“The Making of Cities” and Encouraging Spatial Literacy through GIS

"The Making of Cities" and Encouraging Spatial Literacy through GIS has a two-­‐fold aim: 1) to transform an existing course, 4.241/11.330, so that it powerfully serves a diverse range of MIT undergraduates, and 2) as part of revamping the class, we want to develop a module aimed exclusively at undergrads that will teach them GIS software and how to analyze historical data concerning city form. The GIS module will benefit the class long-­‐term as it will build up a series of maps to be used for teaching. Learning GIS would benefit MIT undergraduates immensely as it is increasingly important to have technical and analytic skills that pertain to spatial literacy. GIS is a terrific tool for honing visual reading; a technology perfect for application to "The Making of Cities."