mscu_q1

Intro to GIS Workshop

MSc1 Urbanism, Week 1

Date: 3 September 2026 Duration: 8h

Instructors

Daniele Cannatella, Daniela Maiullari, Rob van Houten, Ana Petrovic, Clementine Cottineau-Mugadza, Ines Zaid, Julia Fossa Marques (TA)

Learning Objectives

Understand what GIS is, and its role in urbanism
Import vector, raster, tabular data
Manipulate attribute tables
Basic cartography (symbology, legend, layout)
Targeted Analysis (density, spatial join, zonal statistics)

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, students will be able to:

Explain what GIS is and its role in urbanism; distinguish vector and raster data models (Understand)
Import vector data and produce a basemap (Apply)
Import raster data and produce a basemap (Apply)
Manipulate attribute tables and produce a choropleth map (Apply)
Perform a spatial join between point and polygon data and calculate density (Analyse)
Compute and interpret basic descriptive and zonal statistics (Analyse)
Apply cartographic principles (symbology, legend, layout) to produce one finished map (Apply/Analyse)

Day Structure

Time	Duration	Block Type	Deliverable
09:00	45 min	Intro — learning line overview, what GIS is, common datasets Lecture + Survey
09:45	15 min	Break
10:00	30 min	Part 1 - Vector import + Basemap exercise	Basemap of Land Use (BBG+CBS neighborhoods); screenshot to Miro
10:30	30 min	Part 2 — Raster import + basemap Exercise	Basemap of DTM (AHN); screenshot to Miro
11:00	45 min	Part 3 — Attribute tables + choropleth Exercise	Choropleth of densities; screenshot to Miro
11:45	15 min	Q&A
12:00	60 min	Lunch
13:00	45 min	Part 4 — Spatial join + density Exercise	Miro + Excel barchart
13:45	45 min	Part 5 — Basic statistics Exercise	Charts pinned next to screenshots
14:30	15 min	Break
14:45	45 min	Cartography input Lecture
15:30	15 min	Exercise Map review after input
15:45	60 min	Cartography exercise	Exercise ≥1 map finalized, rest as take-home
16:45	15 min	Wrap-up + assignment brief

Outcomes

Basemap of Land Use — screenshot on Miro (Part 1)
Basemap of DTM — screenshot on Miro (Part 2)
Choropleth of densities — screenshot on Miro (Part 3)
Density + spatial join map of bakeries, with Excel barchart — Miro (Part 4)
Statistics charts pinned next to the Part 1–3 screenshots on Miro (Part 5)
Group discussion/review of maps-in-progress, held right after the cartography input, before individual finalization (Cartography input block)
One finished, publication-ready map, produced in class (Cartography exercise)
Take-home assignment: the remaining three maps, finalized using the same cartographic workflow
Completed intro survey (from the opening lecture block)

Prerequisites

Software

QGIS LTR 3.44 installed and running on every machine
Shared Miro board, accessible to all students and staff, set up in advance
Excel (or equivalent) available on every machine for the Part 4 barchart
QGIS Plugins:
- QSM (Quick Map Service)
- PDOK

Data

Download data from this SurfDrive link.

Canvas (or your LMS) page with the day’s method sheets and links, live before 09:00 Prerequisites (Student Side)

To prepare in advance:

Student accounts/access set up for the Miro board (Claudiu and Birgit)
Any datasets that aren’t fetched live during the session pre-downloaded by students, per instructions circulated before the day (Julia)
Data • BBG + CBS neighbourhoods — clipped to the study area, ready to load • AHN — pre-clipped to the study area (raw AHN pulls are slow/unpredictable live) • RUDIFUN (basisblok & buurt) — prepared for the choropleth exercise • OSM POIs — pre-filtered to bakeries only, so students aren’t querying/filtering live • CBS data for Part 5 statistics Files and project setup • All datasets and starter QGIS project files hosted on SURFdrive (or equivalent), with a single shared link distributed in advance • A saved QGIS project template per part (1–5, plus cartography), so students are chaining forward from a known-good file rather than starting from scratch each time • Miro board pre-structured (decide: fixed slot per student/pair, or open canvas) — see open question in the main planning doc Materials • Method sheets finalized for all 5 parts + cartography (step-by-step, screenshots, troubleshooting/FAQ section) • Cartography input slides/notes prepared • Intro survey built and link ready to share at 09:00 • Take-home assignment brief written, ready to hand out at 16:45 Staff • All 6 staff briefed on every method sheet in advance, so troubleshooting is consistent across the room even though no one is delivering a live demo

