Case Studies
Census
Life In The Big City: What Is Census Data Telling Us About Urban America? Are Policymakers Really Listening?
On May 10, 2005, APA Executive Director Paul Farmer, AICP, testified on behalf of APA before the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Federalism and the Census. Mr. Farmer makes several references to the power of GIS to analyze census data.
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Code Enforcement
County Cuts Costs and Improves Response
A new code enforcement strategy based on mobile GIS is saving a California county both time and money. The form developed for code enforcement officers incorporates drop-down boxes that list the codes used by the county to classify violations.
Community Mapping
Adding Another Dimension to Municipal Management
Three-dimensional digital map enhances planning, management, and security processes.
Maps for participatory planning in Thailand
Involving the public on land use and development decision-making through the us of GIS.
New York City Focuses on Lead Poisoning Prevention With GIS
In New York City, maps are altering the political debate over the need to solve a long-standing, but preventable, environmental health problem: lead poisoning in children.
New Jersey NGOs Experience the Power of GIS
Thanks to an innovative state and private partnership program, qualified nonprofit nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and libraries in New Jersey are being introduced to the power of GIS.
Online Mapping for Community-Based Organizations
Community-based organizations use online mapping to promote their goals and public participation in local planning issues.
Orton Foundation Community Mapping Program
The Community Mapping Program works with local organizations to investigate social, economic, and ecological systems; identify and solve local problems; and develop enduring connections.
What's New in Town?
ArcGIS Server application keeps public informed of city projects.
E-Gov
E-Land for E-Government: Using GIS in Korea
With the large number of public land administration responsibilities and the control of each given to the local authorities, there were many problems that led to the decision to develop a method for sharing the information and data produced or required for administering land in the public and private sectors.
Emergency Planning
GIS in Flood Hazard Mapping: A Case Study of Kosi River Basin, India
Flood Hazard Mapping is a vital component for appropriate land use planning in flood-prone areas. Floods are probably the most recurring, widespread, disastrous, and frequent natural hazards of the world. India is one of the worst flood-affected countries, being second in the world after Bangladesh.
Rockland County, New York, Activates an Interactive Mapping System to Plan Against Disaster
The Indian Point Interactive GIS Mapping System (IPIGMS) displays a location within a 10-mile radius of Indian Point and generates the evacuation route to the nearest reception center.
Enterprise GIS
GIS for Planning and Operations at the The Annapolis District Planning Commission (ADPC) in Canada [PDF]
The Annapolis District Planning Commission (ADPC)—a corporate body serving the municipalities of Annapolis Royal, Bridgetown, and Middleton in Nova Scotia—has implemented GIS to provide staff with a complete solution to meet their planning and operational needs.
The City of Laval's Preferred Approach to Managing Infrastructure [PDF]
Based on its awareness of the problems that had been created in part by a segmented (department-based) approach, the City of Laval undertook a technological turnaround to reach system streamlining, integration, and reduction and standardization of software.
Santa Barbara County, California, Does It All With GIS
In 1994, the technical committee of Santa Barbara County, California, knew it needed a GIS and agreed that the assessor's parcels should support the basemap.
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ePlanning
U.S. Forest Service and BLM Collaborate in Land Management
Recently, the southern California forests published draft forest plans to provide forestwide strategic direction as well as a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) that describes the environmental analysis and conclusions of the forest plans.
E-Gov for Planning and NEPA: Pilot Project Completed
To address this need while addressing the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), BLM has launched the E-Gov for Planning and NEPA project.
New Era in Land Use Planning [PDF]
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has partnered with ESRI to build a common planning data model and core land management tools for the BLM enterprise.
Housing
GIS approach to map housing colony in India
Assisting non-technical housing experts on the use of GIS for housing planning and multi-department collaboration.
GIS Guides Assistance for Underdeveloped Urban Areas
Concern for improving the urban slum neighborhoods in the cities of Venezuela has led the National Housing Council (CONAVI) and the Foundation for Community Development (FUNDACOMUN) to design a national improvement urban policy.
