Pixels, Planet, Power: Visualizing Urban & Environmental Change

Undergraduate / Graduate

This hands-on methods course trains students how to turn streams of satellite imagery into persuasive, narrative visualizations of urban, environmental, and planetary change. Using Google Earth Engine and other open-source tools, you will learn how to acquire, preprocess, analyze, and map earth-observation data, from spectral indices and machine-learning classification methods to time-series composites and cartographic design. Short lectures frame the technical labs within larger questions of power, representation, and justice, encouraging you to critique the assumptions that shape geospatial workflows even as you master them. Each year, the class grounds these skills in a fresh, high-stakes theme, ensuring that evolving geospatial methods confront the most pressing environmental and urban challenges. No prior coding or mapping experience is required; curiosity and a willingness to experiment are essential. The course fulfills the CEGU methods requirement and may also be eligible to meet methods requirements in other social sciences, sciences, and humanities majors.