Monday, June 27, 2005

Planning Students Present Findings of GIS Mapping of the

Under the direction of Professor David Phillips, students from the spring course,Applied GIS-Health, Housing, Accessibility for the Aging, completed a mapping project for the Jefferson Area Board for Aging (JABA) and presented their results at the JABA conference on June 24 held at UVa?s Darden School of Business. Issues discussed at the conference will be raised at the White House Conference on Aging scheduled for December, 2005.

Planning students used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to map and analyze the various elements of the health and housing needs for the Charlottesville area?s aging population, bringing these often intangible and overlooked issues into visual form. Students explored aging persons? access to: suitable transportation, community facilities, health services, housing, prepared meals, the arts, and other key destinations. A primary goal of the course was to inform the continuing dialogue among faculty, service providers, local officials, and local citizens concerning the connections between housing, transportation, and services for the aging in the local community.

The course was developed by Prof. Phillips and Quesada Professor William Morrish as part of a research project, Mapping the Landscape of Aging, organized and funded in cooperation with JABA; the University?s Institute on Aging, for which Prof. Morrish serves as an advisory board member; the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission; and the UVa School of Architecture?s Department of Urban and Environmental Planning.

For more information, please see:

Mapping the Landscape of Aging