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Prepared by the GeoLand Services Co.
GeoLand Services Company has been asked by Dr. Lawrence Estaville, of Texas State University, to acquire data and do a GIS analysis. The region to be analyzed will be along the IH-35 corridor between the Capitol Area Council of Governments in the greater Austin area and the Alamo Area Council of Governments in the San Antonio Metropolitan area. GeoLand Services Company will provide Dr. Estaville with data and analysis concerning the need to set aside green space in Williamson County to preserve environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas. Williamson County was chosen for this study because of the enormous growth it has experienced in the last decade and the forecasts for continued growth in the area. Round Rock, Taylor, Georgetown, and Hutto, Texas are currently hot-beds for residential and commercial growth and there exists a need to set aside tracts of land to maintain the ecosystems indigenous to Williamson County.
The purpose of this project is to identify those areas of Williamson County that need to be set aside as green space because of the presence of protected species, the richness of the native ecosystem, or the sensitivity of the area because of natural hydrographic features or environmentally sensitive watersheds, recharge zones or catchments basins.
Williamson County will be studied in detail with particular attention focused on those areas that are expected to experience the most growth. Those areas include, but are not limited to, Round Rock, Hutto, Taylor and Georgetown, Texas. These four towns comprise the bulk of the urban development and population of Williamson County.
GeoLand will be looking at historic data to determine where growth is focused, and once those areas are determined; they will get the most attention in order to incorporate green spaces into the growth planning.
A. Land Use/Land Cover
B. Soils
C. Hydrology
E. Urban Areas
F. Wild Life Managed Areas
G. County Digital Orthophotos
H. Aquifers
I. Floodplain
Infrastructure Data:
A. County Boundary
B. City Limits Boundaries
C. Census Block/Census Block Demographics
D. Streets
E. Rail Roads
F. Key Geographic Locations
All of the data will be collected through government agencies. All of the sources of our data are reputable assuring that the data is accurate. Some of the data will have to be manipulated to create new data in order to customize it for this particular project.
List of Sources:
A. Land Use/Land Cover- U.S.G.S.
B. Soils- National Resources Conservation Services
C. Hydrology- CAPCO
D. Urban Areas- U.S. Census Bureau
F. Wild Life Managed Areas- Texas General Land Office
G. County Digital Orthophotos- City of Georgetown
H. Aquifers- TWDB
I. County Boundary- National Resources Conservation Services
J. City Limit Boundaries- CAPCO
K. Census Block/Census Block Demographics- U.S. Census Bureau
L. Streets- CAPCO
M. Rail Roads- CAPCO
N. Landmark Polygons- U.S. Census Bureau
O. Floodplain, FEMA
• GeoCommunity- http://www.geocomm.com/
• National Resources Conservation Services- http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/
• CAPCO- http://www.capco.state.tx.us/webplanimetrics
• UT Bureau of Economic Geology- http://www.beg.utexas.edu
• Texas General Land Office- http://www.glo.state.tx.us/gisdata/gisdata.html
• U.S. Census Bureau- http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/index.html
• City of Georgetown-http://www.georgetown.org/departments/ds/maps/gisdata.php
• TWDB- http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/mapping/index.asp
Several data layers will be collected from secondary sources and then manipulated to create new data. The data will be used to create a model for evaluating land in Williamson County, in order to identify areas worthy of preservation.
Processes:
The data will be collected from various sources, so all of the data must be re-projected to assure alignment of the layers.
Vector Analysis
• Select by Attribute
• Select by Location
• Clip
• Buffer
• Overlay
The process of selection by attribute will be used because only certain attributes within data layers qualify under the criteria for conservable land. Selection based on location will be used to identify relationships between natural areas and urban areas. Some of the data will need to be clipped to accommodate certain spatial extents. Buffers will be used to establish proximity relationships between different layers. Overlays will be used to create new layers that are a combination of several criteria.
Raster Analysis
• Conversion from Vector to Raster
• Reclassify
• Raster Calculator
All of the vector data will be converted to raster format so that a comprehensive suitability model can be made. Once all of the data is in raster format it will be reclassified with integer values. Reclassification of the data makes different layers have a calculable relationship between each other. Using raster calculator, an equation will create an output displaying the most suitable areas for conservation. The areas with the highest calculated value will meet the greatest number of criteria used in the analysis.
