- Project summary: proposal and goal
For my group’s final project, we decided to look at the livability of British Columbia. As it is not possible to measure livability directly, we used air quality as an indicator. The aim of the project is to answer the research question: how will the presence of industries and road traffic affect the air quality, and therefore, the livability of residential areas in BC. Through the use of GIS, the air quality of BC can be mapped and correlated with residential areas to determine its livability. With this information, areas with substandard air quality and livability can be encouraged to take action to improve their situation.
- Project management
The project was carried out as a team. After coming up with a research topic and having our proposal approved, we came together to divide the work. By doing so, each of us could wholly focus on one aspect of the project and do a good job at it. After the completion of the report, we came together once more to check through and ensured that there was a flow in the report.
- What I have learnt
I have learnt a lot from this project. For one, I learnt that while there is a lot of data available online, not all data is good data. It took some time to sieve through and filter through the available data and to finally decide which datasets are useful for our project.
Through this project, I have also become more comfortable with using ArcGIS, of which I found really confusing initially.
I have also gained a lot from working in a group under a tight schedule. We did not have the luxury of time to complete this project and communication in our group was not the best. It was an interesting experience dealing with this. Nonetheless, it was a fulfilling learning experience.