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Land Management
4-H Clubs Inventory Trees in Hillsboro, Oregon, and Park Conditions in St. Louis, Missouri
In 2003, the National 4-H Program created the GIS GPS leadership team to provide leadership in promoting the use of GIS and related technologies in various 4-H programs that rely on a "learn by doing" approach. The Planning Department in the city of Hillsboro, Oregon, is developing an Urban Forestry Management plan to address these issues, with the local 4-H community.
In Vielsalm, Belgium, Abandoned Underground Quarries Managed with GIS
In 2004, the Geological Survey of Belgium (GSB) launched the first Belgian program of computerized management of mines in the municipality of the Commune of Vielsalm (located in the southeastern part of Belgium in the Province of Luxembourg).
GIS Helps Holy City of Touba With Land Management
The Khalif General of the holy city of Touba, Senegal, West Africa, realized he had a problem on his hands when he attempted to distribute parcels of land to his people. In the past, land had been given away to followers of the Khalif's family without formal documentation. The city was in desperate need of a management system.
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Land Use Planning
Effective Growth Management
Illustrates how criteria reflecting different planning goals can be incorporated into analysis by modifying the parameters of GIS tools in ArcGIS.
Visualizing Infill Development Potential
The planners of the Los Angeles Department of City Planning (DCP) use GIS technologies to help them assess property characteristics and make decisions about land use and development.
Understanding Land-Use Changes
Study looks at the impact of human activities on an historically important site.
Intelligent Geoinformation to Go!
GeoVille Group uses GIS to automatically transform images into affordable and precise geoinformation products.
Mobile GIS and Digital Photomapping Speed Fieldwork, Reduce Return VisitsMobile GIS and Digital Photomapping Speed Fieldwork, Reduce Return Visits
Combining mobile GIS and digital photomapping technology to more quickly and accurately verify the location of alluvial fans on a proposed building site near Phoenix, Arizona.
GIS for the New West
The Sonoran Institute, a nonprofit organization established in 1990, works with communities to conserve important natural landscapes in western North America.
Kick-Starting Enterprise GIS
In India, a 10,000-Acre Planned Community Is Becoming a Reality
In New York State, the Olana Historic Site Viewshed Analysis Uses GIS
The Olana Partnership (TOP), the nonprofit support arm of the Olana State Historic Site, decided in 2004 to conduct a GIS-based viewshed analysis from multiple viewpoints within the site as proposed development of surrounding properties threatened to impair the historic vistas.
Integrating Traditional Planning Practices with GIS - A Greenprint for Conservation
Communities can use the power of GIS and its cartographic capabilities to deliver a more powerful conservation planning message.
In East Central Wisconsin, a Land Use Inventory Helps Plan a Sustainable Future [PDF]
As is common with so many growing regions in the United States, east central Wisconsin is striving to balance opportunities for growth while planning a sustainable future for generations to come.
Efficient Land Use Planning in Nunavut [PDF]
Nunavut, Canada, is home to some of the world's most promising reserves of gold, diamonds, and base metals. Development pressures in the form of proposed roads, ports, and mines are reverberating throughout the new territory. The Planning Commission uses ArcGIS to communicate and implement its vision of sustainable development for the territory.
Permit Tracking
Manatee County Building Department Uses GIS for Permitting Work Flow: Decision Support Streamlined in Florida due to increase growth in population and the increased increase in population which comes with an increase in construction of new buildings and infrastructure.
New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Improves Efficiency, Accuracy With GIS
The New Jersey Meadowland Commission (NJMC) quickly and efficiently monitors and extracts statistics on new building square footage, land use types, new tenants, available industrial square footage, and construction costs.
Redevelopment
Weaving Successful Brownfields Projects into Rural and Small Communities [PDF]
NADO's members are regional development organizations 1 that work directly with local governments to develop comprehensive locally- driven economic and community development strategies.
The City of Greenville, Texas, Approaches Brownfields With GIS
The city used GIS to develop a brownfields system that could be simultaneously utilized for public outreach, redevelopment prioritization, and tracking the city's progress.
