Appendix: GIS - Geographic Information Systems
What Is GIS?
GIS stands for geographic information system. "GIS stores information about objects that have geographic locations. These objects may be points (e.g. survey pegs), lines (e.g. fence lines) or areas (e.g. a farm)."7 A geographic information system provides the user with layers of information about a particular place. Examples of the different layers of information a GIS can store and display are streets, roads, buildings, lakes, water pipelines, population, boundaries of properties, and the list goes on. The user defines which layers of information they want to see, depending what they want to find out about a place, and can turn the different layers of information on and off as they desire. For example, a user could bring up information about the size and location of the population, buildings, roads, and lakes within a given geographical area, and if they then decide that the size and location of beaches is useful to them, they can add this information to what is being displayed on the screen.
Components of GIS
A GIS is not merely a software package, but is a system made up of hardware, software, data, and personnel.
Hardware
The hardware required can include a computer, web server, GPS data logger (to collect data), and a digitiser (to convert data from one form to another).
Software
Software is used to create, edit and analyse data. Additional software may be used to extend editing capabilities or to transfer information over the Internet.
Data
The data on a GIS can come from different sources and in different forms. Capturing the data on the system requires identifying objects and their locations, as well as their spatial relationships to other objects. These spatial relationships are central to analysis of information on a GIS.
Personnel
People play a variety of roles in GIS, from computerising information, analysing and interpreting the information on the system, to displaying the data in a suitable way.
Benefits of GIS
A GIS can improve organisational integration through better management of resources, can improve decision-making ability through the availability of better information, and can be used to make maps - from road maps through to maps of the human body.8 The use of GIS can also allow better analysis of data, and can be used in design, planning and management of the environment and resources.
Uses of GIS
The geographical locations provided by a GIS can be used in a variety of ways, from planning the best location for a new mall, to finding out what school zone a specific property is in. GISs can also be used "to explore relationships between features distributed unevenly over space, seeking patterns that may not be apparent without using advanced techniques of query, selection, analysis, and display."9 In this way, GIS technology has modelling uses ranging from predicting good mining areas through to planning a good location for crops.
Several district councils in the country now have websites with GIS technology providing information to Internet users about flood zones, water and wastewater services, sewer services, locations of buildings, property boundaries, fence lines, and much more. Other areas where GIS technology is used include:
Business
Agriculture
Banking
Insurance
Retail
Telecommunications
Transportation: infrastructure management, fleet and logistics management, transit management
Land and Property
Infrastructural databases (e.g., to avoid cables where excavation is being carried out)
Landscaping
Real estate: locations of properties, data about the location of roads and other relevant objects such as bus routes, train stations, businesses, beaches, and so on.
Surveying
Environment
Forestry
Marine, coast and oceans
Water and wastewater
Pipelining
Petroleum
Mining and earth sciences
Natural resources
Conservation and sustainable development
Research and Education
Archaeology
Environmental studies
Libraries and museums
Media
Universities and schools
Government
Government and government agencies
Defence
District and city councils
Emergency services
Health
The Future of GIS
According to Peng Aik Lim of the Eagle Technology Group, "GIS is becoming the central information system in many government and central government organisations in New Zealand. It is becoming part of the mainstream IT and IS such as accounting and OA systems."10 This is demonstrated by the number of city and district councils who have set up GIS links on their websites. The development of the GIS market not only in New Zealand, but worldwide, has lowered the costs of, and seen continual improvements to, GIS hardware, software, and data.11 This will promote and extend current uses of GIS technology, and most likely result in innovative applications of the technology in new areas.
Sources of Information
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Poster .
ESRI Schools and Libraries - Basic GIS .
ESRI News - Winter 2000/2001 ArcNews -- Wellington City Council's GIS--Now and in the Future .
Geography Matters [319 KB PDF] - white paper from ESRI.
Why Use GIS?
What Is GIS?
Geographic Information Systems .
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