Establishing a geographical information system in relation to its use A process of strategic choices†

Abstract

The planning and establishment of a geographical information system (GIS) relates to its context and intended use. GIS are a specialized type of information system, typically dealing with spatial data. This paper explores the environment of an envisaged GIS; the information utilization system and the wider object system. The planning and design of a GIS go beyond technical issues; they also have to take behavioural and organizational aspects of the utilization of information into account and contribute to a process of organizational development The paper is in two parts. The first (§ 2) explores salient aspects in the planning and design process, the second ( § 3) suggests some guidance in this task. The suggested approach of strategic choice in planning and establishing a GIS is designed to cope with the prevailing uncertainties in this planning process. It distinguishes between those decisions which have to be taken at once and choices which may be left open for the future.     

The development of a historical digital cadastral database†

With an ever-increasing number of land information systems being developed, there is a growing demand by users for systems which support the use of temporal data for time-based studies. System managers, however, may have difficulty responding to these calls because of the lack of available research to guide them in their task. This paper examines the simple method of storing and processing temporal graphical data by the addition of time-encoding attributes to data elements as required. To illustrate the technique, a historical digital cadastral database has been created which al lows users to display and report on the cadastral parcellation of a region at any time in the past. The method can also be widely applied to other data to assist a broad range of space/time-related studies.     

ESRC/NERC joint programme on geographical information handling A progress report†

Abstract

At the Department of Geoinformation of the Technical University of Vienna, a European Community funded project to develop an International Post-Graduate Course on GIS is underway. This intensive course is intended for participants with a variety of disciplinary backgrounds and experience who need a broad theoretical overview of GIS coupled with the necessary knowledge and skills to apply GIS in real situations. As curriculum design for GIS courses is normally carried out by a very small group of individuals, curricula generally reflect the specifics of the experience or disciplinary environment of these individuals. For this European project, a widely acceptable course curriculum was needed. This required the cooperation of experts from different disciplines, across many application areas and from different countries. A Delphi survey method combined with a meeting of a small number of GIS education specialists was used to achieve the necessary balance in the curriculum. The survey was used to determine the general content of the course and allowed the varied opinions of the group of European GIS experts to be merged towards a consensus. It resulted in the development of a list of important topics that need to be taught. Following completion of the survey, the GIS education experts met to review this list and discuss the concerns raised in the survey. These discussions led to the development of a Course Blueprint which describes the organisation of the course into 18 instructional units and outlines the objectives and contents that will be achieved in each of them.     

Road network detection from SPOT imagery for updating geographical information systems in the rural–urban fringe

Abstract

Visual interpretation of high-resolution satellite data has been useful for mapping linear features, such as roads and updating land-use changes. However, it would be beneficial to map new road networks digitally from satellite data to update digital databases using semi-automated techniques. In this paper, an algorithm called Gradient Direction Profile Analysis (GDPA) is used to extract road networks digitally from SPOT High Resolution Visible (HRV) panchromatic data. The roads generated are compared with a visual interpretation of the SPOT HRV multispectral and panchromatic data. The technique is most effective in areas where road development is relatively recent. This is due to the spectral consistency of new road networks. As new road networks are those of most interest to the land manager, this is a useful technique for updating digital road network files within a geographical information system of urban areas.     

The geographical aspects of the substantiation for the development of the “Greater Irkutsk” agglomeration

An analysis is made of the geographical circumstances and factors of formation of a large urban agglomeration to unite the cities of Irkutsk, Angarsk and Shelekhov in the south of the Irkutsk region. The principles of delineating the agglomeration are formulated, which are used to single out different variants of the urban “Greater Irkutsk” agglomeration. A comparison is made of the characteristics of the agglomeration obtained in the different variants.     

The Failure of Cooperative Farming Development Policies in Tōhoku,Japan

In the context of agricultural globalization, many national governments have instituted policies, such as cooperative farming, to help farmers improve their profitability, competitiveness, and the sustainability of their agricultural practices. This study focused on the Multi-Product Management Stabilization Plan developed in Japan in 2006, which aimed to adapt the agricultural practices in the country to globalization by focusing on cooperative farming, and assessed its effectiveness for developing and incorporating cooperative farming in the Tōhoku region in the 2000s. The results suggest that regional and prefectural agents experienced significant difficulties when attempting to develop cooperative farming. Although New Institutional Economics’ theories suggest that these policies reflect the norms for developing agriculture more profitably and competitively, Japanese farmers did not regard the policies as relevant, practical, or sustainable, and they obstructed them.     

