Dataset: 2004-2009 Iraq War Logs, provided by WikiLeaks
The dataset originally contained roughly 52,000 cases with 109,032 deaths in all of Iraq. Recorded for each case are the location, date/time, type, category, and who was killed. This was cut down to only the IED-related cases to fit the purpose of the project. Because of this, the analysis does not encompass all potential risks of danger, only IEDs and other explosive ordinance cases as these are random and can hurt anyone while crimes and direct fire are often targeted at particular group or person.
Digital Elevation Model(.tif)
A DEM base map was used to give myself a general idea of the topography of the area. This was obtained from the EarthExplorer database provided by the USGS.
Street Network, Tigris River, Airport, and Embassy Shapefiles
The airport, US embassy, and roads were digitized from an Open Street base map in ArcMap, along with the Tigris River.
Baghdad Neighbourhoods Shapefile
The Baghdad neighbourhoods vector dataset was provided by the Emperical Studies of Conflict Project at Princeton University.
Projection
All data was projected in WGS 1984 using Latitude and Longitude.
Additional Data Cleaning/Configuring
In order to create a more specific analysis, the deaths dataset was clipped to the Baghdad neighbourhoods base map. The deaths were counted then used to reclassify the neighbourhoods where each neighbourhood would have a value associated with the number of cases within its area.
All data was initially cleaned, digitized, and configured in ArcMap. They were then saved as shapefiles.
All shapefiles were then imported into IDRISI using the built in import tool. They were then rasterized using the RASTERVECTOR module. Finally, because the original DEM was too big and everything else appeared small, every component was resized using the WINDOW module to remove everything except the area of interest.
This project utilizes the COST and PATHWAY modules in IDRISI to select the optimal route from the airport to the US Embassy. To achieve this, a friction image was created by assigning each neighbourhood a cost (or risk factor). The goal was to avoid the neighbourhoods and roads that previously had an IED incident.