Why GIS is indispensable for Smart Cities

Athulya Govindan

What is the oldest language in the world?

Maps! The Earliest Language(“A picture is worth a 1000 words”)

GIS is great tool to COMMUNICATE and visualize the concept of a Smart City to all the stakeholders

1.Determining Rooftop Solar PotentialWith Geographic location (Lat, Long) along with Digital Elevation Model (DEM), we can determine how much solar radiation reaches a given rooftop.

Calculation uses sun’s path on the sky & shadows cast by another rooftop or trees over the course of the day

BonusCan calculate Carbon Footprint reduction. 1 unit of clean energy produced == 0.612g of CO2 avoided

Requirements● ArcGIS Desktop 10.3 (+

Spatial Analyst extension)

● Need Python development expertise to develop a Geoprocessing Tool

● ArcGIS JavaScript API (freely available) development required to develop a web app

2. Asset ManagementMap Assets → Track maintenance → Plan & Redline development → GO paperless → Go Mobile!

Requirement: Any Open Source GIS software (QGIS)

Create DashboardsUse Asset Mgmt to build dashboards and perform spatial queries

E.g.

No. of residents in a block who are affected by an power outage

Security camera coverage requirement

Allow residents to map problems (like location of stagnant water, broken wall,..)

3. Rainwater MgmtUse GIS site selection models to plan and identify locations where stormwater/rainwater can be collected

Central Idea

➔ Use the gradientUse GIS elevation models to identify the natural gradients to identify where rainwater collects naturally with least manual intervention

➔ Site selectionPrioritize site selection using existing infrastructure, soil conditions, elevations and volumetric calculations

4. CALCULATE DRIVE/WALK TIMES TO FACILITIES

Central IdeaGiven a road network and speed of movement (Walk/drive) on any particular road, we can create polygons from a facility.

➔ Use Distance formula to convert Speed into Drive/Walk Times

➔ Connect the break points and create a polygon

➔ This represents a Service Area Polygon

➔ Find areas served within 5 mins, 10 mins, 15 mins… from different facilities (hospitals, fire stations, public transport stops, …)

Why should we embrace GIS

GIS Expertise not required A spatial mindframe is all that is required

Open GIS data/tools availableAnd becoming better than proprietary tools

Easily SCALABLESize of the township doesn’t matter

thank you.