The Need for GIS in Urban Sustainability

The human population on planet Earth is about to reach a tipping point unique in its history. Sometime over the course of 2007 and 2008, the global human population will, for the first time, consist of more urban dwellers than rural dwellers (Lee 2007; UN-HABITAT 2006). Soon, if it has not already happened, the majority of the human species will live in sprawling cities where existing urban problems such as air and water pollution, traffic congestion and transportation, sprawl, sanitation, energy, public health, and local economic issues will be exacerbated. This changing dynamic between people and where and how they live on the Earth will have important repercussions for humanity’s future, especially in light of the growing evidence in support of global climate change and the growing need to find more sustainable ways of existing in this world.
full story