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Our mission

At the Spatial Sciences Institute, we turn geospatial data into solutions for a healthy, prosperous and safe world. By harnessing the power of geospatial sciences and technologies, we foster collaboration, build consensus and support actions that tackle intractable global challenges.

Through our innovative research and academic programs, we educate and launch today’s and tomorrow’s spatial problem solvers to deploy spatiotemporal perspectives and insights across every possible discipline and industry.

We collaborate with faculty colleagues throughout the University of Southern California and with other prestigious institutions around the world on funded research that provides decision makers and citizens with strategies towards a more sustainable life on Planet Earth.

“I invite you to join our talented and committed students, faculty, staff and alumni as we unlock the power of geospatial data that provides answers and supports solutions for improved quality of life for everyone.”

John P. Wilson, Professor and Founding Director

Creating Sustainable Solutions

Using geographic information science, powered by today’s computational capacity, we are reducing urban heat with trees, planning for livable regions, protecting fragile ecosystems and more.

Promoting Human Well-Being

So much of our health is determined by where we live: the air we breathe, our access to health care and our ability to walk in our neighborhoods. We draw upon multi-disciplinary sciences of population, health and place to improve the quality of life in our communities, especially marginalized ones.

Fostering Stable and Safe Communities

Whether it’s preparing for emergencies, empowering first responders or supporting national security, we are preparing a workforce to be leaders in geospatial intelligence and global security applications.

Designing Resilient Environments

As leaders in geodesign, we use locational data with concepts from urban planning, architecture and landscape architecture to envision future scenarios, measure their impacts and empower decisionmakers to protect and enhance livability.

Finding Answers in Big Data

We extract knowledge from geospatial data combining artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning with geospatial infrastructures.

Become a spatial scientist

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From our home base in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, our undergraduate, masters and doctoral students use their creativity and imaginations to engage spatial thinking and analysis in interdisciplinary and use-inspired ways.

Our alumni in industry, government and not-for-profit organizations are changing the world. You can, too.

Learn about the impact of our research and teaching

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