The potential of a “green” economy in the socioeconomic development of Irkutsk Oblast

We examine the institutional fundamentals of the goals of sustainable development of a territory from the perspective of the development vector of a “green” economy that is responsible for the main directions of transformation of the economic complex of countries and regions. The possible main development directions of the socioeconomic structure of a typical Siberian region (Irkutsk oblast) are generalized, based on the principles of the modern view of the practical implementation of basic branches (sectors) of a “green” economy. Account is taken of the factor of the resource-oriented development model of the oblast for the foreseeable future by analyzing the main conceptual-strategic and planning documents defining the socioeconomic status of the territory into 2030. The main directions of modernization of the Irkutsk oblast’s economic complex are suggested having regard to the principles of a “green” economy in order to ensure favorable conditions for future generations, including ecological conditions. A priority is given to an increase in the proportion of the branches (kinds of economic activity) in the gross regional product as well as in other socioeconomic indicators, which have the least negative influence on the environment. We formulated the development directions of one of the kinds of activity of current relevance to the oblast, namely waste management in the form of an environment protection infrastructure, and three structurally-hierarchically arranged main development and functioning levels of the modern environment protection infrastructure are suggested on the principles of a “green” economy (regional, subregional, and local) within the framework of the updated Strategy of Development of the Oblast’s Productive Forces.     

Developers in the public interest? The role of urban development corporations in the Anglophone Caribbean

Urban centres in the Caribbean face a wide variety of infrastructural and planning challenges. One of the key strategies that has been adopted by national governments to address these challenges is the formation of urban development corporations. These are governmental agencies with powers to facilitate urban regeneration in specific areas. This paper examines the history, role and function of urban development corporations in Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, and Trinidad and Tobago. The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) was formed in Jamaica in 1968, the St John's Development Company (SJDC) in Antigua and Barbuda was created in 1986, and the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) was established in 1994. These bodies share the characteristic of having far-reaching planning and development powers within specific areas. For example, the SJDC is able 'to acquire, manage, or dispose of lands and to lay out, construct, and maintain roads, buildings, public parks, piers, car parks, and other public amenities' within specified designated areas, whilst Jamaica's UDC is empowered 'to carry out and/or secure the laying out and development of "designated areas". These three urban development corporations can be seen to act as developers in the public interest, as agents of modernisation, and as responses to neoliberalisation. However, whilst they have succeeded in effecting large-scale transformations to the urban landscape, this has often been achieved through a top-down development process with exemption from planning regulations and little accountability to the residents of the cities.     

The potential for the use of Open Source Software and Open Specifications in creating Web‐based cross‐border health spatial information systems

Globalization is contributing to the blurring of borders making irrelevant the distinctions between domestic and international health problems. Cross‐border and global health spatial information systems (CBHSIS) are required to address the new global health challenges. There is a need to build and document alternatives for addressing the technological, economic, and sociocultural–political challenges encountered in the creation and deployment of these systems. This paper documents the building of a prototype Web‐based multimedia GIS system for use in a public health context using Open Source Software and Open Specifications and its deployment across the US–Mexico border. These technologies offer advantages in addressing several of the challenges previously mentioned. We highlight the technological and sociocultural–political issues important in successful collaboration across borders and cultures and in the creation of interoperable CBHSIS.     

Cross‐agency coordination in the shadow of hierarchy: ‘joining up’ government geospatial information systems

Government agencies striving to make geospatial information systems interoperable and cost‐effective often appear to function as a self‐regulating network shaped only by internal trust and reciprocity. However, recent public management research suggests that external steering of a network, exercised by authoritative bodies through hierarchical means, may invigorate cross‐agency coordination. The two case studies of federal geospatial coordination in Canada and the USA confirm this emerging theory of network–hierarchy dynamics. In these countries, the central budget agency (CBA) is influencing resource flows and accountabilities within a federal geospatial network of government agencies, which in turn affects how these agencies deliver ‘joined up’ services. The CBA relies upon three types of tools: the shaping of network governing structures, promotion of uptake of new management information systems, and the use of evaluation (scrutiny) to solidify accountabilities of the network. Since these tools cast a shadow of hierarchy upon the network, they may be viewed as counter to the voluntary ethos of networks. However, the case studies suggest that the CBA's actions appear to confer legitimacy to the network—resulting in a seeming contradiction—greater central control, more vigorous, distributed geospatial coordination.     

