Geographic information science

Mapping Science Committee of the US National Academies

I am honored and excited to be appointed to a second term as chair of the Mapping Science Committee of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

The Mapping Science Committee organizes and oversees National Research Council studies that provide independent advice to society and to government at all levels on geospatial science, technology, and policy. It also addresses aspects of geographic information science that deal with the acquisition, integration, storage, distribution, and use of spatial data. Through its studies, the committee promotes the informed and responsible development and use of spatial data for the benefit of society.

We have a excellent committee for the 2021-2023 term – accomplished scientists, professionals and leaders in the field, spanning a wide range of geospatial science, technologies and applications:

  • Harvey Miller, chair, The Ohio State University
  • Stewart Fotheringham, Arizona State University
  • Oceana Francis, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
  • Hendrik Hamann, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
  • Kristen Kurland, Carnegie Mellon University
  • Marguerite Madden, University of Georgia
  • Keith Masback, Plum Run, LLC
  • Kathleen Stewart, University of Maryland
  • Eric Tate, University of Iowa

 

311 service requests as indicators of neighborhood distress and opioid use disorder

New paper: Li, Y., Hyder, A., Southerland, L.T., Hammond, G., Porr, A. and Miller, H.J. “311 service requests as indicators of neighborhood distress and opioid use disorder,” Scientific Reports, 10, 19579.

Abstract

Opioid use disorder and overdose deaths is a public health crisis in the United States, and there is increasing recognition that its etiology is rooted in part by social determinants such as poverty, isolation and social upheaval. Limiting research and policy interventions is the low temporal and spatial resolution of publicly available administrative data such as census data. We explore the use of municipal service requests (also known as “311” requests) as high resolution spatial and temporal indicators of neighborhood social distress and opioid misuse. We analyze the spatial associations between georeferenced opioid overdose event (OOE) data from emergency medical service responders and 311 service request data from the City of Columbus, OH, USA for the time period 2008–2017. We find 10 out of 21 types of 311 requests spatially associate with OOEs and also characterize neighborhoods with lower socio-economic status in the city, both consistently over time. We also demonstrate that the 311 indicators are capable of predicting OOE hotspots at the neighborhood-level: our results show code violation, public health, and street lighting were the top three accurate predictors with predictive accuracy as 0.92, 0.89 and 0.83, respectively. Since 311 requests are publicly available with high spatial and temporal resolution, they can be effective as opioid overdose surveillance indicators for basic research and applied policy.

Media

Ohio State as a 21st century urban university

In honor of Ohio State’s sesquicentennial anniversary, The Ohio State University Press just published a collection of essays – Fulfilling the 21st Century Land-Grant Mission: Essays in Honor of The Ohio State University’s Sesquicentennial Commemoration, edited by Stephen M. Gavazzi and David J. Staley.

My essay in this collection, Ohio State as a 21st Century Urban University,  discusses the major issues facing an urbanized world, laying out a broad agenda for urban scholarship and outreach. I also discuss the scientific revolution occurring in urban science, enabled by new data sources and powerful technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS). I also make a case for Ohio State as an urban university, reviewing the evolution of Ohio State’s capabilities in urban scholarship and outreach. I  conclude my essay with a discussion of Ohio State moving forward as an urban university: why Ohio is a good setting for urban scholarship, and the role that Ohio State can play in this new era.