Abstract

Using GIS to Assess Urban Development Potential
Track: Transportation
Author(s): Stella Wotherspoon, Kearey Smith

Two regional agencies, ABAG and MTC, are collaborating on a regional planning initiative (Focusing Our Vision) to identify areas within the region that are: within an existing community, near high quality transit, and planned for additional housing. This effort has engaged local governments and community organizations in a regional visioning exercise, using GIS as a decision-making tool.

Geographic databases were developed to represent the spatial characteristics of locations within the region based upon strategies defined by the Focusing Our Vision planning effort. These databases were used in a spatial weighted overlay model to determine the best locations for infill development within the nine-county Bay Area Region. This spatial model assigns importance to the attribute values associated with each characteristic using a weighting scheme that compares each theme as it relates to the overall objectives of the project goals.

Stella Wotherspoon
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
101 8th Street
Oakland , California 94607
United States
Phone: 510-817-5969
E-mail: swothe@mtc.ca.gov

Kearey Smith
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
101 8th Street
Oakland , California 94607
United States
Phone: 510 8175 738
E-mail: ksmith@mtc.ca.gov