DATA:

In this section, the process of getting the data into an useable format will be explained.The steps taken in the actual analysis will be explained in the methodology section.

Received a municipalities coverage in MapInfo format (UTM Zone10, nad83).
Using MapInfo, queried "Burnaby", reprojected (Albers BC project, nad83), buffered 1km.
Converted to IDRISI vector file using FME. 

 
 

COVERAGE HOLES:

A hypothetical PCS network was developed in dB Planner.This is a MapInfo extension that is used by PCS carriers to predict their network coverage.dB Planner takes into account land use and elevation to determine the RF signal loss through space.For this project, 23 sites were created in the study area.They were given typical PCS antenna beam widths and heights.
This hypothetical 23 antenna network was then modeled using typical PCS output power in dB Planner.dB Planner returned a grid of predicted PCS coverage. Click here to see a sample of the dB Planner output.
Because of software limitations, this image was not available for direct export into IDRISI format.The image was printed out into a hardcopy.
This image was then digitally scanned and converted to a '.jpg'.
This '.jpg' was georeferenced (Albers BC project, nad83) in IDRISI.
Coverage holes were then digitized in IDRISI, clipped to study area.
Rasterized.The RECLASS function in IDRISI was used to create a "constraint" Boolean image.Click here to see the reclassification formula used for this step.

EXISTING SITES:

Exported from dB Planner as text file (UTM Zone10, nad83).
Created shapefile in ArcView, reprojected (Albers BC project, nad83), clipped to study area.
Converted to IDRISI vector file using FME.
Rasterized.
DISTANCE function performed in IDRISI.In this step, a layer is created where every pixel's Z-value is the distance to the closest existing PCS site.
FUZZY function performed in IDRISI.In this step, the distance values created in step 5 are standardized to an increasing sigmoidal curve with control points at 500m and 2000m.This means that from 0 - 500m the suitability of a new site is nil.  To see this image, click here.From 500 to 200m, the suitability increases.At 2000m from an existing site and further, the suitability will not change.

DEM - ELEVATION:

Received 30m DEMin MapInfo format (UTM Zone10, nad83).
Exported from MapInfo as USGS DEM.
Used ArcInfo'DEMGRID' command to create ArcInfo grid.
Used ArcInfo 'GRIDPOINT' to create ArcInfo point coverage.
Used ArcInfo 'PROJECT' (Albers BC project, nad83).
Used ArcInfo 'CLIP' to clip points to study area.
Used ArcInfo 'GRIDFLOAT' to export grid in binary format.
Imported binary file into IDRISI.
FUZZY function performed in IDRISI.In this step, the elevation values are standardized to an symmetric sigmoidal curve with control points at 50m , 150m, 150m and 250m. This means that below an elevation of 50m, the suitability is nil.From 50m to 150m the suitability increases. From 150m to 250m the suitability decreases to nil.

SLOPE:

SLOPE function performed on DEM in IDRISI.In this step, the slope of every pixel is calculated in degrees based on the Z-values of the layer.
FUZZY function performed in IDRISI.In this step, the slope values are standardized to an decreasing sigmoidal curve with control points at 5 and 15 degrees.This means that slopes below 5 degrees all have a high suitability.From 5 to 15 degrees, the suitability decreases.After 15 degrees, the suitability is nil.

LAND USE:

Received in MapInfo format (UTM Zone10, nad83).
Converted to ArcInfo coverage using FME, reprojected (Albers BC project, nad83), clipped to study area.
Used ArcInfo 'TABLES'to standardize land use into continuous scale. Click here to see standardization formula used in this step.
Used ArcInfo 'POLYGRID' to create ArcInfo grid.
Used ArcInfo 'GRIDFLOAT' to export grid to binary format.
Imported binary file into IDRISI.

POPULATION:

Received enumeration areas as shapefile (UTM Zone10, nad83).
Received population data as textfile.
Linked data to shapefile in ArcView.
In ArcView, reprojected (UTM Zone10, nad83)), clipped to study area.
In ArcView, standardized population data to range 0-255.  Click here to see standardization formula used in this step.
Used ArcInfo 'SHAPEARC' to create ArcInfo coverage.
Used Arcinfo 'POLYGRID' to create ArcInfo grid.
Used ArcInfo 'GRIDFLOAT' to export grid in binary format.
Imported binary file into IDRISI.

HIGHWAYS:

Received in MapInfo format (UTM Zone10, nad83).
Converted to ArcInfo coverage using FME, reprojected (Albers BC project, nad83), clipped to study area.
Used Arcinfo 'POLYGRID' to create ArcInfo grid.
Used ArcInfo 'GRIDFLOAT' to export grid in binary format.
Imported binary file into IDRISI.
DISTANCE function performed in IDRISI.In this step, a layer is created where every pixel's Z-value is the distance to the closest pixel containing a highway value.
FUZZY function performed in IDRISI.In this step, the distance values are standardized to a decreasing sigmoidal curve with control points at 500m and 1500m.This means that suitability within 500m from a highway is high.From 500m to 1500m the suitability decreases.After 1500m, the suitability is nil.  To see this image, click here.

WATER:

RECLASS function performed on LAND USE in IDRISI to create a "constraint" Boolean image. Click here to see the classification formula used in this step.