GIS services can be an effective tool when assisting with the public’s safety, especially on college campuses. Spatial analysis allows for the identification of areas of interest based on specific criteria and data. Analyses such as these not only keep the public safe but aid campus police departments and other local agencies in saving man-power, time and money. Crime continues to increase as departmental funds decrease. This project is a demonstration of the effectiveness of GIS and spatial analysis to solve geographic problems and furthermore promote a more effective investigation on campus safety.
I conducted research on the safest areas for students to park on North Carolina State University’s campus. My study specifically assisted in locating areas of safe parking and areas where more blue lights are needed on North Carolina State University’s campus. As Raleigh continues to grow, it’s enrollment at local universities does as well, posing not only a threat of safety but also of parking availability. As attendance continues to soar at NCSU, so does its presence in the local news as attributed to an influx in assaults (both sexual and in general). Since April 2013, at least three incidents of assault have been reported on the NCSU campus. In April 2013, an incident occurred involving a student near the Free Expression Tunnel as the student was leaving the D.H. Hill Library. The graffiti covered tunnel is a primary connector between two sections of the NC State campus, allowing students and others to go under railroad tracks that cut across campus. Additional reports have occurred; one dealing with a student being robbed in the southern-most parking lot of Avent Ferry Road and another of a female being approached by a subject near the tunnel once more.
NCSU uses a “blue light system” that includes emergency blue lights and phones. The emergency phone system is designed for ease of use; the blue lights are located at convenient locations around campus. The call buttons on the blue light poles are connected to emergency communications, police, fire and/or medical services. Due to the incidents, authorities remind students to:
Given that some students experience night classes and/or leave their vehicles unattended for long periods of time, this project will locate the safest area on campus to park according to these suggestions as defined by the following criteria:
I conducted research on the safest areas for students to park on North Carolina State University’s campus. My study specifically assisted in locating areas of safe parking and areas where more blue lights are needed on North Carolina State University’s campus. As Raleigh continues to grow, it’s enrollment at local universities does as well, posing not only a threat of safety but also of parking availability. As attendance continues to soar at NCSU, so does its presence in the local news as attributed to an influx in assaults (both sexual and in general). Since April 2013, at least three incidents of assault have been reported on the NCSU campus. In April 2013, an incident occurred involving a student near the Free Expression Tunnel as the student was leaving the D.H. Hill Library. The graffiti covered tunnel is a primary connector between two sections of the NC State campus, allowing students and others to go under railroad tracks that cut across campus. Additional reports have occurred; one dealing with a student being robbed in the southern-most parking lot of Avent Ferry Road and another of a female being approached by a subject near the tunnel once more.
NCSU uses a “blue light system” that includes emergency blue lights and phones. The emergency phone system is designed for ease of use; the blue lights are located at convenient locations around campus. The call buttons on the blue light poles are connected to emergency communications, police, fire and/or medical services. Due to the incidents, authorities remind students to:
- Walk on well-lit pathways (pathways alongside of/near the blue lights)
- Be aware of all surroundings, stay near landmarks
- Don’t walk alone at night, stay in/around a well populated area
Given that some students experience night classes and/or leave their vehicles unattended for long periods of time, this project will locate the safest area on campus to park according to these suggestions as defined by the following criteria:
- A safe area must be within 100 feet of a blue light on campus
- A safe area must be within 200 feet of residential buildings on campus
- A safe area must be within 100 feet of walkways
- Locate the tunnel polygon within the dataset (be aware of your surroundings)
To perform the analysis, I created a 100 ft. buffer around the location of all blue lights on campus. I then created a definition query within the buildings layer to ID the housing and residential buildings within the area. A 200 ft. buffer around all residential buildings as located on campus was used as well as a 100 ft. buffer around all walk ways (sidewalks, walkways, etc.).
Next, I identified the tunnel polygon within the dataset and located the polygons that it runs between. The tunnel was located using the select by attributes tool within the buildings layer. Once identified, zoom to layer and the identify tools were used to locate the buildings and parking areas on either side of the tunnel. The area of the tunnel was calculated using the attribute table within the tunnel layer.
Once I had the data above that met all criteria as defined within the requirements for a safe parking area on campus, I used the intersect tool to locate the total area that meets all criteria for safe parking. The blue light, residential and walkway buffers were intersected to reveal the areas that meet all of the defined criteria within the problem. An ideal parking deck was defined as being between 13,000-19,000 feet in area. Select by attributes was used to locate 25 of 209 parking areas that met this requirement.
Lastly, I located the current parking areas that are within 100 feet of a blue light on campus. Select by location was used to select the areas within the parking layer that intersect the final buffers safe parking areas. These areas are within 100 feet of a blue light and are considered to be safe parking areas on North Carolina State University’s campus. My map layout was able to display areas of a high degree of parking safety versus areas of a lower degree of parking safety in reference to the location of blue lights on campus.
Next, I identified the tunnel polygon within the dataset and located the polygons that it runs between. The tunnel was located using the select by attributes tool within the buildings layer. Once identified, zoom to layer and the identify tools were used to locate the buildings and parking areas on either side of the tunnel. The area of the tunnel was calculated using the attribute table within the tunnel layer.
Once I had the data above that met all criteria as defined within the requirements for a safe parking area on campus, I used the intersect tool to locate the total area that meets all criteria for safe parking. The blue light, residential and walkway buffers were intersected to reveal the areas that meet all of the defined criteria within the problem. An ideal parking deck was defined as being between 13,000-19,000 feet in area. Select by attributes was used to locate 25 of 209 parking areas that met this requirement.
Lastly, I located the current parking areas that are within 100 feet of a blue light on campus. Select by location was used to select the areas within the parking layer that intersect the final buffers safe parking areas. These areas are within 100 feet of a blue light and are considered to be safe parking areas on North Carolina State University’s campus. My map layout was able to display areas of a high degree of parking safety versus areas of a lower degree of parking safety in reference to the location of blue lights on campus.
Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that there are 0.045276 square miles of safe parking on North Carolina State University’s campus which includes 31 parking areas that are specifically within 100 feet of a blue light offering a higher degree of safety and protection to students while on campus. The green areas on the map layout are areas that offer a greater degree of safety for students that park on campus. Based on the criteria defined within this problem, these areas are located in the central part of campus near a large number of blue emergency lights, near residential buildings including both dorms and apartments and nearby campus walkways and sidewalks. Based on the total parking decks/lots on campus, 178 decks do not fit the criteria of safe parking and according to these results will offer students a lesser degree of safety and protection. The red areas on the map layout fall outside of the criteria mentioned and therefore offer a lower degree of safety to students on campus. Given the criteria and results at hand, more blue lights are needed from the Greenhouse/Method Rd. area extending north. The majority of emergency lights are placed in and around the central part of campus given that this area provides the most activity to students on a daily basis; however, the current placement of these blue lights seems to concentrate on one area as compared to the majority of campus. In general, students should become aware of the location of recent assault targets as well as become more alert when traveling around campus and to their parking areas.