GIScience News Blog

  • New Paper “Evaluation of accessibility disparities in urban areas during disruptive events based on transit real data”

    New Paper “Evaluation of accessibility disparities in urban areas during disruptive events based on transit real data”

    Studies have long assessed people’s accessibility to amenities through public transportation, typically using General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data. GTFS reflects planned transportation schedules, detailing the intended services and routes of transit systems. However, this approach raises an important question: are we missing critical insights by not incorporating real-time information? A recent study led by…

  • ohsome-py 0.4.0

    ohsome-py 0.4.0

    The ohsome-py Python package is a client for the ohsome API, designed to facilitate the extraction and analysis of historical OpenStreetMap (OSM) data. The package simplifies handling API requests and responses by converting them into pandas or GeoPandas data frames, making data analysis and visualization easier. With ohsome-py, you gain all the functionalities of the…

  • Acting Before the Disaster Happens: QGIS Training and Risk Assessment for Riverine Floods in Pakistan

    Acting Before the Disaster Happens: QGIS Training and Risk Assessment for Riverine Floods in Pakistan

    In the field of humanitarian aid, Anticipatory Action (AA) is emerging as an important strategy to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters. At HeiGIT, we have been actively working with this approach to support local communities in building resilience. Unlike traditional reactive responses, AA aims to initiate predefined actions based on weather forecasts and risk…

  • The Year 2024 at HeiGIT

    The Year 2024 at HeiGIT

    With 2024 drawing to a close, we reflect on a year filled with events, accomplishments and opportunities to make a positive impact. Halfway through the year, we celebrated HeiGIT’s fifth anniversary—a moment to appreciate how far we’ve come and everything we’ve accomplished together. From our early days to the milestones of 2024, our growth sets…

  • Acting Before the Disaster Happens: a Risk Assessment for Cyclones in Madagascar

    Acting Before the Disaster Happens: a Risk Assessment for Cyclones in Madagascar

    Anticipatory Action for Disaster Management In the field of humanitarian aid, Anticipatory Action (AA) is emerging as an important strategy to mitigate the impact of hazards. Anticipatory Action is an innovative mechanism that intends to make humanitarian resources available before the disaster happens, based on prior data-driven forecasts and risk assessments. This approach seeks to…

  • Announcing openrouteservice version 9.0.0: codename “Europa”

    Announcing openrouteservice version 9.0.0: codename “Europa”

    We are proud to announce the release of openrouteservice version 9.0.0, codename “Europa”. In this release, there are a number of new features that make running your own instance a whole lot easier, and some changes that improve the general routing results. For our API users, this release will not mean much, as just a…

  • Public lecture on “Habitat-Scale Environmental Suitability Mapping for Aedes aegypti”

    Public lecture on “Habitat-Scale Environmental Suitability Mapping for Aedes aegypti”

    On December 18, 2024, GIScience PhD candidate Steffen Knoblauch will present his research on “Habitat-Scale Environmental Suitability Mapping for Aedes aegypti.” The public lecture will take place at 9:00 AM in the Conference Room, 5th Floor, Mathematikon, Im Neuenheimer Feld 205, 69120 Heidelberg, and will be followed by a non-public PhD defense examination. Geoinformatics Research…

  • Teaching at Heidelberg Center Latin America in the master program “Governance of Risk and Resources”

    Teaching at Heidelberg Center Latin America in the master program “Governance of Risk and Resources”

    Recently, our colleagues traveled to Chile as part of our ongoing collaboration with the Heidelberg Center Latin America. During their visit, they hosted a block course, met with local research institutes, and participated in an alumni meeting for the master’s program “Governance of Risk and Resources” at the Heidelberg Center Latin America. Anne Schauss and…

  • Major HELIOS++ Release: v2.0.0

    Major HELIOS++ Release: v2.0.0

    We are happy to release a new major version of HELIOS++: https://github.com/3dgeo-heidelberg/helios/releases What’s new in this release? Installation The new way to install HELIOS++ is via the conda or mamba package managers. We recommend mamba or micromamba. After creating a dedicated Python environment for your HELIOS++ project and activating it, run: mamba install helios or…

  • EUGEO 2025: Call for Papers on greenhouse gas emission inventories and active mobility indicators

    EUGEO 2025: Call for Papers on greenhouse gas emission inventories and active mobility indicators

    The Call for Papers for the 10th EUGEO Congress 2025 is open! The Climate Action team at HeiGIT is looking forward to actively participate in next year´s congress with two sessions chaired by Kirsten von Elverfeldt, Maria Martin and Sebastián Block.

  • Research Visit to Rio de Janeiro

    Research Visit to Rio de Janeiro

    Building on ongoing efforts to enhance urban health management and mosquito-borne disease monitoring in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, PhD candidate Steffen Knoblauch returned to the city for a second visit deepen collaborations and explore further applications of his research findings. He delivered lectures at several research institutions such as Universidade Federal do Rio…

  • Reorganising land use: balancing food, water, and carbon storage

    Reorganising land use: balancing food, water, and carbon storage

    How can humanity meet the growing demand for food while addressing climate change and preserving vital water resources? A recent lecture by Sven Lautenbach, based on a paper addressing global land management, revisited this critical question. The findings reveal that a radical spatial reorganisation of land use could double food production, conserve water, and significantly…

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