1The Many Uses of GIS

1The Many Uses of GIS

BUILDING EUROPEAN SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES In April 2006, Esri president Jack Dangermond gave a presentation on the INSPIRE Directive at the European Union (EU) Interparliamentary Conference, held in Gävle, Sweden. His presentation was titled, How Will We Use Spatial Information in the Future, and How Can a Common EU Infrastructure for Such Information Contribute to Development? It described a spectrum of geographic information system (GIS) applications across many sectors of society and illustrated the extent to which GIS is an application-driven technology continuously finding new realms that can benefit from the power of spatial information. This provided the starting point for the first edition of this book. GOVERNMENTS Urban planning Services provision Recreation facilities Local economic development Property tax collection UTILITIES Electricity networks Gas supplies Water distribution Telecommunications GOVERNMENT AGENCIES Central and local government agencies are the largest users of GIS. A wide range of central government bodies, such as cadastral agencies, environmental bodies, and planning and transport agencies, make extensive use of GIS for decision making and policy monitoring. Most local government services have a spatial dimension urban and regional planning, transportation, parks and recreation services, housing, local economic development, and property tax collection (box 1.1). GIS applications have been developed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of local government services in all but the tiniest local authorities. Planners of education and health facilities make extensive use of the technology to identify areas of need and to locate facilities, and the police rely on it for crime mapping and emergency management. Box 1.1 Using GIS to manage government and utilities. 2

Chapter 1 The Many Uses of GIS Figure 1.1 GIS is used to reroute utility cables and sewer pipes in major street works projects throughout Europe (Rotterdam, the Netherlands). Photo courtesy of Frank Holsmuller. 3

BUILDING EUROPEAN SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES UTILITIES Because of their enormous investment in fixed infrastructure networks, the electricity, gas, water, and telecommunications companies were pioneers in the development of largescale automated mapping and facility management (AM/FM) GIS applications (box 1.1 and figure 1.1). As their interests are primarily commercial, utility companies track and maximise returns on existing assets and strive to achieve high service standards. They also seek out new business opportunities to generate revenue for shareholders. These objectives create an everincreasing demand for accurate, up-to-date information on the state of the utility s infrastructure, the types and frequency of service problems, and the changing tastes of customers. Utility companies also use GIS to link their databases with other geographical features, such as road networks, census information, and topographic data. TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS The planning and management of road, rail, sea, and air transportation networks require a substantial investment in geographic information technologies. The objectives include improving traffic flows, decreasing operational costs, saving energy, and ensuring safety. GIS is indispensable for tracking vehicles over complex networks, and a wide range of geographic information tools are used for in-vehicle satellite navigation, fleet management systems, logistic scheduling and routing, and intelligent vehicle highway systems (box 1.2). BUSINESS In a constantly changing marketplace, successful businesses must strive to reduce costs, improve profit margins, and maintain their competitive edge to retain customers. Locationbased services and business applications of GIS can be found in financial services, insurance, manufacturing, and distribution (box 1.2). The real estate industry has a strong interest in geographic information on individual properties and the general land market in terms of financial investment and property development. Retail companies also need geographic information to complement their customer databases and help them find the best locations for new stores and offices. 4

Chapter 1 The Many Uses of GIS TRANSPORT Road networks Railway systems Sea lanes Air routing BUSINESS Finance and insurance Manufacturing goods Real estate services Property investment Retail site selection NATURAL RESOURCES Water quality Coastal zone management Mapping desertification Combatting environmental degradation Box 1.2 Using GIS to manage transport, business, and natural resources. NATURAL RESOURCES One of the greatest challenges facing the world is the need for more effective management of natural resources, with the goals of maintaining the health of the environment, conserving biodiversity, and facilitating sustainable and equitable development (box 1.2 and figure 1.2). Playing a major role in meeting this challenge, GIS is used in applications dealing with salinity, declining water quality, coastal zone erosion, desertification, and environmental degradation. Logging, oil, and gas companies were also among the first private-sector businesses to experiment with GIS for managing inventories. ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS GIS is a valuable tool in raising public awareness and improving understanding of environmental hazards such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis, as well as broad issues such as global warming and climate change (box 1.3). Playing an important role in minimising environmental risks, GIS helps save lives and reduce property damage. GIS applications have also been developed for monitoring river water quality, environmental pollution, acid rain deposition, and thermal discharge from power stations. 5

BUILDING EUROPEAN SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES Figure 1.2 The eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland in April 2010 caused enormous disruption to air travel throughout northern and western Europe for six days. This figure shows the sulphur dioxide trajectory of the volcanic plume 14 16 April. 2014 EUMETSAT. Used by permission. 6

Chapter 1 The Many Uses of GIS Figure 1.3 During an outbreak of cholera in London in 1854, Dr. John Snow mapped the deaths from the disease and found a large cluster within a short distance of a water pump on Broad Street. This showed that contaminated drinking water was the probable cause of the outbreak. Map by John Snow, M.D., from On the Mode of Communication of Cholera, second edition, 1855; reproduced courtesy of College of Physicians of Philadelphia. 7

BUILDING EUROPEAN SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES SECURITY GIS applications are helping to create a safer society by modelling risks, identifying vulnerable areas, and creating buffer zones to protect citizens from terrorist attacks and industrial waste hazards (box 1.3 and figure 1.3). They also provide the critical infrastructure required for effective emergency management and for ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS Assessing natural environmental hazards Monitoring global warming Monitoring climate change Facilitating emergency management Environmental monitoring modelling the spread of diseases such as avian influenza in birds, foot-and-mouth disease in farm animals, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in humans. EDUCATION In the last two decades, the number of GIS users throughout the world has increased from thousands to millions. In the process, the GIS community has grown from the original core of surveying and mapping specialists to include a wide variety of professionals and amateurs who are working with spatial information on a wide range of applications from the global to the local level. This rapid expansion has created a need for educational programmes that explain basic geographic concepts and encourage new users to think spatially and increase their awareness and understanding of geography (box 1.3). SECURITY Modelling risks Tracking diseases Vulnerability analysis Buffer zone protection EDUCATION Promoting spatial literacy Raising geographic awareness Increasing understanding CONCLUSIONS GIS applications span a very broad range, as can be seen in the preceding examples, and new applications are emerging all the time. However, it must be recognised that the full potential of GIS can be realised only if the necessary SDIs are in place at the local, national, and transnational levels. The relationships between GIS and SDIs are discussed in chapter 2. Box 1.3 Using GIS to minimise environmental risks, manage security, and support education. 8