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- Geospatial Appraisal of Crime Hotspot Distribution in Bauchi Metroplis
Abstract: Publication year: 2023Source: American Journal of Geographic Information System, Volume 12, Number 1Victor Fredrick, Vandu Umaru Lazarus, Mary Emmanuel, Ibrahim Hyedma BwalaThe dynamics of crime are peculiar to location, time and nature of the vulnerable communities under its threat. Bauchi communities have suffered a range of criminal acts against the good people including armed robbery, kidnapping, phone, car and motorcycle snatching. These crimes are more frequent and/or rapid in some communities than others. Clustering of criminal activities in some selected areas led to the labelling of such areas as hotspots. However, effective mapping and geospatial understanding of the hotspots remain a concern. Hence, geospatial approach was adopted to evaluate the crime hotspots that pose increase security threat to communities in Bauchi LGA. The research findings shows that 70% of the communities’ crime hotspot are randomly close to each other, 15% of the communities shows that the crime hotspot is clustered with more effect, only 15% of the communities are free and disperse. The analysis established that criminal activities have increasing impact across multiple location due to the clustering and randomly closeness of the hotspots to each other which further increase the vulnerable of the communities to different typology of crime. The most prevalently identifiedcrimes across the communities include; phone snatching inSabonKaura behind ATBU, Mararaban Liman Katagun, Inkil, and Tirwum. Motorcycle snatching is prevalent at Sabon Kaura behind ATBU, Mararaba Liman Katagun, Bakaro, Gudu Hausawa, Gudu Seyawa, and Tirwum. Burglary is prevalent at Gwallameji, Wunti Dada, Gudum area, Gombe road, Fadaman Mada, Inkil, Yelwan Tsakani and Sabon Kaura. The study established that the ratio of security personnel to the population of Bauchi LGA which is estimated at 645,000 is below global standard which necessitate the strategic deployment of the personnel to critical crime hotspot. In view of this, it is recommended that security agency should adopt geospatial technology to aid their strategy for combatting the security threat across Bauchi LGA and utilize the technology to frequently produce security threat maps and build their mitigation measures around it to effectively utilize the available human resource. It was also recommended that the State should create job opportunities and skill acquisition training for unemployed youth roaming the streets.
- Managing and Enhancing Visitor Experiences by Using GIS and Network
Analytical Tools to Model the Best Routes to Mecca from Jeddah and Its
Surrounds
Abstract: Publication year: 2020Source: American Journal of Geographic Information System, Volume 9, Number 3Yasser Abdelazim Abdelmawgoud SamakThe paper attempts to demonstrate that by using GIS to manage pilgrim movements from the surrounding cities to Mecca and whilst in Mecca and disseminating the outputs of the GIS, Network Analyst within ArcGIS was used to determine the best routes for pilgrims. Network analysis, flow analysis and tracking analysis were used to model pilgrim movements within Mecca. The study indicated that if pilgrims were more evenly distributed between the three routes to the west (Meddina-Mecca, Jeddah-Mecca (Old) and Jeddah-Mecca (Highway) and the two routes to the east (AlSharaea – Mecca and Taif-Mecca) when travelling to Mecca by vehicle, it would result in more free flowing traffic with less congestion and bottlenecks, and further reducing the time spent by pilgrims travelling to Mecca and stopped at statistic centers. Modeling of the rail network suggested that to transport 1.3 million pilgrims to Mecca via train would require 3178 trips which is almost six times the trips required for the 2018 Hajj.
