Location based service for urban management
The goal of the project was to put together a spatially enabled urban management monitoring system for the City of Johannesburg (COJ), with the inner city being the pilot project.

The effect of various map projections on surface area
This article investigates the error that can be expected when an area or region is projected from its “true” area i.e. that area calculated on the ellipsoid, to a projected area. This investigation was requested by the South African National Biodiversity Institute.

Clash of technologies: Land use mapping and land surveying
Extended land tenure in South Africa has been complicated by the clash of technologies between land-use mapping and land surveying.

Preparing public viewing facilities for mass events
A project was recently conducted in Gauteng by SRK Consulting to identify public safety and disaster risks associated with the use of public viewing facilities during mass events.

Geophysical surveys in West Africa
Detailed marine geophysical surveys are considered a key element in the process of development and construction of new offshore ports and load out facilities. Specifically the seismic data constitutes an essential part as it can reveal many unknown factors.

Aerial Imaging Technology Spotlight
The vision of the founding members of ASPRS was farsighted indeed. Their 1934 mission to advance knowledge and understanding of the mapping sciences today encompasses a broad spectrum of scientific, social and commercial enterprises.

The Sky Is Falling!
The GAO report is assessing the risks, not predicting failure. In a related GAO report issued May 20, 2009; "DOD Faces Substantial Challenges in Developing New Space Systems," we see that it is not only GPS that faces these challenges. Some of the challenges to GPS have to do with delays in launch systems, budgetary constraints.

Surprise Bridges the Gap between CAD and GIS
Located in Arizona's Sonora desert, the city of Surprise is a booming Phoenix suburb with a small-town feel and big city amenities. One of those amenities includes the city's GIS, which has helped meet the technology requirements of one of America's fastest-growing cities.

Rapid-Fire Surveying
When the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) set out to rebuild Interstate 15 south of Salt Lake City, the department needed accurate one-foot contour interval mapping and a digital terrain model (DTM). With accurate maps and models of the 20-mile stretch of freeway, designers could calculate precise earthmoving quantities. Those in turn would lower UDOT's risk of disputes over actual earth moved.

Of road blocks and building blocks
Uptake of GI in Africa requires concerted efforts to provide enabling environment to ensure that geospatial info permeates every aspect of society...

Mapping Africa for Africa
Lack of political will, financial capability and skilled manpower - African nations are battling out all odds to unite geodetically...

Together as one
The Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) is an inter-governmental organisation established under the auspices of UN Economic Commission of Africa (ECA) and the African Union...

Training to combat
In 2003, the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was launched to combat global HIV/AIDS - the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in history...

Collaborate to reach out
HIV/AIDS is major public health concern in many countries in Africa. Making sure that people in need of HIV/AIDS care get access to treatment in an equitable way requires taking several parameters into account, making planning decisions sometimes difficult...

South Africa: On a growth path with GIS
South Africa has always been more progressive than other African countries in terms of use of ICT. In 1980s, South Africa was characterised by a general lack of awareness in national and provincial governmental departments regarding what spatial data was available as well as what capabilities GIS offered in practice...

The Fabric of Jacksonville Beach
Inaccurate documentation of property boundaries poses many problems for local governments in the United States. Spatial inaccuracies within a land base can lead to the inadvertent placing of utilities or other publicly owned facilities on private property when originally intended for placement in a right-of-way. Moreover, erroneous parcel information can often lead to disputes over property lines.

Land information systems in Australia, Part 2
South Australia is constructing two fabrics--one for accurate parcel data and one for building surveys. About 70 percent of the data has been collected. The parcel fabric is being created in “hot” development areas, and the plan is to spatially improve the existing cadastre over time. This goal is significant because in Australia, coordinates are prima facie evidence of boundary.

In the Beginning
Maps have existed since the earliest times, but someone had to make those maps and do the field work associated with them. The Bible not only describes acts of land surveying but also includes descriptions of landmarks, laws concerning surveying and boundary markers, surveying technology, measurement units, and even a surveying request for services.

Disaster Mapping 2.0
The main goal of our research was to see how the current post-disaster mapping operations by the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT), under the International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters', could benefit from modern GIS and collaborative web-based mapping technology.

Earth Observation in Conflict Mitigation
The conflicts in Darfur and Chad have led to excessive human-rights violations. The worst years of fighting were 2003 and 2004, but violence is on the increase again. International peacekeeping has not proved effective and access to humanitarian agencies is limited. A powerful tool in support of planning processes for international missions is earth observation (EO) via up-to-date satellite imagery.

