About the Lab
Our Mission
Our mission is to advance research and knowledge on the application of geospatial and visual planning technologies for public and private sector planning and decision-making. The VPT Lab accomplishes this mission through: research and creative activities; teaching and Instruction, outreach and public engagement in line with the mission of Florida Atlantic University.
Our Place in the University
The VPT Lab is a part of the School of Urban & Regional Planning (SURP) which in turn is located within the College for Design and Social Inquiry (CDSI). Being rooted in an academic department allows us to work closely with other faculty on collaborative projects and to hire students to work on research projects.
Research and Creative Activities
Each year the VPT Lab performs sponsored research projects funded by federal, state, and local governments, research centers, and other non-profit agencies. These projects are both large and small in scope and focus on:
- Multiple states (e.g. potential magnitude of population displacement due to hurricanes)
- Regions (e.g. vulnerability and resilience indicators for coastal communities)
- Communities (e.g. Districting and Redistricting)
- Downtowns (e.g. three-dimensional computer modeling)
Teaching and Instruction
The VPT Lab supports the School of Urban and Regional Planning's course offerings in GIS and Visual Planning Technologies. The courses are taken by undergraduate and graduate students as well as non-degree seeking professionals who wish to further their technical skills.
Outreach and Public Engagement
We assist with the production of class and lecture series videos aimed at a global audience. At the local level, we have performed a number of small mapping projects and webpage development for agencies and non-profits, and have developed and offered low-cost hands-on training in GIS and related technologies. This outreach to our area professionals remains part of our mission as we work toward reaching a broader audience.