- Looking after Tourism in Jeddah (KSA) by Using GIS and Multi Criteria
Analysis to Nominate and Rate Healthy Walking Paths for Tourists
Abstract: Publication year: 2019Source: American Journal of Geographic Information System, Volume 8, Number 6Yasser Abdelazim Abdelmawgoud SamakThis paper focuses on the development of a group of Healthy Walking Paths for use by tourists between their accommodation and the 10 major tourist attractions in the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Multi Criteria Analysis and Geographic Information System were specifically employed for deciding on the locations of the paths on a number of criteria, such as their starting points at tourist hotels etc., their destinations, avoidance of major motorways, avoidance of industrial land, their duration and the slope they had to travail. Each path was rated based on its amenity for tourist use, considering the outdoor temperatures in different seasons and at different times of the day, and also for pollution levels. The Multi Criteria Analysis and Geographic Information System were extremely effective in locating Healthy Walking Paths that met all the relevant criteria and then in rating the level of optimality of each one. Their implementation will be a bonus for tourists in Jeddah.
- Geospatial Multi-criteria Analysis for Solar and Wind Power Modelling for
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Population Using GIS: A Case Study for the
Cities of Makkah and Jeddah
Abstract: Publication year: 2023Source: American Journal of Geographic Information System, Volume 12, Number 1Yasser Abdelazim Abdelmawgoud SamakRenewable energy is now considered a viable option for increasing energy consumption and to support intense economic development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). To avoid the costs of energy transmission, Geospatial Multi-criteria Analysis is applied to data for the cities of Jeddah and Makkah to estimate their suitability for both photovoltaic solar energy generation and wind energy potential adjacent to large populations. Solar modeling has been used for the estimation of PV potential and multi-criteria spatial analysis has been performed for site selection and estimation of wind energy potential by using a number of vector and raster datasets in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. Geospatial Multi-criteria Analysis was also applied to the data. This research reveals that Jeddah is suitable for both, and Makkah for solar installations only as the wind speed in Makkah is less than 3m/s and not suited for wind power generation. This research reveals that KSA has enormous potential for exploiting both solar and wind energy. The GIS model may be very useful as a filter to identify the most suitable sites for solar and wind farms. The KSA can potentially be a leading producer and exporter of solar energy in the form of electricity, if major penetration is achieved for solar-energy conversion.
- Biodiversity Information Systems in Geospatial Applications for Protected
Area Management
Abstract: Publication year: 2023Source: American Journal of Geographic Information System, Volume 12, Number 1Md Rahimullah Miah, Md Mehedi Hasan, Jorin Tasnim Parisha, Alexander Kiew Sayok, Ahi Sarok, Mohammad Belal Uddin, Md Sher-E-Alam, Md Shoaibur Rahman, Md Main Uddin Miah, Md. Amir Sharif, Md Aktar HossainThe study explores a structure for a Biodiversity Information Systems (BIS), giving pertinent instructions and guidelines to the Space Research Remote Sensing Organization (SPARRSO) for surveying the protected areas (PA) of Bangladesh, particularly the Lawachara National Park in Moulvibazar district. SPARRSO facilitates interdisciplinary research associations at divisional, national, regional and international levels and provides a clearing house mechanism (CHM) to distribute information to affected parties. To date, Bangladesh has no effective national biodiversity database with clearing house mechanism services as defined by the Aichi targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). There are many problems that national bio-networks face to manage biodiversity data of PA. This study provides a unique view of the tools being used to enhance the upcoming development of this national biodiversity database, which will use observations, interviews, reconnaissance findings, literature reviews and existing laws and policies. The study incorporates the collective technological information from stakeholders e.g., biodiversity specialists, forest officers, ecologists, conservationists, environmentalists, policy-makers, park managers, judges, environmental lawyers, academics, network managers, co-management team leaders and adjacent local village leaders. Almost 64% of the respondents agreed to develop the dynamic National Biodiversity Database for protecting biodiversity of PA and 53% of users stated that this BIS is more applicable than traditional systems. The study represents the indispensable connectivity with the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) for wide-ranging datasets, data sharing, data-indexing, web-publishing and electronic reports to CBD with the help of National Resources Information Management Systems (RIMS) and SPARRSO. Finally, this study suggests future research trajectories using a new collaborative approach to drive the methodological agenda and recommends ways to further incorporate the information systems integrating next generation biodiversity conservation outlooks.
