The "Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Applied to the Territory" course introduces this system, which allows for the capture, storage, analysis, management, and presentation of all types of geographic data by establishing relationships between architecture, territory, and GIS.
GIS has evolved significantly in recent times, becoming a highly valuable instrument for studying the territory. However, it is rarely taught in architecture and urban planning curricula.
GIS represents a tool with great potential for academic development and professional practice in the field of urban planning. Most architects and students are not trained in these tools because a vision centered on traditional representation techniques, such as CAD, still prevails. These techniques sometimes present limitations for urban design, such as the separation between analysis and design processes, as well as the inability to integrate results into computerized management processes. Both shortcomings stem primarily from a lack of knowledge in using tools for processing databases associated with spatial entities in CAD systems, as well as their limited capacity to carry out analysis operations (geoprocessing functions in GIS) or statistical operations.
