First, they need to find out where the Hispanic population lives. Then they need to locate community resources near these neighborhoods. Eventually, the class wants to create maps and flyers in Spanish showing where the local recycling center is, what days it's open, and what items can be recycled. To accomplish all this, Santaiti's students are excited about using GIS software. Now that GIS tools are becoming easier to use, they've caught the attention of educators.
Sustainable development is interesting to students because it involves their own future.
GIS tools are invaluable for decision support, consensus building, data visualization and future planning activities, which are a critical part of sustainable development. By using GIS tools, everyone can explore various proposals and their outcomes in order to find common ground. The phrase brings to mind simpler tools such as MapQuest , which is good for planning a car trip, but is not an open-ended, flexible tool like word processing or spreadsheet software. Maps traditionally have been simple reference tools, often two-dimensional images representing features of an area of interest. Usually a map is created for a specific purpose.