- Spatio Temporal Analysis in Forest Cover Using Google Earth Engine in
Ashanti Region, Ghana
Abstract: Publication year: 2022Source: American Journal of Geographic Information System, Volume 11, Number 2Kwaku Agyekum Codjoe, Akwasi Afrifa AcheampongThe earth surface is constantly changing for various reasons, and an accurate identification and monitoring of the spatiotemporal changes can support informed environmental and socio-economic decisions. While certain physical features like forestlands supports life and other essential services, a clear understanding of its existence and sustainability is key to the survival of our environment and the world as a whole. This study analysed spatiotemporal change in forest cover using machine learning algorithm, Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier in Ashanti region, Ghana using cloud computing engine Google Earth Engine (GEE) and statistical computing program R-Studio. The RF and SVM classifiers were applied on a geometrically corrected Landsat-7 and Landsat-8 satellite images from 1 January 2006 to 31 October 2020. Land covers were grouped into six (6) classes namely, urban, closed forest, open forest, bareland, water and farmland. One thousand two hundred (1200) randomly reference samples were used for training (0.7%) and testing (0.3%) for each year i.e., 2006, 2011, 2015 and 2020. The results showed that the RF classifier yielded an overall accuracy of 98% and a kappa coefficient of 0.97 whereas SVM yielded an overall accuracy of 90% and a kappa coefficient of 0.88 using GEE. The results showed that, from the year 2006 to 2015, there was 22.6% loss in the region’s closed forest but a slight increase of 0.13% from 2015 to 2020. Open forest increased by 12.6% from 2006 to 2015 and decreased by 6% from 2015 to 2020. The results provided evidence that GEE cloud-computing being cost-effective, can provide information on land cover changes and can assist forest stakeholders in policy and decision making.
- Comparison of NDVI Values from Multiple Satellite Sensors to Monitor for
Public Health in an Urban Sub-tropical Setting
Abstract: Publication year: 2022Source: American Journal of Geographic Information System, Volume 11, Number 2Julius R. Dewald, Jane Southworth, Scott C. Brown, Jose SzapocznikNormalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is commonly used as a measure of greenness in public health research. Changes in NDVI over time in urbanized areas have been linked to improvements to multiple chronic conditions. Studies have been conducted using ASTER or Landsat, but their equivalence has not been established. To determine the equivalence or lack thereof between ASTER and Landsat, and between Landsat 7 and 8, this study compares NDVI values from ASTER, Landsat 7, and Landsat 8 satellite sensors at different times of the year (Fall and Spring) and at different locations in Florida (the City of Miami and Polk County). Although other studies have examined how Landsat and ASTER NDVI values compare, no study has explicitly investigated how NDVI values differ across ASTER and Landsat for urban areas. A comparison of the scatterplots of ASTER with Landsat satellite sensor NDVI scores, produced R2 values consistently above 0.75 with p-values less than 0.001 across both locations and times of the year, indicating that Landsat and ASTER-derived NDVI values share considerable variance. By repeating these analyses separately by season and location, we demonstrated that the relationship between Landsat and ASTER NDVI varies more by season than location within urban subtropical settings. These findings suggest that studies comparing NDVI values from these different satellite sensors would require calculating separate coefficients for each season.
- Monitoring Major Crop Coverage Change Trends in Agricultural in Florida
Abstract: Publication year: 2022Source: American Journal of Geographic Information System, Volume 11, Number 1Tyler Schaper, Reza Khatami, Mohammad Mehedy Hassan, Gregory Glass, Jane SouthworthMonitoring crop coverage and crop change in agricultural areas is of paramount importance for understanding and managing food production, state-wide economies, environmental impacts, and global environmental change. Using remotely sensed data and advanced machine learning classification techniques Random Forest (RF), this study classified five major crops in Florida and compared them with USDA’s Cropland Data Layer (CDL). 250 testing sites were used to compare both the crop cover of this study and CDL products, for both 2008 and 2016, and results showed the CDL to have lower than 40% overall accuracy, compared to over 85% overall accuracy for the RF classification. Change in crop coverage state-wide decreased by about 4% between 2008 and 2016, with over a 12% decrease in citrus and over a 4% decrease in peanuts. Cotton and strawberry coverages increased substantially, although both are much less significant crops in terms of area state-wide. Sugarcane remained stable in the area over time. Changes in agricultural production, especially given the position of Florida as the top citrus and sugarcane producing state, and their importance to the state-wide economy, are key concerns to agricultural and land managers alike.
