GIS: A Tool that Empowers
Community Decision-Making

	by Alison Atkins GIS Laboratory and Resource Center, Illinois Institute of Technology and Jennifer Stone GIS Librarian, University of Washington Libraries
Image from the City of Seattle Property Finder

Geographic information systems (GIS) are database management tools that allow users to organize, analyze and display geospatial data. GIS software can help users look at information in new ways, and visually examine new patterns. GIS resources have many uses: environmental engineers use these tools to determine the best location for a landfill based on soil studies and landuse information; city planners use GIS to plot emergency transport routes; marketers use GIS to target advertisements to certain demographic areas. Because GIS allows one to combine data from a variety of sources, it is a great decision-making tool.

For the last several decades, GIS tools have remained in the hands of the technological elite. Effective use of GIS software and hardware generally requires a significant investment in terms of money, time, and expertise. Only as computing hardware prices fall and GIS software becomes easier to use has GIS come into the public sphere.

Many advocates of community involvement at the local socio-political level understand the possibilities of using GIS to help support the public good. Coined "Public Participation GIS," ¹ it is the vision of using GIS as an empowerment tool for all citizens, including those involved in local meetings and debates.

"Community-integrated GIS seeks to broaden the use of digital spatial data handling technologies with the objective of increasing the number and diversity of people who are capable of participating in spatial decision-making. ... As a result, community-integrated GIS: ... Broadens the access base to digital spatial information technology and data; [and] Explores the potential for more democratic spatial decision making through greater community participation..."². Armed with GIS technology, local citizens will be able to visualize patterns (crime, demographics, land use or other) that may affect the political decisions they make.

In "Public Participation GIS-Barriers to Implementation," Michael Barndt points out that enhancements to GIS technology alone cannot empower the general public. He cautions readers that many other challenges exist, namely, "to provide relevant information, to organize and provide access to complex data systems, and to discover ways to address these issues" (p. 105). As accessible as they've become, GIS are complex systems with much functionality, and they require expertise to use properly. In order to make GIS technology a viable tool for the public, one of several scenarios must occur.

First, developers can create simpler versions of GIS software for use by the general public which assume no GIS expertise. These scaled-back GIS applications allow users to customize maps, but are limited in terms of the complexity of the analyses that can be performed on this data. This scenario is typically used when data providers are trying to reach an audience with whom they will have little or no contact, and therefore, can provide little assistance. This option is most often taken with GIS and mapping applications provided via the Internet.

Before putting information on the Web, however, one must discover the community's data needs. Sarah Elwood and Helga Leitner, in "GIS and Community-based Planning: Exploring the Diversity of Neighborhood Perspectives and Needs," report on a city project that studied data needs of community groups. The Minneapolis Community GIS Project involved the Department of Geography at the University of Minnesota and four diverse Minneapolis neighborhood groups. They found that the groups were "interested in the map-generating capabilities of GIS as a means of supporting existing activities rather than pioneering new ones" (p.84).

The Project discovered that in order to support those activities, each of the groups had many common data needs, such as housing, property values, zoning; demographics such as race, age, income; transportation information including volumes and patterns, bus and bike routes; information about the social and physical environment; and economic development information. The groups also wanted information at two resolutions: the entire neighborhood and down to the individual parcel level.

Two Washington State sites meet several of those categories of needed data, including zoning and property-level information, and transportation information; and they are putting their applications on the Web. The City of Seattle property finder, housed on the City of Seattle Public Access Network, is a good example of a community-accessible mapping application. It allows users to zoom in to a property via address, neighborhood, or city property designation. The result is a map of parcels in the area requested, with police and fire stations, community centers, and city-owned properties identified. Users can identify zoning, city property management areas, and tax parcels. This is a new effort by the City to make city parcel information easily available to the public. This information is available to the public in traditional paper form as well, but making this information available via the Web (publicly accessible in City of Seattle Library branches), circumvents the need to make a trip downtown and wait in line for your information.

The Washington State Department of Transportation is also making an effort to put geospatial information on the web, in this case, traffic flow in the Seattle area via a map of area freeways colored according to traffic volumes. They also have made available real-time photos of these major roads, so viewers can see for themselves what traffic is like for their area. In these two examples, users are able to display community information, but have no ability to access the underlying data or to query the database further.

The second option in encouraging public participation GIS is to provide GIS resources for public use, but provide them in a controlled environment which allows for technical support. GIS expertise requires an understanding of cartographic principles and spatial analysis. Communities or community agencies wishing to make extensive use of GIS resources should consider hiring a GIS technician or establishing partnerships with local libraries, universities, or consultants experienced in GIS. The Galvin Library at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois, is one institution that welcomes community development projects. In a mutually beneficial relationship, students skilled in GIS can put their talents to work on real projects that may positively impact their community.

A third option is to combine these two scenarios. To this end, Interrain Pacific, which describes itself as "a bioregional information system for the North American rainforest coast," aims to provide the public with access to the technologies that display digital geographic information, as well as access to GIS data itself, focusing on natural resource information. Interrain works by training local community groups in how to use digital geographic information, and teaching them how to make the best use out of the data. They make datasets available via their web site, as well as providing information and maps for the public to view. They also train community members in how to use the Internet.

Communities and community networks wishing to implement GIS resources must be aware of the complexities of GIS software and the investments of time, money and resources that come with such a purchase. The tradeoffs between ease-of-use and functionality in GIS applications are great and can provide for very different results. Proponents of public participation GIS who carefully examine these differences and develop reasonable expectations for its use will be those who are most likely to find GIS to be a contributing resource for community development.

Many other examples of these types of public GIS efforts exist. Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) is the manufacturer of two of the most popular GIS software packages, Arc/Info and ArcView. ESRI's annual user conference is attended by thousands of GIS practitioners each year; this year's conference included several sessions on Public Participation GIS and Internet access. Highlights from those sessions included: The Greater Yellowstone Area Data Clearinghouse (GYADC) Maps At Your Fingertips The Environmental Data Viewer: An Internet Map Server   Opening City Government to the People Via GIS on the Web GIS Partnerships: The Massachusetts Electronic Atlas   Public Access Can Save Money: A PLUS for Citizens   For more information on the 1998 ESRI User Conference, including paper abstracts and some full-text papers, visit the ESRI site.

Citations/References

Barndt, Michael. "Public Participation GIS-Barriers to Implementation." Cartography and Geographic Information Systems, Vol. 25, No. 2, 1998, pp.105-112

Harris, Trevor and Weiner, Daniel. "Empowerment, Marginalization, and 'Community-intergrated' GIS." Cartography and Geographic Information Systems, Vol. 25, No. 2, 1998, pp 67-76.

Elwood, Sarah and Leitner, Helga. "GIS and Community-based Planning: Exploring the Diversity of Neighborhood Perspectives and Needs." Cartography and Geographic Information Systems, Vol. 25, No. 2, 1998, pp. 77-88.