, weather and climate, biogeography, map and geospatial skills, hydrology, geomorphology, and landform identification. The majority of the labs have a BC focus; however, they are useable across Canada and further abroad. The majority of the labs have been developed so that they can be done in any order to increase instructor flexibility and promote adaptability to differing course structures and durations. Many of the labs have students using live data, or built-in flexibility with datasets for instructors in order to prevent the lab exercises becoming static over time. The first edition of this lab manual is intended as a beta test of the lab manual for the 2020/21 academic year.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, PDF, and MOBI
Includes: Learning objectives, dynamic Excel spreadsheets, worksheets, and lab exercises
Suggested for:
GEG 1301 The Physical Environment [espcially Labs 01, 03 and 06]
The Nature of Geographic Information∗
David DiBiase (Pennsylvania State University)
2017
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The Nature of Geographic Information is an orientation to the properties of geographic data and the practice of distance learning. The purpose of this course is to promote an understanding of the Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIS&T) enterprise. GIS&T is the intersection of professions, institutions, and technologies that produce geographic data and render information from it. It is a rapidly growing and evolving field. Learning is a way of life for all GIS&T professionals. With this in mind, I hope that this text may contribute to your lifelong exploration of how geospatial technologies can be used to improve the quality of life–yours and your neighbors’, locally and globally, now and in the future.
Formats: Website and HTML files downloadable as a .zip file (after completing the “Course Download Questionnaire”)
Suggested for:
GEG 2320 GIS and the Digital Earth
Physical Geography∗
Lumen Learning
2015
Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
An open textbook published by Lumen Learning on Physical Geography. It includes chapters on planet Earth; plate tectonics; tectonic forces; weathering, erosion, and deposition; Earth’s fresh water; oceans and coastal environments; the atmosphere; and weather processes and systems.
Format: Online
Includes: Embedded videos
Suggested for:
GEG 1301 The Physical Environment [as supplementary resource]
Physical Geography and Natural Disasters∗
R. Adam Dastrup (Salt Lake Community College)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The intent of this textbook is to update and build upon the body of knowledge that exists within the geographic discipline.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Embedded videos
Suggested for:
GEG 1301 The Physical Environment
Physical Geology – 2nd Edition∗
Steven Earle (Thompson Rivers University)
2019
Licence: CC BY 4.0
Physical Geology is a comprehensive introductory text on the physical aspects of geology, including rocks and minerals, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, glaciation, groundwater, streams, coasts, mass wasting, climate change, planetary geology and much more. It has a strong emphasis on examples from western Canada, especially British Columbia, and also includes a chapter devoted to the geological history of western Canada. The book is a collaboration of faculty from Earth Science departments at Universities and Colleges across British Columbia and elsewhere.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Applications, chapter summaries, exercises, and solutions
Reviews: BCcampus – Open Textbook Library (first edition)
Suggested for:
GEG 1301 The Physical Environment [as supplementary resource]
Remote Sensing∗
Anders Jensen Knudby (University of Ottawa)
2021
Licence: CC BY 4.0
This introductory book on Remote Sensing is intended to be the equivalent of a textbook for an undergraduate-level university course. It covers remote sensing, satellite images, mapping, photogrammetry, electromagnetic radiation, image classification, accuracy assessment, and change detection.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, and PDF
Used in:
GEG 3105 Earth Observation
Spatial Thinking in Planning Practice: An Introduction to GIS∗
Yiping Fang, Vivek Shandas, and Eugenio Arriaga Cordero (Portland State University)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
The goals of this textbook are to help students acquire the technical skills of using software and managing a database, and develop research skills of collecting data, analyzing information and presenting results. We emphasize that the need to investigate the potential and practicality of GIS technologies in a typical planning setting and evaluate its possible applications. GIS may not be necessary (or useful) for every planning application, and we anticipate these readings to provide the necessary foundation for discerning its appropriate use. Therefore, this textbook attempts to facilitate spatial thinking focusing more on open-ended planning questions, which require judgment and exploration, while developing the analytical capacity for understanding a variety of local and regional planning challenges.
While this textbook provides the background for understanding the concepts in GIS as applicable to urban and regional planning, it is best when accompanied by a hands-on tutorial, which will enable readers to develop an in-depth understanding of the specific planning applications of GIS. Chapters in this textbook are either composed by the editors using Creative Common materials, or linked to a book chapter scanned copy in the library reserve. In the end of each chapter, we also provided several discussion questions, together with contextual applications through some web links.
Formats: Online and PDF
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
GEG 2320 GIS and the Digital Earth
Sustainable Cities: Adding an African Perspective∗
Nadine Ibrahim (University of Waterloo)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Sustainable Cities: Adding an African Perspective is a course that introduces students to the theories and strategies to reimagine cities from an urban sustainability perspective. The course modules are beginner level building blocks that cater to the new inter-disciplinary trend around Cities Engineering.
