Lab 2
This map details an overview of campus safety concerns.
This map details emergency call boxes and the light buffers. Notice that some emergency call boxes are not within the light buffers.
This map details lit areas and shows unlit areas of the campus.
This map shows where the latest crimes have occurred. Notice how several of them exist outside the bounds of the light buffers and in the unlit areas.
Q1. It matters what datum your waypoints are created in because your device will be interpreting and projecting based on that datum.
Q2. The coordinate system the layers are in are CRS, abut the new gpx layer was in WGS 84. However it was set to the CRS.
Q3. I used 20 foot to buffer the call boxes with since the call boxes were generally within the vicinity of the lights.
Q4. I would use the difference operation of the LightBuffer and the Callbox Buffer.
Q5. The areas that seem most adequately lit are where Kincaid and 13th intersect. Overall the university is not well lit whatsoever in between buildings, even on 13th street extending into the campus or around the library. The library stays open for students 24/7 many days per week which is why I think the poor lighting issue should actually be addressed by the Dean.
Q6. Crime data is only available if they have been reported. There should be security cameras around these particular areas. When entering data it might be ambiguous and not necessarily specify the exact location of the crime just the general area.
Q7. There are several shortcomings in the quest for a more secure campus. There ought to be more of a police presence, more security cameras, more street lights, and initiatives taken to improve emergency call response time. I’m not entirely certain if this is possible but if coordinates of a cell phone reporting a crime could be immediately stored during a call into a database that would make visualizing patterns in crime much simpler. By simply using buffers the student only is given a basic understanding of dangerous areas.