--- title: "mscu_q1" format: html --- # Intro to GIS Workshop ## MSc1 Urbanism, Week 1 Date: 3 September 2026 Duration: 8h ## Instructors Daniele Cannatella, Daniela Maiullari, Rob van Houten, Ana Petrovic, Clementine Cottineau-Mugadza, Ines Zaid, Julia Fossa Marques (TA) ## Learning Objectives - Understand what GIS is, and its role in urbanism - Import vector, raster, tabular data - Manipulate attribute tables - Basic cartography (symbology, legend, layout) - Targeted Analysis (density, spatial join, zonal statistics) ## Learning Outcomes By the end of the workshop, students will be able to: 1. Explain what GIS is and its role in urbanism; distinguish vector and raster data models (Understand) 2. Import vector data and produce a basemap (Apply) 3. Import raster data and produce a basemap (Apply) 4. Manipulate attribute tables and produce a choropleth map (Apply) 5. Perform a spatial join between point and polygon data and calculate density (Analyse) 6. Compute and interpret basic descriptive and zonal statistics (Analyse) 7. Apply cartographic principles (symbology, legend, layout) to produce one finished map (Apply/Analyse) ## Day Structure | Time | Duration | Block Type | Deliverable | |------|------|------|------| | 09:00 | 45 min | Intro — learning line overview, what GIS is, common datasets Lecture + Survey | | | 09:45 | 15 min | Break | | | 10:00 | 30 min | Part 1 - Vector import + Basemap exercise | Basemap of Land Use (BBG+CBS neighborhoods); screenshot to Miro | | 10:30 | 30 min | Part 2 — Raster import + basemap Exercise | Basemap of DTM (AHN); screenshot to Miro | | 11:00 | 45 min | Part 3 — Attribute tables + choropleth Exercise | Choropleth of densities; screenshot to Miro | 11:45 | 15 min | Q&A | | | 12:00 | 60 min | Lunch | | | 13:00 | 45 min | Part 4 — Spatial join + density Exercise | Miro + Excel barchart | | | 13:45 | 45 min | Part 5 — Basic statistics Exercise | Charts pinned next to screenshots | | | 14:30 | 15 min | Break | | | 14:45 | 45 min | Cartography input Lecture | | | 15:30 | 15 min | Exercise Map review after input | | | 15:45 | 60 min | Cartography exercise | Exercise ≥1 map finalized, rest as take-home | | 16:45 | 15 min | Wrap-up + assignment brief | | ## Outcomes - Basemap of Land Use — screenshot on Miro (Part 1) - Basemap of DTM — screenshot on Miro (Part 2) - Choropleth of densities — screenshot on Miro (Part 3) - Density + spatial join map of bakeries, with Excel barchart — Miro (Part 4) - Statistics charts pinned next to the Part 1–3 screenshots on Miro (Part 5) - Group discussion/review of maps-in-progress, held right after the cartography input, before individual finalization (Cartography input block) - One finished, publication-ready map, produced in class (Cartography exercise) - Take-home assignment: the remaining three maps, finalized using the same cartographic workflow - Completed intro survey (from the opening lecture block) ## Prerequisites ### Software - **QGIS LTR 3.44** installed and running on every machine - Shared **Miro board**, accessible to all students and staff, set up in advance - **Excel** (or equivalent) available on every machine for the Part 4 barchart - QGIS Plugins: - **QSM (Quick Map Service)** - **PDOK** ### Data Download data from this **SurfDrive link**. Canvas (or your LMS) page with the day's method sheets and links, live before 09:00 Prerequisites (Student Side) To prepare in advance: - Student accounts/access set up for the Miro board (Claudiu and Birgit) - Any datasets that aren't fetched live during the session pre-downloaded by students, per instructions circulated before the day (Julia) - Data • BBG + CBS neighbourhoods — clipped to the study area, ready to load • AHN — pre-clipped to the study area (raw AHN pulls are slow/unpredictable live) • RUDIFUN (basisblok & buurt) — prepared for the choropleth exercise • OSM POIs — pre-filtered to bakeries only, so students aren't querying/filtering live • CBS data for Part 5 statistics Files and project setup • All datasets and starter QGIS project files hosted on SURFdrive (or equivalent), with a single shared link distributed in advance • A saved QGIS project template per part (1–5, plus cartography), so students are chaining forward from a known-good file rather than starting from scratch each time • Miro board pre-structured (decide: fixed slot per student/pair, or open canvas) — see open question in the main planning doc Materials • Method sheets finalized for all 5 parts + cartography (step-by-step, screenshots, troubleshooting/FAQ section) • Cartography input slides/notes prepared • Intro survey built and link ready to share at 09:00 • Take-home assignment brief written, ready to hand out at 16:45 Staff • All 6 staff briefed on every method sheet in advance, so troubleshooting is consistent across the room even though no one is delivering a live demo