Medical Center Suitability Mapping Using GIS and GEE

Learn how to apply spatial data, in Google Earth Engine to identify optimal locations for medical facilities

What you'll learn
- Understand core GIS and remote sensing concepts to analyze spatial data, including raster and vector formats, imagery interpretation, and geospatial tools.
- Perform suitability mapping using multi-criteria analysis like slope, roads, land cover, and population to find ideal sites for medical centers.
- Learn GEE for spatial modeling: access datasets, process imagery, apply formulas, and create automated, cloud-based suitability models.
- Visualize and export suitability maps with color-coded layers, and export GeoTIFFs for reports, GIS software, or stakeholder presentations.

Requirements
- No prior experience with Google Earth Engine is required — the course will guide you step-by-step.

Description
Identifying optimal sites for medical centers is a critical task that ensures healthcare accessibility, equity, and emergency readiness. In this course, you’ll explore how to useRemote Sensing,GIS, andGoogle Earth Engine (GEE)to build a spatial model forMedical Center Suitability Analysis.

The course begins with thefundamentals of remote sensing, teaching how satellite imagery is captured, processed, and applied to land use analysis. You’ll also exploreGIS concepts, including spatial layers, vector and raster data, and map algebra.

Next, you’ll learn the core principles ofsite suitability analysis, including how to select criteria (like road proximity, terrain slope, population density, and land cover) and assign appropriate weights. These theoretical concepts are then brought to life usingGEE, where you'll access satellite datasets, perform distance transforms, normalize variables, and calculate a compositesuitability index.

Through a hands-on lab focusing onLos Angeles, you’ll develop a fully functional suitability model for locating medical centers. You’ll also learn tovisualize results,export GeoTIFFs, and interpret outcomes for real-world planning.

This course is ideal for:

Urban planners and public health analysts

GIS students and professionals

Environmental and civil engineers

Policy makers and researchers

By course end, you'll have the tools to conduct suitability mapping projects for healthcare, disaster response, education, or other infrastructure usingopen-sourcegeospatial platforms.

Let me know if you want thelecture titles,learning outcomes, or astep-by-step GEE script explanationnext!

Who this course is for:
- Students, researchers and professionals in agriculture, environmental science, geography, or remote sensing looking to apply satellite data in real-world scenarios.
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