Development of a high-fidelity urban spatial information system for advanced land use and transportation planning

透过这个策略计划，研究小组将开发高保真的城市空间信息系统，利用地理信息系统（GIS）和遥感技术，快速和一致地提取区内详细的土地覆盖/土地利用信息，以加强交通和土地利用规划。交通和土地利用建模和规划传统上是基于汇总的区域信息，如人口普查和就业数据。基于区域的建模框架的建立是由于以往计算能力有限，单个区域内详细信息的采集难度大、费用高。这种传统的基于区域的土地利用建模方法的一个根本问题是缺少区域内土地利用的空间分布和变化。此外，这些地带性数据不能揭示经济活动的规模或土地利用类型和强度。在许多情况下，必须使用其他资料，例如人口普查和地理信息系统数据作为替代，这可能会产生误导，因为这些数据往往是有日期的，缺乏详细的区域内土地利用空间分布和强度资料。资讯科技的发展在很大程度上解决了上述问题：(1)现今强大的计算设施很少限制使用的区域数量；(2)遥感提供来自世界各地的高分辨率大气和卫星图像，从中可以提取详细信息。但是，将这些技术转化为实际应用的任务尚未完成。通过这个项目开发的系统将整合传统的地理信息系统、人口普查数据、提取的土地利用信息和遥感图像。该系统将在许多方面补充传统的规划方法，例如其及时性和更丰富的土地使用信息。城市规划厅、环境保护厅、公路交通管理当局等公共和民间机构也将从中受益。加拿大社会将受益于更加明智和现实的城市发展计划，这些计划将导致充满活力、可持续和健康的城镇。

Through this Strategic Project, the research team will develop a high-fidelity urban spatial information system that uses geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing technology to extract detailed intra-zone land cover/use information quickly and consistently to enhance transportation and land use planning. Transportation and land use modeling and planning have traditionally been based on aggregated zonal information, such as census population and employment data. The zone-based modeling framework was established because of limited computation capability in the past and difficulty and expense related to collect detailed information within individual zones. A fundamental problem with this traditional zone-based modeling approach is that intra-zone land use spatial distribution and variation is missing. Moreover, these zonal data cannot reveal the scales of economic activities or land use type and intensity. In many cases, other information, such as census and GIS data, has to be used as a proxy, which could be misleading because such data is often dated and lacks detailed intra-zone land use spatial distribution and intensity information. The advancements in information technologies have largely solved the above problems: (1) the powerful computing facilities available today rarely limit the number of zones to be used; (2) remote sensing offers high-resolution air and satellite images from around the world, from which detailed information can be extracted. However, the task of transferring the technologies into practical applications has yet been accomplished. The system to be developed through this project will integrate traditional GIS, census data, extracted land use information, and remotely sensed imagery. The system will complement traditional planning approaches in many ways, such as its timeliness and richer land use information. It will be useful for many public and private organizations, including metropolitan planning offices, environmental protection agencies, and highway and transportation authorities. Canadian society will benefit from more sensible and realistic urban development plans that will lead to vibrant, sustainable and healthy cities and towns.