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Address-Based Geospatial Applications: A Case Study of Trabzon, Turkey
Despite the billions of dollars spent on automation, development of national addressing standards and mailer compliance initiatives, mailers continue to mail to bad and poor quality addresses. Mailer efforts should be concentrating on improving those non-automatable addresses by using such methods as Address Element Correction and mailing First-Class postcards to verify addresses. Mailers should consider not mailing to those addresses that cannot be improved since they are literally throwing away their investment in marketing. Moreover, the result of poor address hygiene directly contributes to postage rate hikes [Perryjudds, 2001]. Researches conducted in some European Countries, budgets according to formed by postal mails or messages in years are stated following. It is very important that used address information is accurate in order to have these messages delivered and to minimize economic loses in this process. The Federation of European Direct Marketing (FEDMA) has been publishing an annual statistical report for the European direct marketing industry for several years. This report presents a few important index numbers that illustrate in particular the scope and (possible) growth of the phenomenon “addressed direct mail”. The first table shows the number of addressed postal items (direct mail) for some European countries in the period from 1996 up to and including 1999. In the second table the costs of direct mail (in million euros) for the same countries and period can be found [Humaninference, 2000]. Addressed direct mail (in million items)
Total costs of direct mail (in million euro)
3. Address Issues In Turkey When examining of the address formats used in Turkey, it seems that there is not a standard system. Because majority of address components, lack of needed sensitivity of numerating studies, different addresses formats used by different societies and lacking of awareness of societies about changes in address components, address confusion is faced in Turkey [Yildirim et al, 2002], [Yildirim et al, 2004]. Because many datasets are geographically referenced by an address, defining and using a standard address format will increase the ease with which these datasets can be incorporated into the GIS for mapping an analysis. And because address are so often used as a means of communication between and within organizations, standardizing address will increase an organizations ability to share these datasets with other organizations. Standard address can also increase the efficiency of automated applications. For example, they may make locating address on an emergency service system more efficient and accurate or usable over a wider area covering several communities [Metrogis, 1997]. 4. An Address Based Geospatial Application: Case Study of Trabzon City Address Information Systems (TAIS) Information systems are used respect to necessities in different areas. One of these areas is Address Information System (AIS) in which following, querying and displaying of numerating processes are realized in urban information system applications. Meeting of demands to these systems optimally is depending on eliminating of possible problems via pilot projects applications. So, firstly, in this application an AIS design and application realized for Trabzon City, selected as pilot area and then it is aimed that this design and application will be consider a general model for the others. After determining of how a workflow is followed in AIS applications, constructing an infrastructure for distributing of urban data to people by web, developing an automation system for updating were aimed. Study Area The study area is Trabzon City where located in the North Eastern part of Turkey and having coast to the Black Sea (Figure 1). The province has 39 districts with 28,3 square km. Its population in 2000 is recorded as 478000.  Figure 1: The location of Trabzon Province in Turkey In this study, firstly, AIS requirements were examined. Secondly, AIS design was realized and this design was applied in Trabzon City (Figure 1). Data acquired from different resources, land studies and public or private institutions of city is manipulated in ArcGIS 9.0 environment. As a result, an AIS design and application was realized for as a model (Figure 2) [Yildirim, 2003]. The spatial data layers which are in address based information systems were specified and then graphic and non-graphic information of these layers were acquired. Respect to this information, databases were designed and related with each other. After needed controls had been done, queries and analysis were done in the software system. By this system, addresses of important societies and organizations can be queried and displayed in the graphic screen, and also these societies and organizations can be coded on the map via their addresses [Yildirim et al, 2002].  Figure 2: An Interface view of “Trabzon City Address Information System” |