Geographic Information Technologies Professor and Students Provide Consulting to Local Businesses
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By Leigh DuPuy
Professor
Zong-Guo Xia and his students in the Geographic Information Technologies
Program will lend their skills to help local business owners map their
territory and better understand the demographic characteristics, economic
activities, infrastructure, land use zoning, marketing, and revitalization
needs for the area. It is just one of the ways Xia and his students offer
professional consulting service to community organizations.
Xia’s latest project is to use geographic information systems (GIS) analysis to plot the area of the Newmarket Business Association (NBA), a non-profit group of over 200 members. Their businesses are located in the waterfront area extending from UMass Boston to downtown Boston. It is a unique parcel: the only area within Boston that is zoned for industrial development. Xia notes, “The territory is of core economic importance for the City of Boston.”
Under Xia’s leadership, he and his students will provide NBA with a series of maps, charts, and overlays that contain detailed information about their territories. By the time the project is complete, the NBA will have a database of maps and will have received basic training to use geographic information systems in routine operations.
“It is a wonderful opportunity to map our ‘backyard,’
Xia says. “The data could help revitalize the city. This fits in
wonderfully with UMass Boston’s urban mission.”
Xia is also working with the Nature Conservancy as a GIS consultant. He
will analyze data from five areas in Western Massachusetts to assess the
most critical areas for conservation efforts and land acquisition.
Many of Xia’s former students continue to provide service for Massachusetts, working as environmental scientists, consultants, and urban planners for organizations including the Massachusetts Geographic Information System, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Battelle Coastal Resources and Environmental Management, Parson Brinckerhoff, Inc., and Applied Geographics, Inc. The Program in Geographic Information Technologies is known as the most comprehensive in New England, noted for having one of the best computer facilities in the country.