PARR_2426.pdf

Transcript

1. Where would Batman choose to live in Austin, TX? Dave GEO 2426 Instructor: Parr 1
2. About Batman and Austin • Batman is a crime-fighting superhero who is moving to Austin. • Austin is the capital of Texas and the 16th largest city in the United States. It is home to the largest urban bat colony in the United States. 2
3. Research Question 3 1st CRITERION: Batman needs a cave – made of limestone – to live in. 2nd CRITERION: Batman wants to be closest to the highest crime area to get there quickly.
4. Data Sources • From CAPCOG1: the municipal boundaries, roads, soil types, and zip codes of Austin. • From the Austin Police Department2: the 2009 zip code summary crime statistics. • 1http://www.capcog.org/information-clearinghouse/geospatial-data/ • 2http://malford.ci.austin.tx.us/police/zipcode/zipcode.cfm 4
5. Analysis Techniques  STEP ONE: Identify limestone soils.  Using select by attribute, I extracted soils that were predominantly Karst (limestone). These soils are best for caves. These occur on the west side of Austin.
6. Analysis Techniques  STEP TWO: Find highest crime zip codes.  Using a table join, I joined a zip code shapefile to an excel spreadsheet of Austin crime data for 2009. The zip code with the highest total crime amount was selected. Zip Code Murder Rape Robbery Assault Burglary Theft Auto Theft Arson Indexed Crime Non-Indexed Crime Total 78701 0 6 27 52 43 692 84 3 907 2665 3572 78702 0 15 60 73 205 677 80 3 1113 2569 3682 78703 0 1 1 5 57 208 12 0 284 459 743 78704 1 13 22 34 233 1060 100 6 1469 2281 3750 78705 0 5 10 7 99 570 39 0 730 754 1484 78717 0 0 2 3 4 48 1 0 58 52 110
7. Results • A proximity spatial join between the zip code- crime layer and the limestone soils layer finds which area would meet both criteria. This is edited into the final result map. 7
10. Barton Creek Greenbelt & New BatCave
11. Conclusion • The results clearly show a good location for Batman to build his headquarters. • Other variables that would be worth considering are proximity to comedy clubs (to catch the Joker and the Riddler) and proximity to Batmobile autoshops. • This research is designed to be fun and instructional. We could use it to teach GIS to high school geography students. 11