The traditional definition of a tool is something that is used to perform a necessary function. To those who have taken an interest in geographic based design over the last few years, Esri's suite of Geographic Information System (GIS) software immediately comes to mind as a useful tool for design and planning issues. Esri has been at the forefront of developing digital tools to perform the necessary functions of geographic inquiries for many years. Jack Dangermond, one of the original creative forces behind the birth of GIS technology, aligns the development of GIS alongside the ideals of McHarg, whose works we have been studying as seminal examples of the human and landscape relationships that must be understood to successfully implement the geodesign process. We need only to recall McHarg's late 1960s study of the New Jersey Shore and the 2012 catastrophic storm to steel the value of understanding the fitness of anthropogenic landscapes. GIS was the evolution of tools designed to study the relationships first explored by McHarg and his “layers” tool. However, while GIS certainly has a predominant role in geodesign, it is not the only tool and it certainly should not be the first used in the geodesign process. 

Thus far in this course, we have constructed a toolbox filled with concepts that helped to shape how the team might approach a problem. The first tool is the geodesign framework developed by Steinitz. While it has more often been discussed as a loose and mutable outline, in practice it is a tool that helps to perform the critical task of organizing the geodesign study before time and resources are wasted on excessive data gathering and aimless analysis. 

Stepping back further, before we can develop a geodesign study we need to have a problem to study and a strategy for engaging the problem. Donella Meadows 'Thinking in Systems' helps us look at landscapes as systems and identify important elements and interconnections that result in problematic behavior. Thinking in systems allows us to read the landscape and identify fitness problems. Hadon's method is a complementary tool used to develop strategies for identified problems. With a problem and a strategy, the team may begin to apply the geodesign framework. There are a number of different tools and techniques available for engaging with local people and stakeholders. Diagrams are also an important tool in understanding and communicating complex place and context relationships.

To review, our current toolbox contains a tool to identify a problem (Meadows), a tool to develop multiple strategies (Hadon), a tool to organize data gathering and analysis with stakeholder feedback (Steinitz). That is a substantial amount of work and a solid foundation towards fulfilling the function of geodesign – without having relied on much more than observation, consideration, and a pencil.