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Basic Public Space Management

Public spaces consist of many different elements, such as roads, green spaces, trees, lighting, sewer systems, and street furniture, all of which must be properly managed. During this Blended Learning course, you’ll learn how data about these assets is collected, recorded, and used for inspection, maintenance, and replacement. You’ll gain insight into the management chain, various management disciplines, and the responsibilities of managers. Using QGIS, you’ll learn to view, verify, combine, and perform spatial analysis on management data. This will provide you with a broad foundation for working with Geo-ICT in Public Space Management.

What kinds of problems will you learn to solve in the Public Space Management (Basic) course?

  • How do you gain insight into which objects are located in public spaces, where they are located, and what their current condition is?
  • What data do you need to properly manage roads, green spaces, trees, lighting, sewer systems, engineering structures, and other objects?
  • How do you use inspection and condition data to plan maintenance and replacement?
  • How do you combine data from different management disciplines into a single, comprehensive view of public space?
  • How do you use GIS and geodata to analyze management tasks and make informed management decisions?

During this Blended Learning course, you’ll learn how to systematically analyze and manage public spaces using GIS and geodata. You’ll discover how asset data, inspections, maintenance, and planning are interconnected and how to use this information to gain insight into management tasks and make informed decisions.

The Theory Behind Public Space Management

A sound management strategy begins with an understanding of public spaces and the assets that comprise them. You’ll learn how roads, green spaces, trees, street lighting, sewer systems, engineering structures, playgrounds, and street furniture are part of various management disciplines and how these disciplines are interconnected.

You’ll also be introduced to the management cycle: from inventory and registration to inspection, maintenance, replacement, and updating. You’ll learn which organizations and professionals are involved in the management of public space and how reliable object and location data form the basis for effective management and informed decision-making.

Working with Management Data and Geographic Information

Effective management starts with reliable and up-to-date data. That is why you will work with geographic information and management data such as asset locations, asset characteristics, inspection data, condition data, and maintenance information. You will learn how this data is recorded, verified, maintained, and used within the management process.

In doing so, you’ll become familiar with the Large-Scale Topography Basic Registry (BGT) and other basic registries and open geodata that are used as a geographic foundation or supplementary information within the management process. You will learn how, for example, data from the BGT, BAG, BRT, and BRO can be combined with management data, depending on the management issue at hand.

You’ll discover how different datasets complement each other and can be combined into a single, comprehensive view of public space. You’ll also learn to assess which data are needed for various management issues and how geographic information helps reveal relationships between objects, activities, and areas.

Analyzing Public Space Management in QGIS

After covering the theoretical basics, you’ll get hands-on experience in QGIS. You’ll learn to combine, verify, analyze, and visualize management data to gain a spatial understanding of public space.

You’ll map different object groups and link object data to locations. In addition, you’ll analyze inspection and condition data, select objects based on management characteristics, and create maps that highlight maintenance and replacement tasks. You’ll also learn how to combine data from different management disciplines to gain a comprehensive view of an area.

From Analysis to Evidence-Based Management Advice

During the Blended Learning program, you’ll work with realistic real-world examples and management data. You’ll step into the role of a manager or Geo-ICT specialist and tackle issues commonly encountered by municipalities, provinces, water boards, consulting firms, and other organizations responsible for public spaces. You’ll analyze the available data, identify management tasks, and justify which activities or measures are necessary.

Among other things, you’ll work on assignments such as:

  • Identify which objects are present in the public space within a given area and determine what management information is available.
  • Verify that object and management data are complete, up-to-date, and usable for the management process.
  • Analyze inspection and condition data and determine which objects require maintenance or replacement.
  • Combine data across different management disciplines and identify where work can be coordinated.
  • Visually map out maintenance and replacement tasks and determine where priorities lie.
  • Prepare a well-founded management recommendation for a management organization, including maps, analyses, and proposed measures.

Upon completion, you will have the practical skills to independently use management data, analyze management tasks spatially, and translate geographic information into concrete and well-founded recommendations for the management of public spaces.

