GIS SEMINAR
The seminar starts promptly at 1:10 p.m. and ends at 2:00 p.m.
The GIS Seminar @ ISU is open to the public.
If you are interested in attending, the location is Design 362.
If you have any questions, please Monica Haddad (haddad@iastate.edu).
February 02, 2025 1:10 p.m. (online)
Design for All: GIS and Place-Based Initiatives
Sungduck Lee, Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota 
ABSTRACT: This presentation examines the ethical challenges of spatial inequity and introduces visual, place-based methods that leverage the distinctive characteristics of the built environment. Central to these initiatives is the concept of social equity, which emphasizes fairness and justice in the distribution of public goods, services, and opportunities. However, urban planning research has consistently documented patterns of discrimination in the spatial allocation of public services, educational resources, and access to safe and healthy environments. These inequities disproportionately affect low-income households and communities of color in the United States. In response, this presentation explores spatial analysis techniques that reveal how inclusive urban planning and design strategies can help address these disparities, ensuring that place-based initiatives are contextually grounded, culturally responsive, and environmentally sustainable.
February 09, 2026 1:10 p.m. (online)
Housing conditions and extreme weather: Lessons from mapping and sensing community-engaged research at San Antonio
Esteban Lopez Ochoa, Associate Professor, The University of Texas at San Antonio
ABSTRACT: Is your city’s housing stock prepared for increasing extreme weather events? This article explores the
extent that housing conditions contribute to experiencing and worsening extreme weather conditions. Using a community based participatory approach, we propose a three-step method to: 1) determine built-environment conditions, 2) engage and train community members and leaders to assess housing conditions, and 3) deploy environmental sensors in an experimental design approach. We find that residents with poor housing conditions are enduring worse environmental conditions inside their homes than the outside, all a consequence inoperable windows and doors, lack or inadequate AC systems, and energy costs.
February 16, 2026 1:10 p.m. (in person, Design 362)
Using GIS to Evaluate Planned Unit Developments and Housing Outcomes
Tabassum Zaman, Urban Planners, MCRP, GIS Certificate
ABSTRACT: Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) are widely used as flexible zoning tools intended to encourage innovative design and affordable housing. This presentation demonstrates how GIS can be used to analyze the spatial distribution, and development outcomes of PUDs in West Des Moines, Iowa. Using housing as the spatial unit of analysis, spatial hedonic models estimate the price effects associated with PUD zoning while controlling for building attributes and neighborhood socio-economic characteristics. Results indicate a statistically significant housing price premium of approximately 1.7 percent for properties located within PUD districts compared to conventional residential zones, suggesting that zoning flexibility does not always perform as expected to contribute to the housing affordability issue.
February 23, 2026 1:10 p.m. (online)
Identifying potential locations for water quality wetland installation using GIS modeling
Annina Rupe, Geospatial Analyst, Ducks Unlimited
ABSTRACT: Iowa’s water quality has suffered due in part to the intense agriculture performed across the state. Wetlands naturally filter water which helps remove excess nutrients, but a majority of Iowa’s historic wetlands have been drained. Ducks Unlimited (DU) and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) have partnered to identify where wetlands, specifically those aimed at improving water quality, would be best placed and to work with landowners to install these wetlands. This presentation delves into how GIS is used to simplify and speed up this process for the benefit of Iowans.
March 02, 2026 1:10 p.m. (in person, Design 362)
So You Know GIS — Now What? A Look Inside City Government
Clemir Abbeg Coproski, GIS Specialist, Public Works Engineering, City of Ames
ABSTRACT: This presentation provides an overview of how the City of Ames applies Geographic Information Systems to support municipal operations and asset management. Drawing from his experience as a GIS Specialist within the Public Works – Engineering division, the presenter will discuss the primary tools, workflows, and city departments where GIS plays a critical role. Through examples of both fully operational applications and ongoing prototypes, attendees will gain a practical understanding of how GIS serves day-to-day decision-making in local government. The presentation will also reflect on the transition from academia to professional practice, comparing the speaker's experience as a former Research Assistant at the University of Northern Iowa with his current role. Students can expect an honest discussion about how the skills emphasized in a GIS curriculum align with, and sometimes differ from, what the field demands in practice.
March 09, 2026 1:00 p.m. (online)
Geospatial Analysis for Urban Environmental Sustainability Research
Aslı Göçmen, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin - Madison
ABSTRACT: GIS and geospatial analysis have a critical role in undertaking planning research as the nature of urban planning issues and practices are predominantly spatial. In this talk, I will discuss ways that we have used geospatial analysis in undertaking several research projects, including analyzing conservation practices in residential subdivisions; identifying opportunities for wildlife habitat connectivity; examining forest fragmentation; and linking smart growth codes to residential development patterns.
March 30, 2026 1:10 p.m. (online)
Unequally Capitalized Urban Heat Penalty in the Philadelphia Housing Market
Meen Wook Jung, Ph.D. Candidate, The Ohio State University
ABSTRACT: The Rapid urbanization and global warming have intensified thermal inequity, placing a disproportionate burden on socially vulnerable populations. While previous scholarship has extensively 
documented the economic benefits of green infrastructure—often referred to as the ‘green premium’—less attention has been paid to the ‘urban heat penalty’: the extent to which thermal stress is capitalized as a negative externality in housing markets. Understanding this mechanism is critical, as the market’s aversion to heat may systematically undervalue properties in distressed areas, thereby entrenching socio-economic and socio-physical disparities. To empirically investigate this phenomenon, this study focuses on the relationship between land surface temperature and housing sales data in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 2015 to 2019. By integrating property transaction records with satellite-derived thermal data and employing multilevel modeling with random intercepts and random slopes, this study examines: (1) the magnitude of the heat penalty negatively capitalized into housing prices; (2) the exacerbating role of neighborhood social vulnerability, where heat-induced depreciation is significantly more pronounced in marginalized neighborhoods compared to affluent ones; and (3) the temporal intensification of this penalty, revealing that the economic burden of heat has disproportionately accelerated in socially marginalized areas over the study period. The study findings suggest that housing market dynamics may act as a mechanism of climate injustice, underscoring the urgency for targeted cooling interventions in socially marginalized neighborhoods.
