ESTABLISHING A
B.S. IN GEODESIGN TO FOSTER
INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIONJohn P. Wilson, Ph.D.
Professor of Spatial Sciences, Sociology, Architecture,
Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Computer Science
Founding Director, Spatial Sciences Institute
Visiting Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Geodesign Summit
28 January, 2016
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Spatial Sciences Institute
o Established 1st July, 2010
o Rapid growth
o People
• 15 core faculty
• 21 faculty affiliates
• 7 staff
o Facilities• Faculty & staff offices
• Dedicated classrooms & laboratories
• Large computing infrastructure
o Substantial research enterprise
o Full suite of academic programs
SPATIAL | 2
Wicked problems
Academic disciplines
Spatial
sciences
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B.S. in Geodesign
GEODESIGN | 3
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Geodesign Curriculum
GEODESIGN | 4
Economics ׀ Mathematics ׀ Sociology
Planning
Built Environment
Architecture
History
Political Science
Policy, Planning & Development
Sociology
Design, Analysis & Computation
Anthropology
Architecture
Fine Arts & Design
History
Policy, Planning & Development
Sociology
Geodesign Practicum
Spatial Design
(12)
(36)
(28)
(4)
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Geodesign Core
GEODESIGN | 5
PPD 227 – Urban Planning and DevelopmentPPD 417 – History of Planning and DevelopmentPPD 425 – Designing Livable Communities
ARCH-PPD-SSCI 412 – Geodesign Practicum
SSCI 301 – Maps and Spatial ReasoningSSCI 382 – Principles of Geographic Information ScienceSSCI 483 – Spatial Science Practicum
ARCH 203 – Visualizing and Experiencing the Built EnvironmentARCH 303 – Principles of Spatial Design IARCH 303 – Principles of Spatial Design II
Planning
Spatial
Design
Capstone
SECTION TITLE | 2PLANNING | 6
PPD 417: HISTORY
OF PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT
PPD 227: URBAN
PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT
SECTION TITLE | 2SPATIAL | 7
SSCI 301: MAPS AND
SPATIAL REASONING
SECTION TITLE | 2DESIGN | 8
Ziyu Ouyang / Understanding Place through Experience and Analysis / 2015
ARCH 303:
PRINCIPLES OF
SPATIAL DESIGN I
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ARCH 403:
PRINCIPLES OF
SPATIAL DESIGN II
Axonometric Map
SECTION TITLE | 2GEODESIGN CAPSTONE | 10
Developing plan and project
ideas for recovery of endangered
Palos Verdes blue butterfly for an
external client, the Disney
Conservation Fund
SSCI 412: GEODESIGN PRACTICUM
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Student Response
GEODESIGN | 11
2 2 3
7
11
17 16
02 3
11
22
30
34
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Sp 13 Fa 13 Sp 14 Fa 14 Sp 15 Fa 15 Sp 16
SSI Majors and Minors
SSCI GEOD
o First major for 9 students
o 25 students changed majors
• ANTH, ARCH, ASTE, BISC,
CHEM, ENGL, ENGR, HBIO,
MUSC, PHYS, PLUS, SOCI
o Scholarships & Honors
• 2 Trustee, 3 Presidential, & 2 Dean’s
Scholars
• 14 students made Dean’s List in Fall
2015
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Enduring Challenges
o Planning and coordination• Class scheduling
• Faculty coordination
• Team teaching
• Progressive degrees
o Facilities• New collaborative classroom
• Large and diverse computing
infrastructure
o Geodesign as a collaborative,
socio-political process• Teach across several disciplines
& spatiotemporal scales
• Teach & support new workflows
• Promote community engagement
GEODESIGN | 12
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Geodesign …
GEODESIGN | 13
o Has the capacity to shift
GIS to a whole new
approach, one oriented
toward collaboration,
creation, imagination,
experimentation, and
with a view towards
applying knowledge in
a forward looking
manner
o The GIS, itself, would
then fade into
background …
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Close ║ Questions
CLOSE | 14
John Wilson
http://spatial.usc.edu
SSCI 350: International
Geodesign
