Design and implementation of a GIS system for planning

Transcription

1 International Journal on Digital Libraries (2006) 6(2): DOI /s REGULAR PAPER Bassam Saleh Balqies Sadoun Design and implementation of a GIS system for planning Published online: 31 May 2005 c Springer-Verlag 2005 Abstract Geographic information system (GIS) provides a flexible and efficient general platform for planning and analysis, especially when large amounts of ever changing spatial information is dealt with. It helps managing the change in an economical and sustainable way. We decided to build a GIS to help in data management and in the dynamic planning process of our developing university, Al-Balqa Applied University (BAU). In this paper, we present the GIS system, which we built for the campus of BAU and the customization of the needed software to help in decisionmaking and planning processes. Moreover, the output of our project is web enabled so that it can be used in the web site of Al-Balqa Applied University as a web GIS application. Keywords Geographic information system (GIS) Database systems Data management Spatial information and analysis Statistical analysis Decision making City and regional planning 1 Introduction A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer system capable of capturing, managing, integrating, manipulating, analyzing, and displaying geographically referenced information. GIS deals with spatial information which uses location within a coordinate system as its reference base. It integrates common database operations such as query and statistical analysis with the unique visualization and geographic analysis benefits offered by maps. These abilities distinguish GIS from other information systems and make it valuable to a wide range of public and private enterprises for explaining events, predicting outcomes, and planning strategies for all kinds of sites [1 18]. A working GIS integrates five key components: hardware, software, data, people, and methods. GIS stores in- B. Saleh B. Sadoun (B) Department of Surveying and Geomatics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-Salt, Jordan balqiessadoun@yahoo.com formation about the world as a collection of thematic layers that can be linked together by geography. GIS data are usually stored in more than one layer in order to overcome the technical problems caused by handling very large amounts of information at once. This simple but extremely powerful and versatile concept has proven to be invaluable for solving many real-world problems. A GIS has four main functional subsystems: (a) data input subsystem; (b) data storage and retrieval subsystem; (c) data manipulation and analysis subsystem; and (d) data output and display subsystem [1, 2]. The interactive form of decision making using GIS application from an operational support system has developed to be a strategic decision making support system [2, 3]. GIS bundles time and efforts to improve the position of private and public organizations by enhancing their informationinfrastructure. It is used in a wide range of applications and disciplines and starts getting a multidisciplinary character more than a data integration and database design approach. GIS applications are influenced by the use of spatial data, progress in information technology and computer science and engineering, availability of digital geo-information, and importance of its implementation. GIS is a vital technology that has important applications, especially when dealing with people (demography), facilities, businesses and land (use and planning), zoning, employees, customers, facilities and the market [4]. The amazing development in high performance computers/computing, increase in information technology (IT) products such as computer assisted drafting (CAD), database management system (DBMS), remote sensing, geo-processing, global positioning system (GPS), multimedia systems, communications and information networks, electronic data interchange (EDI), and the availability of geo-information have made GIS implementation practical when using spatial data [1, 5]. More and more disciplines are using spatial modeling such as environmental planning, sciences and engineering, health sciences, economy, city and regional planning, and decision sciences [6]. Another trend in GIS is to make it