- Mapping Land Use Land Cover Changes from 1990 to 2020 in River Kuja Basin,
Kenya
Abstract: Publication year: 2022Source: American Journal of Geographic Information System, Volume 11, Number 1Vincent Ogembo Obuya, Lorna Grace Okotto, Julius Manyalla, Joseph Okotto-OkottoLand use land cover changes cause serious challenges to management of natural resources in river basins. This comes in form of depletion of water resources, land use conflicts, haphazard developments and is also a climate change driver. This study sought to investigate the Spatio-temporal changes of land use/cover in River Kuja basin. The objective was to map the changes on the land surface to generate data and information that could inform design of conservation and policy measures that can be used to conserve the water resources within the basin. The study used thirty years period with four (4) decadal satellite images of 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020. The images were downloaded and pre-processed to 1G level as a GeoTIFF single band and eight (8) bit files. Ground truthing was done to verify actual ground features. Land use/cover changes were calculated as a percentage and translated to square kilometers and presented in a clear map showing variations over the decadal periods. The research hypothesized that there would be no significant Spatio-temporal changes in land use/cover types that can be attributed to the degradation of water resources between 1990 and 2020. The hypothesis was tested using Paired Sample t-test. The study showed land use change in the basin during the period under study. The null hypothesis was therefore rejected. Water bodies reduced from 41sq.km to 35sq.km, a decrease of 12.20%, forests decreased by 50.8%, shrubland decreased by 63.3%, bare land decreased by 34.3%, while agriculture increased by 231.2%, urban built-up areas increased by 223.6%, and grassland increased by 27.4%. The study indicates that the main causes of land use land cover changes in this basin include sugarcane production, population growth, infrastructural developments, climate change and land tenure insecurity. As such, there is a need to design conservation and policy measures to conserve the water resources within the basin.
- Enhancing Vertical Accuracy of Global Digital Elevation Models for Coastal
and Environmental Applications: A Case Study in Egypt
Abstract: Publication year: 2022Source: American Journal of Geographic Information System, Volume 11, Number 1Gomaa M. Dawod, Ahmed M. AminA major source of Digital Elevation Models (DEM) is the open-source Global DEM (GDEM) developed and distributed free-of-charge and, thus, became accepted in a wide range of coastal end environmental applications worldwide. The vertical accuracy of such GDEMs should be investigated to determine their applicability for utilization in specific activities. Moreover, increasing the vertical accuracy of GDEMs should be carried out by the integration of local terrestrial geodetic datasets over a spatial region. The current study investigates the accuracy of three GDEM models over the Egyptian costs along the Mediterranean sea and tries to enhance such accuracy by adding terrestrial data through the utilization of two methods of spatial modelling within a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) environment. Based on the available datasets and attained results, it has been found that the regression modelling method results in enhancing the vertical accuracy of the investigated GDEMs by 15% and 4% while the krigging geostatistical method produced 24% and 16% improvements. Furthermore, it has been concluded that adding terrestrial local datasets to a global DEM could considerably increase its overall vertical accuracy. However, the number of added terrestrial points should be appropriate to the desired level of vertical accuracy and the area of study. Moreover, it has been concluded that the achieved vertical accuracy of the enhanced models, herein, could be suitable for small-scale mapping and overall management of coastal regions, but it might not be appropriate for accurate environmental studies such as Sea Level Rise (SLR) monitoring and risk assessment which requires a more accurate DEM.
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