State and Local Government - Brownfields
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Regional Planning
People-Nature: The Natural Network
When the human network from Washington, D.C., to Boston is superimposed on the natural ecological system, it reveals important decision-making factors that are presently not part of the planning process.
People-Nature: The Human Network
"Reconciling people and nature is now one of society's central challenges. If we hope to meet this challenge successfully, we must not assume that we already know all about the problem. If we hope to manage our infrastructure in harmony with natural systems, we must cultivate a whole new point of view."
Somerset County, New Jersey, Developing a County Enterprise GIS
The county conducted a more expansive evaluation of GIS technology in its 1999 needs assessment, identifying how the technology could be used to support a wide range of county operations.
Guiding Growth in Booming Las Vegas
Las Vegas' population grew 73 percent between 1990 and 2000. How can Las Vegas accommodate growth while enhancing the city's quality of life and livability? Maintaining a vibrant and growing community with a strong economy while addressing air and water quality issues and redeveloping older areas presents many planning challenges.
The Charlotte, North Carolina, Urban Area Now Has a "Green Theme"
The rate of urbanization and tree loss in Mecklenburg County surpasses even that of population growth. Without a balance between impervious and tree-covered land, the county's citizens will face costly and unhealthy environmental consequences.
210 Cities Paint Their Future With GIS
The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) has demonstrated that a GIS-based explanation of forecast information and on-the-fly scenario creation by non technical local officials is not only feasible but also equally important as an engaging technique for interagency collaboration.
Smart Growth
Community Visualization—The Key to Democratic Urban Planning
Policy plans alone, without a physical plan of desired future land uses, do little to control a community's future. To help citizens arrive at a future of their own choosing, a map is required that depicts where future development is desired and where it isn't as well as the type and character of development that should be exhibited.
Puget Sound 2020 Vision and the Role GIS Plays in the Visioning Process [PDF]
The Puget Sound Regional View newsletter, December 2005 issue summarizes the key topics that were investigated in preparation for environmental review, and describes the four regional growth alternatives that were defined for analysis as well as the role GIS INDEX software plays in the planning process.
Regional Growth Around Washington, D.C., Envisioned with GIS
A one-day visioning exercise, Reality Check, was held in Washington, D.C., to focus on the challenges of an expanding population and planning now for the future.
Sim civics
New game-like computer software is empowering ordinary citizens to help design better cities. Communities are increasingly using GIS to move forward smart growth concepts and to involve the public in the urban planning process.
Utilizing GIS to help both cities and developers analyze infill development potential [PDF]
Communities now have a GIS-based set of tools to promote infill development as part of their overall smart growth strategy.
New Jersey NGOs Experience the Power of GIS
Thanks to an innovative state and private partnership program, qualified nonprofit nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and libraries in New Jersey are being introduced to the power of GIS.
County Examines Changing Growth Patterns [PDF]
Martin County, Florida, which performed its last vacant land analysis in 1995 using 50-meter resolution data, continues to refine land use allocation estimates with improved information technology and better data.
Bulgaria's Pamporovo Resort Implements GIS for Development Plan
The Comprehensive Development Plan included traditional multilevel analysis, combining knowledge and expertise in planning, economics, tourism management, and GIS.
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Suitability
Interactive Site Suitability Modeling
Suitability modeling using raster data was one of the first, and remains a classic, GIS applications. The author proposes an interactive model that addresses one of the shortcomings of this approach to suitability modeling. The author's approach relies on vector data and uses tools in the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst extension. It automates processing by using the Field Calculator and ModelBuilder.
Transportation Planning
Gwinnett County, Georgia, Uses GIS for Traffic Analysis
A growing suburb of a city known for traffic snarls doesn't want to mess around with its traffic analysis systems. It wants a system that takes its existing data and applies analysis that will help it improve the safety and function of its roads.
GIS Tools for Transportation and Community Planning
This case study describes innovative applications of GIS techniques that the Federal Highway Administration's Transportation and Community and System Preservation Pilot Program (TCSP) grantees have used to support transportation and community planning.