April 06, 2026 1:10 p.m. (in person, Design 362 )
Mapping Community Capital: Using FOSS and Open Data to Reveal Local Gaps in Rural Access and Opportunity
Christopher J. Seeger, Morrill Professor and Extension Specialist , Iowa State University
ABSTRACT: The Community Capitals Framework (CCF) offers a structured approach to assessing community
strengths and weaknesses across seven forms of capital—natural, cultural, human, social, political, financial, and built. Over the past several years, Community Economic Development (CED) Extension has collected and analyzed data indicators aligned with this framework. Recognizing that spatial characteristics impact the CCF, the team explored incorporating an eighth capital focused on spatial characteristics. In addition to the spatial capital, the team was also interested in identifying how free and open-source software (FOSS) and openly available geospatial data could be integrated into these efforts. This talk showcases some initial work completed in 2025 to evaluate the potential for evaluating spatial capital with FOSS tools such as R, QGIS and OpenStreetMap.
April 13, 2026 1:10 p.m. (in person, Design 362)
GeoAI & GIS @ ISU – What does the future hold for so many acronyms?
Brian Gelder, Manager Research in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Research Lead for the GIS Facility in the College of Design, Iowa State University
ABSTRACT: Artificial Intelligence technology is changing everything about our world – how should it change the way we conduct research and teaching of GIS @ ISU?
What should the future of GeoAI & GIS look like at Iowa State? What GeoAI tools are available? How will we program our GIS in the future? Should we offer new courses?
Should we incorporate these tools into existing courses? Please join us for a demonstration of some of the current AI developments at ISU and bring your ideas for a discussion of where we should go in the coming semesters.
April 20, 2026 1:10 p.m. (in person, Design 362)
Exploring landscape patterns using satellite embeddings
Antonio Arenas Amado, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University
ABSTRACT: This presentation introduces AlphaEarth Foundations and the Satellite Embedding dataset within Google Earth Engine.
This innovative dataset integrates optical, radar, climate, and elevation data into 64-dimensional vectors, providing "analysis-ready" annual summaries that simplify complex geospatial workflows.
The session will focus on the practical application of these embeddings within Iowa, covering key methodologies such as Similarity Search using dot-product mathematics, Change Detection for tracking landscape shifts, and Supervised Classification for accelerated mapping.
April 27, 2026 1:10 p.m. (in person, Design 362)
Identifying Marginal Land for Conservation Planning to Strengthen Agricultural Vitality in Iowa Agroecosystems
Bryce Bearson, Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering, GIS Certificate Candidate
Advisor: Dr. Sara Winnike McMillan
ABSTRACT: MThe Midwest is often characterized by its fertile agricultural land, yet pockets of unproductive, low-yielding areas - commonly referred to as marginal land - are still widespread. Marginal land has two key
components: inherently unproductive due to either environmental conditions, such as steep slopes or poor drainage, or difficulty to farm due to its small size or limited accessibility. Often, these areas require valuable resources and significant attention while generating little profit for landowners. Because of their low productivity and higher opportunity costs, marginal lands are excellent locations for implementing conservation practices that can improve water quality, enhance flood resilience, and support downstream ecosystems. This project aims to define marginality using a case study watershed in Iowa through a collaboration with farmers, extension specialists, and researchers to create an unbiased and practical classification of marginal land, incorporating elements of farmability with established environmental characteristics of low productivity. Building on this definition, we are developing a geospatial tool to identify marginal agricultural lands in Iowa and recommend conservation practices best suited for their environmental and accessibility constraints. By integrating environmental data, geospatial analysis, and farmer knowledge, this work will support agricultural land use decisions that improve natural resources conservation and strengthen agricultural vitality.
May 04, 2026 1:10 p.m. (in person, Design 362)
Socio-Spatial Patterns of Parent-Taught Driver Education and Vulnerable Road User Safety in Iowa
Shariha Boshra Diya, Urban Planning & Development, GIS Certificate
Advisor: Dr. Rob Pfaff
ABSTRACT: Parent-Taught Driver Education (PTDE) has rapidly expanded across Iowa as an alternative to traditional school-based driver training, offering greater flexibility and reduced costs for families. However, little is 
known about how access to PTDE varies across social and geographic contexts, or how participation relates to roadway safety outcomes-particularly for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and bicyclists. This presentation examines PTDE through an integrated socio-spatial and safety lens using census-tract level analysis. Drawing on PTDE participation records (2016-2025), American Community Survey data, and crash records from the Iowa Crash Analysis Tool, the study explores how socioeconomic characteristics, rural–urban context, and proximity to formal driver education programs shape PTDE participation patterns across Iowa. The analysis also evaluates whether PTDE participants are disproportionately involved in pedestrian- and bicyclist-related crashes, with attention to where crashes occur relative to participants’ home environments. Using GIS-based mapping and spatial regression techniques, this research highlights inequities in access to driver education and identifies potential gaps in preparation that may affect interactions with vulnerable road users. The findings aim to inform transportation planning, equity-focused policy decisions, and improvements in youth driver education programs.