The Thailand Land Titling Project First steps in a parcel-based LIS†

Abstract

This paper describes the progress of the Land Titling Project in Thailand, the objectives of which are to issue titles to all eligible landholders, to improve land administration, to remap all urban areas and to establish a land valuation system. The significance of this project in the context of land information systems (LIS) is that its operations are essential preliminary steps in the development of an effective information system and its experience will therefore be of value in the many countries which are contemplating the establishment of such a system. Special features of the project which contribute to its success are outlined. The project will take twenty years and LIS will be a major activity in the second five-year phase (1990-1994), involving a multi-layer LIS in the Bangkok metropolis and parcel databases in provincial Land Offices.     

Elite discourses of regional identity in a new regionalism development scheme: The case of the ‘Mountain Region’ in Norway

Norway's regional structure is under debate as questions about territorial boundaries, scale, scope of tasks and responsibilities, and decision-making structures have become an issue in Norwegian politics. This tendency of changing the scale of public action with regard to governmental structures, economic politics, welfare, and civic society has been termed ‘new regionalism’. New regionalism often comes under criticism of being too neo-liberalistic or too economically orientated, leaving in its wake debates of democratic accountability and the neglect of ‘soft factors’ (i.e. socio-culture, identity, consciousness, and participation). In this article the authors investigate whether new democratic or semi-democratic regional organisations as advocated by new regionalist schemes require identification amongst the local population in order to be successful and enduring governmental structures. Further, it is shown how too simplistic understandings of the social processes, and their inherent power aspects, involved in the implementation of the new regionalist development scheme ‘Mountain Region’ distort the undertaking. The authors find that a more complex relational and contextual understanding is in demand, one in which regionalisation is not only recognised as a process which diffuses across time-space, but also takes an asymmetrical place across society's social fabric, and one where ‘soft factors’ such as ‘regional identity’ are not sidestepped.     

The spatial pattern of population-land-industry coupling coordinated development and its influencing factor detection in rural China

Exploring the coupling coordinated level of rural population-land-industry(PLI) and its underlying driving mechanism contributes to the scientific decision-making on rural sustainable development. This study assessed the coupling coordinated level of PLI based on an improved evaluation index system and then revealed the regional differentiation and driving mechanism in China’s rural areas in 2020. The results showed that the rural PLI coupling coordinated degree was 0.4694, and thus was in the s...     

The influence of housing oversupply on residential segregation: exploring the post-socialist city of Leipzig†

In this article, we contribute to a better understanding of contextual differences related to residential segregation. We illuminate one specific contextual factor—housing oversupply—and how it intersects with historically inherited patterns of socio-spatial differentiation and other drivers of residential segregation. The study is based on an analysis of how segregation has developed over the last 20 years in the city of Leipzig, Germany. This case offers the rare possibility of studying the impact of city-wide housing oversupply on residential segregation, rather than concentrating on decline or decay in specific areas. We examine how oversupply emerged at the meeting point of changes in market structures, housing preferences, welfare state interventions, and migration trends in the post-socialist transition. Using existing statistical data, we demonstrate how oversupply has fostered a fast and thorough reshuffling of residential patterns. After a period of resolving segregation patterns from the socialist era, oversupply acts as a catalyst for recently emerging residential segregation patterns.     

A review of low-cost scanners†

Abstract

This paper summarizes the characteristics of 19 scanners costing less than Dfl20000 (US$10000). It also describes the completeness of scanning performed by three of these low-cost scanners (from Agfa, Cannon and Houston Instruments) and the accuracy of one (SCAN-CAD of Houston Instruments). It was found that complete scanning occurs with resolutions of half the minimum map line width and that maximum errors of 0-5 mm were achieved.     

Quadtree storage of vector data†

Abstract

Vector data storage has various advantages in a cartographic or geographical information system (GIS) environment, but lacks internal spatial relationships between individual features. Quadtree structures have been extensively used to store and access raster data. This paper shows how quadtree methods may be adapted for use in spatially indexing vector data. It demonstrates that a vector quadtree stored in floating point representation overcomes the classical problem with raster quadtrees of data approximation. Examples of vector quadtrees applied to realistic size data sets are given     

On coordinated development of oasis and environment in arid area

1 Formation and evolution of oasisBoth physical environment and human activities influence the formation and evolution of oasis. Natural oasis is a kind of ecological landscape formed mainly by water without human intervention. Its prosperity and adversity primarily depends on the flow direction and discharge of a river. With the increment of intensity of human activities, however, great changes have taken place in oasis in arid area. The evolution of oasis has been transformed from the contr…     

The development of Fujian’s outward-oriented economy and its regional differentiation

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