2 Design and implementation of a GIS system for planning 211 accessible on the Internet; allowing the exchange of data and functionality. Al-Balqa Applied University (BAU) a young Jordanian University, which was established in 1997 on the site of a small old college, has become the largest university in Jordan. In the process of developing BAU, we found numerous problems in its planning process. The dynamic conditions due to the construction of new buildings, in the old campus, forced the college (faculty) of engineering to move three times in 5 years. The lack of flexible maps for the ever changing laboratories and class rooms is creating a chaotic situation for several parties including the registrar, bursar, faculty, students, and administrators. In response to the need of better planning, decision making and web enabling, we built a GIS for BAU main campus, which is located in Al-Salt city, which is about 20 km northwest of Amman, Jordan. The main campus area is 177,000 m 2 and has 24 buildings. Section 2 of the paper presents the method of building the needed database. Section 3 describes the types of data used in the project. Section 4 deals with the implementation aspects of the project. Results and analysis are presented in Sect. 5. Finally, Sect. 6 contains the conclusions. 2 Building the database This section explains the main steps that have been taken to build the needed database system. The steps can be summarized as shown below: Coordinate system: For the coordinate system, the type of projection and reference for all layers in the project are according to Cassini-Solender, Palestine Identifying of data layers and attributes: Based on the data we have, the type of the considered spatial analysis, and the final maps, we developed 25 layers (building layer, street layer, first basement floor layer, etc.). Organizing the data layers: Layers are organized so that the feature types (points, lines, and polygons are stored in separate layers (buildings, streets, etc.). Features are also organized thematically by what they represent (colleges, management units, green areas, etc.). Attributes associated with layers depend on the available information and the needed results of the analysis. For example, attributes associated with each building include: name, ID, area, number of stories, etc. Meanwhile, attributes for college/faculty include: name, number of students, number of labs, etc. Identifying a digital map to be automated: In our case study, the data layers were available in digital format on the computer and we created a separate map for each layer. 3 System architecture The system architecture is summarized in Fig. 1 and consists of the following main components: 1. Database: This consists of spatial data and attributes data. Spatial data: The available AutoCad files are converted to Geomedia files. A warehouse connection is created for each file; the output is a cad connection to geomedia. The coordinate system is defined in the warehouse connection. Attribute data: The attributes are linked with the spatial data using the warehouse connection. 2. GIS functions Display: A thematic map is obtained by selecting a layer or more. An overlay is obtained by selecting two layers or more and arranging them according to their geometry (point s layers on the top, lines layers in the middle, and the polygons layer on the bottom). Classification: The features of a layer are classified according to one attribute. The limits of each class can be specified by the user. Query: A feature can be found using the search function and a feature or more can be found using the query language (SQL). Buffering: A buffer is created around features of a layer by specifying a distance. Statistics: The max., min., mean, standard deviation, sorting, plotting and histograms can be obtained for a specific attribute of a layer using the statistics function. Other: Other functions for executing different tasks such as labeling, scaling, editing, plotting, etc. are available. 4 Input data Our gathered data were in three basic forms: spatial data, tabular data and image data. 1. Spatial data: From the spatial data AutoCAD files, which are available at Al-Balqa Applied University Engineering Unit, we obtained contour lines, buildings, streets, green parcels, control points, electricity points, parking lots, gates, retaining walls, first basements interior, second basements interior, every story interior layer and the fronts of new buildings. 2. Two types of collected data: Tabular data and raster image. Tabular data such as building name, area, number of floors, description of floors, number of rooms in the floor, number of specialization/major, number of students accepted in different academic year in every program, number of personnel in every faculty (college), etc. 3. Raster image: Raster image for the main gate and most of the buildings.

3 212 B. Saleh, B. Sadoun Fig. 1 The system architecture 5 Implementation The growth of applications of geographical information system has led to rapid developments in the field of GIS algorithms and mapping software. There are a number of essential software elements that should allow the user to input, store, manage, transform, analyze and output data. Although GIS packages in general meet almost all of these requirements, their on-screen appearance (user interface) may be very different. Some systems require instructions to be typed at a command line, while others have point and click menus operated using a mouse. The user interface and execution speed are considered important factors in selecting one GIS package or the other. In our work, we used the well-known Geomedia software [7]. In general, GIS needs to handle two types of data, spatial data and non-spatial attribute data. The spatial data describes the spatial characteristics of the real-world features being modeled while the non-spatial attribute data describe what the features represent. The following steps summarize the implementation process. Stage 1: We started the process by preparing the available AutoCAD files into 25 layers (see Fig. 2). In Fig. 2, we present the main streets layer inside the campus where cars have access. Stage 2: Converting AutoCAD files to Geomedia files; see Fig. 3 that shows the conversion process. Warehouse connections, one for each AutoCAD layer, are included into Geomedia as new CAD connection type. Figure 3 shows the flowchart of the transformation of the Auto- CAD files of the layers into Geomedia files. As stated earlier, we used the Geomedia software package in our work. Stage 3: Preparing all project layers by using warehouse connection to connect to data, where warehouse is considered the source of the geographic data (see Fig. 4). Twenty-five layers for main features of BAU were the output of our work. Figure 4 shows the building layer after using the warehouse connection. Stage 4: Get the attribute data into the database and associate the attributes with the spatial features (see Fig. 5). In Fig. 5, we can see the process of linking the map of the college of engineering s building to the attribute data related to this building. 6 Results and analysis The outcome of our work is a complete GIS for Al-Balqa Applied University. We used different techniques to perform spatial analysis in order to find different parameters and information such as: Thematic map: This map represents a specific theme and consists of one or multiple layers. Figure 6 presents a thematic map for the first basement floor of the engineering building by room type, such as laboratory, lecture hall, office, and service rooms using different colors and shading patterns. Query: This offers a method for data retrieval. In Fig. 7, we have an example of the query where the building layer shows the location of the GIS laboratory in the engineering building and the query provides all the attribute data concerning this laboratory, such as area, width, length, etc. Decision-making query example: The president of the University needs to verify the ratio of student to faculty (15/1) as required by the accreditation board. By using the GIS query technique, the colleges or the departments that need more faculty members are highlighted and displayed as follows: Select the colleges layer Open the SQL dialogue window Put the following condition:

4 Design and implementation of a GIS system for planning 213 Fig. 2 Stage one of implementation: preparing all available AutoCAD files as layers Inputs: Layered AutoCAD file for BAU buildings, streets, green parcels, control points, electricity points, parking, walls, gates, landing strip, floors for some building, cafeteria, mosque, student housing, library s, conference halls, clinic, and Analysis: How to convert them to Geomedia 1)-Create coordinate system file for GeoWorkspace by using Define Coordinate System File 2)-Convert drawing layer to Geomedia, using CAD server Scheme file. Out puts: Warehouse connection in Geomedia as a CAD connection Fig. 3 Stage two of implementation: converting AutoCAD files to Geomedia files

