GIS Information to the community
Mike Medus, Silvina Medus, Diego Wald
MIC Consulting SA, Las Toscas 345, (8000) Bahía Blanca, Argentina
Abstract
Municipalities needed to share geographic information across the different departments.
Every area had a different goal and usually used different GIS systems that were not always
compatible or easy to use. This situation generated different sets of maps that could not be
joined in one easy to use GIS system at a low cost. To solve this situation our project
presents a client-server GIS implementation that runs on an Intranet/Internet and allows
every user to access simultaneously the latest maps to view or edit. This application that is
very easy to use and controls access to the maps according to the user privileges, offers
tools to navigate maps, to edit geography and its associated data, view satellite images, to
select multiple geographical elements to view or edit, etc. Using this application we can
create a standard, accurate and up-to-date set of maps. Municipalities can have every
parcel updated in its size, location and other features. Facility Companies can use this
system to load its own maps. Garbage Collection and Public Transportation can use these
maps to improve their services. Charging the access to the maps by external users through
the Internet can provide funds to finance this project.
Problem Statement
We have identified a real need in Municipalities to share geographic related information
across the different areas or departments. Each department works independently solving the
problems for its own area and in many cases duplicating information, in a certain format,
with a specific geographic location and a particular set of associated data attributes. This
method used to produce geographic information generated sets of maps impossible to share
in an easy manner and as time passes by every area had a richer geographic base that did
not want to change for another set that may be standard but less complete for its own
purposes.
Usually in Municipalities the department managing the Cadastre of the city has a very rich
and precise geographic database (parcel id, parcel owner, street names and numbers, etc.).
The Revenue Department has the property value and neighborhood facilities to charge
taxes. The Transportation Department defines the routes for buses and needs to know how
many people lives in every neighborhood, where are the schools located, how many
children go to a certain school, etc. The customer support department needs geographic
information to locate citizen’s requests. And we might also think about the police or fire
department having traffic information about highway congested areas that will help a lot in
emergency situations, logistics and distribution applications.
As we can see, there are various areas on each Municipality that use geographic
information and in most cases all this information is NOT SHARED between them. The
main reason for not sharing is that each area or department has different needs. Every
department has a different software package to solve its needs. For example the Cadastre
Department uses AutoCAD to draw the parcels and update maps from satellite images.
Revenue Department compares the different areas of the city to find out which is the area
with less tax income with a geo-marketing package. However this geographic area is the
same for all users of the Municipality. It will certainly be very useful if each department
could access all the Municipal information. The ability to share a unique set of maps from
the City with an easy-to-use tool would be great. For example the Transportation
Department could analyze the population distribution to redefine the buses routes and
improve the service. Interruption of a bus route or modifications will be needed when
reconstruction of streets will be accomplished. The Planning Department could focus on the
expansion plans according to the projected information generated by other areas. This
information exchange requires a system that allows users to access the information,
regardless of their physical location. That’s why an Intranet/Internet is the ideal channel for
this.
Problem: the information is dispersed and not easy to be accessed by different areas.
- Decentralized Data: Cadastre, Revenue, Planning, Customer Support, Public
Works and Transportation; DO NOT SHARE INFORMATION.
- Different formats: Accessible through different standalone interfaces,
different software programs for each area.
- Difficult to use GIS: Most GIS systems can be used only by experts.
The Solution: Community GIS
General Explanation
It would certainly be a great benefit to have all users of a certain geographic area to share
their sources of information, benefiting from a more complete and accurate database. Our
solution, GeneralMaps, intends to provide this environment, so all users can access all the
data directly from a Client Application. This ability also simplifies the access to the
information, hence allowing a much larger group of users and even hierarchical employees,
to access this information, analyze, create and update it from different physical locations
(using just the Intranet/Internet).
If we now extend this concept outside the limits of the Municipality, we can easily identify
great benefits from sharing information with the Community that was generated by the
Municipality. One can believe it’s not easy to compare information coming from different
companies in a common database. But geography happens to be a common organizer for
companies operating in the same geographic area. Therefore sharing naturally the same
area allows them to easily share their information. Just thinking about all the collisions we
find in the utility and telecommunications networks, running into each other over the same
regions. If they could compare their networks with other companies the benefits could be
tremendous.
