Overview

     The ultimate goal of this project is the creation of an online GIS application. The application will:

• Provide a map of the current SFU campus buildings, roads, parking lots and fields;

• Show the proposed locations of new buildings associated with the Burnaby Mountain development;

• Provide viewshed analysis, both in the traditional sense of displaying a map of “what areas are visible from a given point,’ and by displaying 360º views of what can actually be seen from that point

• Allow the user to perform simple GIS operations, such as measuring distances, identifying attributes and buffering

Throughout the semester, as the project took form, the initial goals were shaped by limitations we encountered and the progress we made. This particular project is not designed to heavily emphasize spatial analysis, but rather it is designed to serve as a source of public information and insight into the development of the Simon Fraser Community.

Creating a Burnaby Mountain GIS Map

     The primary goal of this project was to compile many different datasets and integrate them together into a comprehensive geodatabase. Using all of the data we received from previous projects and from the Burnaby Mountain Community Corporation, we worked on the creation of one larger dataset that would allow us to produce value added accurate information for everyone to use. This information could be especially practical for academic, business or public purposes. The ArcIMS software package is the medium used to create our interactive GIS website. This mapping software allowed us to further expand our goals by not only displaying a two-dimensional static image of the current campus and proposed developments, but to provide interactivity and basic GIS capabilities such as spatial queries, bufferingand spatial overlays.

Viewshed Capabilities

     Creating a viewshed analysis was a larger component of our project. The surface features that can be seen from a specified location define a viewshed. According to the original project instructions, the viewshed component was open to a few different approaches. First approach, the creation of a dynamic viewshed that regenerates after every click, presented too much work within the allotted time and was very demanding computationally. The second method we would have liked to have attempted was the usage of actual proposed building heights supplied by the BMCC, in order to provide examples of how some of the community will look like in 3D, superimposed over the current campus layout. This would have been a feasible task but the AutoCAD data we were provided with did not contain building height information. The plan to create a viewshed analysis was therefore modified due to these limitations. Although the viewshed had to be structured by some of these constraints listed above, it still remained a key component of our project. This new community will bring many changes to the existing campus and will have an impact on numerous surrounding communities; therefore our viewshed analysis is an essential part in informing the public about future developments.

GIS Capabilities

     Another important objective of the project was to provide the end-user with some GIS capabilities through their web browser. There are many Internet mapping applications currently present on the World Wide Web such as, MapQuest, Yahoo Maps, Map Blast…etc, but only few of them allow for true GIS functionality. Our objective is to provide the end-user with the opportunity to perform operations such as spatial queries, buffering and spatial overlays. Modifying the map by removing or adding layers or changing the color scheme are also useful functions that will be provided in our final application. Requiring only a web browser and some basic Java applets, the end-user is able to harness the capabilities of GIS analysis without prior GIS experience or special software at the client end.

Showcasing Internet-Based GIS

     Finally, our project will act as a powerful demonstration of the capabilities and advantages of this revolutionary new approach to Internet mapping and GIS. Using ArcIMS software, we will produce this interactive GIS application and illustrate how the issues of interactivity, customization and user friendliness can be dealt with by this new medium. With our final result we would like to provide a much more dynamic application, in contrast to a static map display, presented by numerous online mapping websites. (esri.com)