Author: Lisa Shkredova
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New Paper “Accessibility for pedestrians under heat stress – the example of Heidelberg, Germany”
This study introduces the isocalor approach to assess how solar exposure and heat stress impact pedestrian access to essential services in Heidelberg, using OpenStreetMap data and a customized openrouteservice routing engine. As climate change intensifies, cities are increasingly exposed to extreme heat events, with urban populations—especially vulnerable groups like older adults, children, and those with…
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New paper “Changes in Road Centrality and Hospital Access Redundancy: Impacts of the 2024 Flood in the Metropolitan Core of Porto Alegre”
This study examines the resilience of urban infrastructure, with a focus on road network connectivity and redundancy in the face of extreme weather events. Using OpenStreetMap (OSM) data and the openrouteservice (ORS) routing engine, the research assesses centrality metrics and redundancy to evaluate how floods impact mobility and access to critical services, such as healthcare.…
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New Paper in Lancet Planetary Health “Urban Aedes aegypti suitability indicators”
To improve vector control strategies, Dr. Steffen Knoblauch (PostDoc at GIScience and HeiGIT) has developed detailed maps showing where Aedes aegyti is most likely to thrive. Using a holistic approach, his work leverages geospatial big data – including openly available satellite and street view imagery as well as climate data – to identify common breeding…
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New Paper “GeoDEN: A Visual Exploration Tool for Analyzing the Geographic Spread of Dengue Serotypes”
With the increasing availability of global disease datasets, Visual Analytics (VA) has emerged as a valuable tool in spatial epidemiology, particularly for studying serotype interactions in diseases like dengue. Dengue, caused by four serotypes (DENV1-DENV4), poses a significant global health threat exacerbated by urbanization and climate change. Traditional approaches rely on static mapping or animation…
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New Paper in Scientific Reports “Modeling Intraday Aedes-human exposure dynamics enhances dengue risk prediction”
Scientific Reports publishes a paper by Steffen Knoblauch et al. that underscores the critical importance of integrating vector ecology and human behavior into advanced disease modeling frameworks. The increasing availability of human movement data presents significant potential for tackling global public health challenges, especially in the context of infectious diseases. This is particularly important for…
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Call for participation: “Walking the X-min City: Methods and implementations to assess walkability and pedestrian accessibility” Workshop at the AGILE Conference
Join our collaborative workshop at the AGILE Conference in Dresden on June 10, where researchers, practitioners, and policymakers come together to explore methods in walkability and pedestrian accessibility assessment. Workshop scope The assessment of walkability and pedestrian accessibility through GIS methods has gained momentum, offering urban planners and policymakers new ways to assess and implement…
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New Paper “AI-Generated Buildings in OpenStreetMap: Frequency of Use and Differences from Non-AI-Generated Buildings”
The concept of a “Digital Earth” has long envisioned a future where technological advancements enable the large-scale collection and visualization of spatial and environmental data. Today, open data sources such as OpenStreetMap (OSM) provide crucial spatial information for diverse applications, including urban planning, disaster management, and public health. However, many regions remain insufficiently mapped, particularly…
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Crowdmapping on Street-Level Imagery with MapSwipe
The crowdmapping app MapSwipe now integrates also street-level imagery. This new feature enables even mapping efforts that require the highest level of detail, such as detecting waste on the street. The MapSwipe App MapSwipe is an open-source app that enables volunteers to map missing geodata, making global mapping efforts more coordinated and efficient. Free, reliable geodata…
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New Paper “Crime-associated inequality in geographical access to education: Insights from the municipality of Rio de Janeiro”
To what extent does crime potentially inhibit geographical access to schools, measured by cumulative average travel time? Education is recognized globally as a fundamental human right and essential for promoting equality,eradicating poverty, reducing crime, and supporting sustainable development. Despite global progress, full educational access remains a challenge, particularly in highly criminal areas. The paper uses…
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New Paper “Geosocial Media’s Early Warning Capabilities Across US County-Level Political Clusters: Observational Study”
The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) generated significant health concerns worldwide, leading policymakers and health care experts to implement nonpharmaceutical public health interventions to mitigate the spread of the virus. While these interventions played a crucial role in controlling transmission, they also resulted in substantial economic and societal costs, necessitating strategic deployment, particularly during periods of…
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New paper “STVAE: Skip connection driven two-stream property Fusion Variational AutoEncoder for cross-region wastewater treatment plant semantic segmentation”
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance and public health and are essential for advancing social sustainable development goals. However, the diverse architectural styles, scales, and environmental contexts of WWTPs—shaped by climate, topography, and regional economic conditions—pose significant challenges for generalizing segmentation algorithms. To address this, integrating knowledge from different…
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OSM Completeness with Overture maps data
Free and open-source map data has become a keystone for research across diverse fields. The extensive coverage of OpenStreetMap (OSM) data allows scientists to conduct independent studies without relying on corporate collaborations or investing heavily in proprietary datasets. However, OSM data coverage completeness varies significantly by location. Moreover, the latest data updates cannot always be…