The modules provide an introduction to concepts of sustainability, urbanization, climate change; strategies for best practices in the design of new cities and redesign of existing ones; and tools and methodologies for environmental assessments, material flows, and urban metabolism. Each module is expected to take 2-3hours for completion, this includes following the videos, reading through the global cities and African cities examples, and completing assessments, contributing to discussions and reflections. The course activities and interactions will enable students to design cities in developed and developing world contexts, in addition to engineering the great African cities of the future. The course is organized in 4 modules, where each module begins with an introduction to definitions and theories, followed by academic research on the topic, then showcases case studies from global cities in developed and developing world contexts, and from African cities.
Includes: Assessments with quizzes, discussions, and reflections.
Formats: Online, textbook in PDF, assessments in Word
Suggested for:
GEG 2110 Sustainable Cities
Unmanned Aerial Systems∗
Qassim A. Abdullah (Pennsylvania State University)
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Unmanned Aerial Systems, or drones, are developing aggressively, and many government and non-government agencies are considering acquiring such systems. This course will focus on the geo-spatial utilization of a UAS. It will cultivate students’ knowledge of the capabilities and limitations of the UAS and data post-processing systems. It introduces fundamental concepts surrounding operating a UAS such as strategies for selecting the right UAS, assessing its performance, managing resulting products (i.e. imagery), selecting the appropriate commercially available processing software, assessing product accuracy, figuring ways and means of producing metric products from UAS, and understanding rules and regulations governing operating a UAS in the United States.
Formats: Website and HTML files downloadable as a .zip file (after completing the “Course Download Questionnaire”)
Suggested for:
GEG 4301 Coding the Digital Earth
Web Application Development for the Geospatial Professional∗
Jim Detwiler (Pennsylvania State University)
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Locating restaurants in an unfamiliar place, reporting potholes to the local DOT, obtaining real-time traffic conditions… All of these are examples of geospatial web apps that are revolutionizing how people obtain and share information about the world. In GEOG 863, you will learn how to build apps like these. You’ll start with a quick look at the fundamentals of web programming (HTML and CSS) before diving in to using JavaScript and a mapping application programming interface (API) developed by Esri. Using this API, you’ll create both 2D and 3D visualizations of your own data and learn how to develop a user interface to enable users to interact with your map.
Formats: Website and HTML files downloadable as a .zip file (after completing the “Course Download Questionnaire”)
Suggested for:
GEG 2320 GIS and the Digital Earth
GEG 4301 Coding the Digital Earth
World Regional Geography∗
Caitlin Finlayson (University of Mary Washington)
2016
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Rather than present students with a broad, novice-level introduction to geography, emphasizing places and vocabulary terms, this text approaches geography as experts understand the discipline, focusing on connections and an in-depth understanding of core themes. This thematic approach, informed by pedagogical research, provides students with an introduction to thinking geographically. Instead of repeating the same several themes in each chapter, this text emphasizes depth over breadth by arranging each chapter around a central theme and then exploring that theme in detail as it applies to the particular region. In addition, while chapters are designed to stand alone and be rearranged or eliminated at the instructor’s discretion, the theme of globalization and inequality unites all of the regions discussed. This core focus enables students to draw connections between regions and to better understand the interconnectedness of our world. Furthermore, the focus on both globalization and inequality helps demonstrate the real-world application of the concepts discussed. Colonialism, for instance, rather than a historical relict, becomes a force that has shaped geography and informs social justice. This thematic approach is also intended to facilitate active learning and would be suitable for a flipped or team-based learning-style course since it more easily integrates case studies and higher-order thinking than the traditional model.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook and PDF
Includes: Learning objectives, rhetorical questions, and glossary
Reviews: Open Textbook Library – eCampusOntario Open Library – BCcampus
Suggested for:
GEG 1302 Places and Spaces of Human Activity
World Regional Geography: People, Places and Globalization∗
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing
2016
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
World Regional Geography: People, Places and Globalization is designed for students to experience and study as much of the world as possible within a limited amount of time. It gives students the fundamental concepts and the latest data regarding world places in a concise, easy-to-read format. This World Regional Geography textbook focuses on the primary issues that have created our cultural and societal structures, and presents them within a framework for global understanding. A pattern of development is outlined from the imprint that European colonialism had on culture to the impact that giant retail corporations like Wal-Mart have on consumerism.
Formats: Pressbooks webbook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Learning objectives, discussion and study questions, activities, and key takeaways
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
GEG 1302 Places and Spaces of Human Activity
