Welcome!

This is the official San Francisco State University (SFSU) "Space, Culture, and Urban Policy" project website. The website describes materials developed under the direction of SFSU Urban Studies Professors Richard LeGates and Ayse Pamuk with a National Science Foundation (NSF) Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement/Educational Materials Development (CCLI-EMD) grant. The purpose of the grant was to produce instructional modules to teach undergraduate students spatial analysis and data visualization using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software. NSF funded the "Space, Culture, and Urban Policy" project for three years (May 2003 — May 2006). To learn more about the project, visit Project Info. Click below for more information on the instructional modules.

Research Methods Module

The research methods module consists of a book—Think Globally, Act Regionally—published by ESRI Press in November 2005 and supplemental materials on this website. The research methods module is designed for upper division undergraduate students and beginning graduate students in social science and public policy research methods courses.

Think Globally, Act Regionally contains chapters describing urban problems and how GIS can help address them, GIS concepts and operations, and the theory and practice of data graphics and data visualization. It includes seven exercises to teach GIS concepts and operations and a CD-ROM with exercise data. For more information, visit the Research Methods page. Think Globally, Act Regionally can be purchased from ESRI Press.

Data Analysis Module

The data analysis module consists of a book—Mapping Global Cities: GIS Methods in Urban Analysis—published in Spring 2006 by ESRI Press, and supplemental materials on this website. The data analysis module is also designed for upper division undergraduate students and beginning graduate students in social science and public policy research methods courses.Through its content and exercises, the module focuses on the state of contemporary human settlements and urban policy approaches in a global context.

For more information, visit the Data Analysis page. Mapping Global Cities: GIS Methods in Urban Analysis can be purchased from ESRI Press.