5 214 B. Saleh, B. Sadoun Fig. 4 Stage three of implementation: preparing all project layers, by using warehouse connection Fig. 5 Stage four of implementation: linking attributes to maps

6 Design and implementation of a GIS system for planning 215 Fig. 6 Thematic map for the first basement floor of the engineering building by room type Fig. 7 Query for the location of the GIS lab (Number of students/number of faculty members) >15, this query means: select and highlight features (colleges) that satisfy the condition (>15). Buffering: This is the creation of a buffer zone of interest around an entity. Figure 8 shows a circle buffering around the clinic unit. This circle presents the easy walking access of 150 m to this unit for a sick or injured person. The center of circle buffer is the unit. All buildings outside the circle are considered to have no good access to the clinic. Map overlay: This is the ability to integrate data from different sources. In Fig. 9, we present an example of the overlaying, where four layers are needed to present the built surface of the university. They include buildings layer, streets layer, green areas layer, and parking lots layer. This resulting map can serve a specific need. Classification: This is grouping the features of one theme according to one attribute with limits set by the user. Figure 9 shows an example of the classification of colleges according

7 216 B. Saleh, B. Sadoun Fig. 8 Circle buffering around the clinic unit Fig. 9 Overlay of building, street, wall, and green area layers to the number of laboratories that they house. In Fig. 10, we have three classes as follows: (3 5) labs, (6 8) labs, and (9 11) labs. Analyzing the data is the true value of the GIS since it is done efficiently in marginal time and expenses, especially when it is impossible to be done manually. Analysis of the data can give a deep insight into the system being designed, or being investigated. We prepared a master plan for BAU, and created buffer zones around the buildings to offer parking lots, etc. Different statistical analyses were performed and more analysis can be conducted if needed. Statistical operations and analysis are performed primarily on the data attributes. Most GIS packages support a wide range of statistical operations such as descriptive statistics, histograms, and extreme values. Descriptive statistics such as the number of students in each department, the maximum, minimum and other critical values were found. Moreover, histograms were constructed to serve specific needs such as the distribution of the number of students according to colleges and according to gender, and distribution of students according to the year of schooling and many others. The major results include: A master plan for BAU. Different maps prepared to respond to specific needs.

8 Design and implementation of a GIS system for planning 217 Fig. 10 Classification of colleges according to the number of labs Flexibility to introduce any change and the rapid mapping of the results. This is important as it helps to make decisions at all hierarchical levels of the administration. Moreover, in the process of improving the classroom assignment, customization of the system is constructed so that the registration office can assign the nearest classroom to the concerned professor. Finally, the output of our project is web enabled so that it can be used in the web site of BAU. The integration of GIS with Multimedia and the World Wide Web (WWW) will offer an online access to selective information by all users of the web. The web GIS is a web-based visualization tool that offers real-time info such as GIS data warehouse [8]. It allows the user to query a database and see information in the form of a map and click on a feature to see selected data behind that map. A web GIS is the most efficient way to distribute GIS information to users throughout your data. On the other hand, you can access your data anytime by taking advantage of the powerful technology to increase communication and productivity. The navigation on the GIS site leads the user client to do some of the most GIS server operations like zooming in/out, zoom to locator, zoom by rectangle, panning, vector pan, queries, measuring distance and area with different units (km, mile, m,..., etc.), get location (X and Y, φ and λ) with respect to data projection, refresh map to go to the base map fitting and displaying in different map size. The web aspect will allow the client to virtually visit the university and get all his answers without leaving home or country. The potential use of multimedia technology to integrate data of different kinds, time and scale will facilitate the spatial analysis, even though it is considered only a tool for visualization, simulation, communication and exploration of complex spatial data. This will contribute to a better understanding of spatial phenomena and facilitate communication between the experts and the users. Therefore it will enhance the quality of decision-making, communication, and advertising, among others. 7 Conclusions GIS has become a vital technology due to its many applications, especially in city and regional planning, transportation planning and engineering, surveying, military application, environmental science, planning and engineering, computer cartography and visualization, spatial data modeling, spatial database design, digital mapping, and weather forecasting. GIS has become an essential tool for decision making in many disciplines all over the world, because of its thorough analysis capabilities for huge data as well as its clear and elaborate attractive data presentation style. This paper presents a methodology to implement a Geographical Information System (GIS) for a newly established university, Al-Balqa Applied University. The approach offers a collective source of information for a dispersed data in different units of the university to help in the decisionmaking and planning processes. The output of our project is web enabled to be used in the web site of Al-Balqa Applied University as a web GIS application. References 1. Sadoun, B.: A Simulation Study of Automated Path Planning in Transportation Systems. In: Proceedings of the 2003 Summer Simulation Conference, Simulation Series, pp (2003)

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