GIS 5100 - Lab 5 - Spatial Accessibility Modeling

These week we used GIS to model spatial access to facilities and services.  Our first task, Part A, was to complete some ESRI tutorials using the Network Analyst toolset.  Exercise 1 had us create a network dataset from existing transport-related spatial data.  Exercise 3 had us find routes with an existing network dataset.  In Exercise 4 we found the quickest routes from service providers to client locations within an existing network dataset.  Lastly, Exercise 5 had us calculate service areas with an existing network dataset.

In Part B we were tasked with performing a network analysis of access to psychiatric hospitals in the state of Georgia.  The tasks in this assignment section made me realize, once again, the power of GIS to inform the end user.  We used Spatial Join to create a data table that could then be further analyzed using Microsoft Excel.

The last section, Part C, had us perform a network analysis of spatial accessibility to branch campuses of the Austin Community College (ACC) system in Travis County, Texas.  We used a Spatial Join to combine census data to our network analysis routes.  We were comparing two scenarios.  In the first scenario all seven ACC campuses were open.  The second scenario showed accessibility after one campus, Crystal Creek, was closed.

Next, we examined how the closure of the one campus would affect residents who were aged 18-29.  The closure of one campus did result in a nine minute increase in the average travel time to the closest campus for residents in that age group.

I had to take my time working through this assignment and refresh some Excel and statistical skills.  This was a powerful "application" assignment.

Comparison of Accessibility to ACC Campuses by Residents in Travis County, Texas