Software:
•ArcGIS 8.3
•Spatial Analyst Extension
Williamson County is one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. From 1990 to 2000, the county has had a 79.1% population increase. The goal of several government agencies and conservation interest groups is to locate and purchase land that should not be disturbed by urban growth. This project will exemplify how GIS can be used to save time and money during the location process. The model provides several different attributes considered by conservation groups, and because different groups have different specific interests, the model can be customized to meet those specific needs.
Total Hours (10 hours/week*3weeks*2 consultants +7 hours/week*3weeks*1 consultant+5hours/week*3weeks*1 consultant) 96hours
Hourly Rate $50.00
Sub Total $4,800.00
Total Hours (10 hours/week*4weeks*2 consultants +7 hours/week*4weeks*1 consultant
+5hours/week*4weeks*1 consultant) 128hours
Hourly Rate $60.00
Sub Total $7,680.00
System Management:
Project Manager: Total Hours 55hours
Hourly Pay $80.00
Sub Total $4,400.00
Assistant Project Manager: Total Hours 33hours
Hourly Pay $60.00
Sub Total $1,980.00
Equipment Cost: (For 11 weeks)
Supplies ($194/workstation*4 workstations) $776.00
Maintenance ($125/workstation*4workstations) $500.00
Depreciation ($776 [total cost of equipment]*2.5months $1940.00
Sub Total Equipment Cost $3,216.00
Data: Software License for 11 weeks ($104*4workstations) $416.00
Sub Total $616.00
TOTAL COST $22,492.00
GeoLand Services Company staff analysts will need approximately 3 weeks in order to collect spatial data. They will look for good data on the internet and do some field trip collection data with a GPS device as necessary. This process will end around Sunday October 3 rd.
The pre-processing data stage is the most important for the success of the project and will take approximately 4 weeks. Once sufficient data has been collected, the staff analysts will do a careful analysis of the data. Only data that comes with metadata will be used and the rest will be discarded. Metadata will be produced for any datasets acquired in the field or from analysis. They will make sure that all the datasets have the same projection, and datasets in raster format have the correct same cell size, in order to start the analysis. This step will end around Sunday October 31 st.
The analysts will conduct data analysis for about 3 weeks. Once all the data is in the right format and projection, it will be processed. Processing all this data will produce an output that is ready for analysis. The analysis will be conducted with enough time to emphasize accuracy. This step will end around November 21 st.
The data interpretation will take about a week. All the members at GeoLand Services Company will conduct an interpretation of the final output. Does the final output make sense? Does it resolve the real world problem? What is the conclusion for this research? We will make sure the solution to the problem is presentable to the client and final deliverables will be discussed and organized.
Timeline
Data Collection |
3 weeks |
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Pre-Processing Data |
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4 weeks |
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Data Analysis |
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3 weeks |
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Data Interpretation |
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1 week |
Important Dates |
Sept. 13 to Oct. 3 |
Oct. 4 to Oct. 31 |
Nov. 1 to Nov. 21 |
Nov. 22 to Nov. 28 |
The commencement of this project will yield a detailed report of how to approach the problem of identifying the areas that need to be preserved before urban growth infringes on their natural settings. GeoLand Services Company will deliver a final product that they are confident will satisfy the clients needs.
GeoLand Services Company will provide a professional poster with interactive maps, a flowchart to easily understand the various steps, and written paragraphs to describe how the success of the project was obtained.
GeoLand services Company will provide the costumer with 2 CDs containing all of the data used for the success of the project, metadata about the data, the final report, a power point presentation, detailed instructions on how to use the CDs, and a read me text file from GeoLand Services Company.
GeoLand Services Company will identify the areas which need to be protected from development, based on our GIS analysis on environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas in Williamson County. We are confident that the result of this project will provide Dr. Estaville with an excellent solution concerning land use along the IH-35 corridor.
Eros Bertoni, Project Manager
Rie Taniuchi, Assistant Project Manager
Ramsey Saad, GIS Analyst
Ray Mathews, GIS Analyst