Mapping the Middle East
Formerly known as Pictometry Middle East, Vision combines diverse aerial survey capabilities with local experience to offer end-to-end mapping solutions for projects of any size in the Middle East and North Africa. In creating Vision the goal was simple: the company would serve as a reliable one-stop provider of cost-effective geospatial information customised to meet individual client needs.

Cartography and Emergency
We live in a world in which both natural and manmade disasters, including those triggered by terrorism, tend to occur with increased frequency. Politicians, decision-makers and the general public are becoming more and more aware of the importance of Early Warning (EW) and Emergency Management (EM). Good maps are proven to be fundamental prerequisites for tackling disorder after tragedies such as hurricane ‘Katrine’, the Christmas 2004 tsunami, and the Sichuan earthquake of 2008.

Consolidating GIS in local government
The use of GIS in Croydon Council like many other authorities has grown in a sporadic fashion, with the Council purchasing multiple different departmental GIS solutions, finally ending up with 5 GIS systems with over 20 different versions. This of course has led to departments working in silos with duplication of effort and data within standalone GIS applications

Adding value to geospatial data
After a three year legal battle with the largest municipality in the Netherlands over the conditions and charges for using a contaminated soil dataset, Landmark’s Geoff Offen reflects on what can be achieved in the name of more open access to public sector information, and how this could benefit the economy and consumers.

Abu Dhabi SDI supports E-government programs
The Abu Dhabi SDI is an initiative administered within the Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC) to facilitate the sharing of geospatial data among govt. agencies and other stakeholders. As part of Abu Dhabi’s ambitious e-govt program, Abu Dhabi SDI is empowering govt and society with convenient, open access to high-quality and up-to-date geographic information and spatially enabled e-govt services.

GIS support for government in Qatar
Today, more than 40 government agencies in Qatar are using GIS as part of their day-to-day business activities. Because the same GIS standards are used throughout the country, the data and resulting applications of all government agencies are compatible, supporting its national GIS. In addition, the agencies are connected through GISnet, a high-speed network that allows the rapid transfer of data. Dozens of GIS applications have been developed that benefit the country‘s government agencies, private businesses, and residents.

Identification of Malaria Hot Spots for Focused Intervention in Tribal State of India: a GIS Based Approach
The article, published in BioMed Central's open access International Journal of Health Geographics, describes the creation of the GIS and its implementation in the malaria-stricken Madhya Pradesh region.

OGC Geospatial Rights Management Summit: Moving the Discussion Forward
The goal of the summit was to gather interested parties to take stock of the work done by the GeoRM Working Group launched in 2005 and move things along because the lack of rights management, per the webpage, "is a major barrier to broader adoption of Web based geospatial technologies."

GIS Cartography: A Guide to Effective Map Design
Some percentage of those making maps with GIS have had limited or no map design training. Gretchen Peterson has written a very accessible book that highlights best practices while encouraging both new and experienced map makers to stretch their creativity.

Geospatial Solutions in Challenging Economic Times
The landscape of the geospatial industry is undergoing rapid changes. Some suggest a geo-revolution is underway. The range of products and platforms is broadening. Existing boundaries are blurring. In parallel, the world is experiencing an unprecedented economic downturn. This article will look at the current state of the geo-spatial industry.

Identification of Hydrothermal Altered Zones for Mineral Exploration
Commercial mineral exploration during the past two decades have increased manifold due to relaxed mining policies and the growing economies of third world countries. Mineral prospectors are constantly on the lookout for newer technologies which can help them identify mineral reserves in a quicker timeframe and at reduced costs. One such technology that is being widely used during reconnaissance and preliminary prospecting is integrated geospatial technology and remote sensing.

Moving to the Big City
The development of digitally enabled cities is receiving a great deal of attention in the geospatial and design communities and the creation of building information models (BIM) is harnessing the ideas, creativity and needs of architects and engineers. To accelerate the take-up of 3D design in support of digital cities the software LandXplorer combines CAD and GIS data. Meanwhile 3ds Max Design software is supporting architects to meet their digital design workflows.

Advanced Flood Risk Mapping & Modelling ‘In the Cloud’
The high severity and increasing frequency of major flood events worldwide has driven flooding up the political and risk management agenda. David Martin, Technical Manager of flood risk assessment and modelling consultants Ambiental discusses the development of a new flood modelling system that is being in the UK and how it can be deployed through the use of Cloud Computing using the internet and the advantage of this approach.

EcoDesigner
Building design can significantly impact energy efficiency and can result in substantial reductions in operating costs over the lifecycle of a building. To achieve these benefits, new software tools are being developed that help designers and building architects to model building performance at the critical design stage. EcoDesigner is a next generation design tool that brings energy efficiency to the forefront of architectural design.