Enroll

€395,-
  • Start: 1-hour online session
  • Self-study: Review course materials
  • End: 1-hour online session
Register for this course

You’ll receive 1-on-1 guidance. After signing up, our course coordinator will contact you to schedule your first session.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify and describe the key elements, management disciplines, and processes involved in the management of public spaces.
  • Understand and apply the management chain from inventory and registration through inspection, maintenance, replacement, and updating.
  • Collect, assess, and combine object data, geographic information, inspection data, and condition data.
  • View, verify, analyze, and visualize management data in QGIS.
  • Use geodata to provide a spatial overview of and prioritize maintenance and replacement tasks.
  • Combine data from various management disciplines to conduct a comprehensive analysis of public spaces.
  • Translate spatial analyses into well-founded management recommendations, maps, and appropriate measures.

Want to know more?

Do you have questions about the course content? Or are you unsure whether the course aligns with your learning goals or preferences? Would you prefer an in-house or private course? We’d be happy to help.

FAQs on Blended Learning in Public Space Management

Public Space Management encompasses a wide range of elements that together form the physical living environment. These include roads, bike paths, and sidewalks; public green spaces and trees; sewer systems and drainage; street lighting; traffic signs; street furniture; playground equipment; waterways; bridges; culverts; and other civil engineering structures. For each object group, data is tracked on aspects such as location, type, material, dimensions, year of construction, condition, inspections, and maintenance. During the course, you will learn to identify these different object groups and understand how they are interconnected within a single area.

For many organizations, the Basic Register of Large-Scale Topography (BGT) serves as an important geographic foundation for the management of public spaces. The BGT describes objects in the physical environment, such as roads, sidewalks, green spaces, waterways, buildings, and sites. A BOR management system then contains additional management information about objects, such as materials, year of construction, quality, condition, inspection date, and scheduled maintenance. The BGT and BOR thus serve different functions but can be closely interrelated in spatial terms.

In addition to the BGT, other basic registries and national data sources can also be used. For example, the BAG provides information on buildings and addresses, the BRT provides topographic context, and the BRO contains data on soil and the subsurface. Depending on the management issue at hand, additional data—such as cadastral, elevation, traffic, water, and environmental data—can also be incorporated. During the course, you will learn how such data can be combined with management data as a foundation or as supplementary information. The actual management of the BGT, BAG, BRO, and other basic registries is beyond the scope of this course; the focus here is on how a BOR administrator uses this data.

Virtually every object in public spaces has a location. This makes GIS ideally suited for organizing, viewing, and analyzing management information. For example, with GIS, a manager can see where roads are in need of maintenance, which trees need to be inspected soon, where streetlight malfunctions are occurring, or which bridges and culverts require attention.

GIS is also used to combine various management tasks. When sewer lines need to be replaced, the same map can be used to see the condition of the road, which trees are present, where cables and pipes are located, and what other work is planned. During the course, you’ll use QGIS to view, combine, and interpret such management maps. You’ll learn how GIS supports inventory, inspection, maintenance planning, prioritization, collaboration, and decision-making.

Municipalities are key managers of public spaces and are responsible for, among other things, local roads, green spaces, sewer systems, street lighting, and playgrounds. In addition, provinces and Rijkswaterstaat manage infrastructure; water boards manage waterways and hydraulic engineering structures; and utility and network companies manage cables, pipelines, and other networks. Contractors, engineering firms, and inspection companies also carry out a great deal of work on behalf of these managers. During the course, you will learn which organizations manage which assets and how they use and exchange management information with one another.

Maintenance and replacement are determined based on several factors. The technical condition and results of inspections are important, but age, material, frequency of use, safety, malfunctions, maintenance history, and costs also play a role. In addition, policy objectives related to sustainability, climate adaptation, accessibility, and quality of life can influence planning. By combining this information geographically, it is possible to determine where the greatest management challenges lie and which tasks should be prioritized. In doing so, there is an increasing focus on whether work on different assets within the same area can be carried out jointly.