ZLC Seminar: Blanca Esteban

"An introduction to GIS and some related projects at ZLC"

Abstract

A GIS (Geographical Information Systems) is a powerful tool to create and manage spatial data jointly with associated non-spatial attributes. As the name suggests, this is an information technology which allows the user not only to create ’simple’ maps for decision making support, but also perform a wide range of different analyses. By overlaying various datasets (such as digital terrain models, aerial photos, satellite images and vector layers), a more sophisticated spatial analysis can reveal important patterns, relationships and trends that cannot be inferred from a simple database.
GIS' unique ability to depict real-life scenarios under a variety of conditions enables us to better understand complex problems and identify potential solutions. Some direct applications of GIS in transportation, supply chain management and logistics are, among others, calculation of optimal routes, identification of geographic characteristics that impact the firm’s operations, analysis of customer concentration for facility location decisions (Geomarketing) and design of supply chain networks.
The presentation will show in more detail recent projects implemented in ZLC Transport Research Group in collaboration with “Fundación Transpirenaica”.