“GIS for Landscape Architects”

Geographic Information Systems or GIS has become the popular tool for landscape architects in large environments for many years. This system has led to a revolution in design production process by landscape architects, landscape identification, integration of public policy, conduction of research work and cooperation with experts from other disciplines. It is obvious for landscape architects that GIS technology is on the verge of becoming a standard criterion for institutions and professional designers as a basis for planning and landscape design in different scales. Regarding the preparation of GIS maps for different cities of Iran and the presence of GIS professionals in various areas of landscape analysis and planning in different land use planning, urban planning and tourism in architecture and urbanism consulting engineers companies, the context for widespread use of this knowledge in the field of architecture is prepared and introducing this technology to landscape students and graduates and the students of relative fields seems essential. The translated book of “GIS for Landscape Architects” is considered the first step in introduction of GIS dimension and aspects to academic and professional sessions of landscape architecture in implementing landscape projects which is released due to perseverance of “Landscape Architecture Student Association of Tehran University” and supervision of Nazar Research Center and and sponsorship of “Tehran Beautification Organization “. How do landscape architects use GIS? This is the question that this book seeks espond by introducing 10 real-world cases. . In this book, you can see how big and small companies have replaced GIS with traditional time-consuming and imprecise creative methods innovatively and creatively to be used in analysis and synthesis of different layers of information to influence the planning and design of urban and natural sites. The book shows how GIS in scale, scope and planning stages to help Landscape Architects from planning to design. From a firm in New York City which implies the capability of creating visibility in GIS field of to help protect the visual landscape to a firm in Philadelphia which offers a simple model of supply and demand for recreational facilities with the use of GIS calculations and a company which uses GIS and synthesizes diverse influential environmental, cultural, social and economic information to propose priorities for enhancing the landscape of a central street in the heart of “Albacorque” city. In all these cases the GIS with emphasis on the interdisciplinary role of landscape architects _assembler of various specialties involved in management, planning and territorial and municipal landscape design _ plays the the main role in collecting, analyzing and utilizing data from different fields. In addition, the last three chapters of the book are allocated to introduction of applicable models as well as graphical methods of GIS and the process of assessing the measures for coming into a conclusion. This handbook is a good reference for architecture students and graduates familiar with the various features of GIS software in various areas of their profession.