Urban Planning
Los Angeles, California, Department of City Planning Mapping System
Helps City Planners Visualize Development Potential
Interoperable Three-Dimensional GIS
Urban Modeling with ArcGIS 3D Analyst and SketchUp
Urban Planning Authority of Libya Leverages GIS
Building a Nationwide Enterprise Geodatabase
The Subsurface Geology of Brussels, Belgium, Is Modeled with 3D GIS
Two years ago, the Geological Survey of Belgium (GSB), located in Brussels, launched a new GIS program called Brussels Urban Geology (BUG), centered on the urban geology of the European capital. The main objective was to build 2D and 3D GIS models of the Brussels subsurface geology.
West Springfield, Massachusetts, Builds Information Portals with GIS
Like any other town, demand for municipal services in West Springfield, Massachusetts, keeps growing as businesses expand and the population grows. Realizing the importance of digital and interactive mapping for tax assessment, public works, planning, emergency management, etc., the town developed a GIS in 1998 using aerial flyovers, field surveys, deeds research, etc. Since then, GIS has been playing an important role in meeting the ever-growing demand on municipal services.
Analyzing Infill Development Potential
As the need for infill development grows throughout California, so does the need for analytical tools that help identify prospective infill sites and estimate the potential of infill development to meet the state's need for housing and other urban development.
The City of Chesapeake, Virginia, Uses GIS in Its 2026 Comprehensive Plan
The city of Chesapeake is located in a region known as South Hampton Roads in the southeastern part of Virginia. Because of Chesapeake's cultural and historical values, precise planning is necessary to manage growth and ensure that infrastructure develops simultaneously to serve the growing population of more than 210,000 inhabitants.
Essex, Vermont, Discovers the Power of 3D Analysis
Vermont has long been a leader in GIS and 2D mapping. Its statewide orthophoto program was started in 1974 and has served as the base for GIS layer development since 1983. Making the right growth decisions is critical to the state and its 251 individual communities. Nowhere is this more evident than in the town of Essex.
Moreno Valley, California, Manages Explosive Growth With GIS
Cities with explosive growth need to optimize their resources. This is a truism regardless of their size, shape, or location. See how Moreno Valley has managed its 450 percent growth rate (over its 1980 population) with GIS.
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Visualization
Visualizing Infill Development Potential: Los Angeles City Planning Uses ArcGIS Server
People are moving back into urban centers, and the demand for infill housing in U.S. cities is on the rise. Dramatic increases in population also have city planners thinking more about infill development projects.
Three-Dimensional Models Encourage Public Participation
Many of the techniques they employ—digital maps, digital imaging and video, urban simulation, virtual reality, and Web-based interactive maps—can be incorporated into a GIS.
Creation of a 3D Urban GIS Database: Data Fusion Approach Technical Session on "Photogrammetry and 3D Visualization"
Learn about the development of a 3D Urban and GIS Database for the U.S. Army Research and Development Engineering Command that would be used for the purposes of mapping and simulation-visualization of a 3D urban and rural database.
Essex, Vermont, Discovers the Power of 3D Analysis
Planning and economic development concerns are explored using 3D visualization methods and techniques to evaluate what a particular area may look like in 20 or 30 years.
Houston Uses Visualization Tool to Envision the Future
The city of Houston, Texas, Planning and Development Department uses two terrain-viewing software (TVS) programs to help residents, officials, and investors see how neighborhoods might look under various improvement scenarios.
Zoning
Zoning Methodology for Protecting Viewshed
The Planning and Zoning Commission of Kent, Connecticut, worked with Housatonic Valley Association (HVA), a nonprofit conservation organization, to develop a GIS-based methodology for protecting the town's scenic vistas.
Web-Based Zoning Information and Map Access System
This enormous effort was divided into two major projects: data conversion and application and database design. The projects resulted in the development of the Zone Map Automation (ZMA) system, a GIS-based, parcel-level zoning information and analysis application.
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