More than Just Maps – From Haiti to Pakistan GIS has Unlimited Potential for Doing Good
I regularly check out my local Home Owners Association online discussion boards to get the scoop on neighborhood events and happenings. And, living close to the nation’s capital, transportation issues are often top of mind for us all. So I found myself following a popular thread about a local road construction project.
Being the resourceful neighbors that we are (and just a little curious to know whether said project would help or hinder commuter traffic) the thread took on it own life as we harnessed our collective information gathering power to get the scoop. One contributor tracked down information from Virginia DOT’s web site; then another posted a Google Maps aerial image of the area; others chimed in with some local hearsay and, eureka, we concluded that our little hometown road project was in fact a step in the right direction towards easing congesting at a major commuter route interchange.
Where am I going with this?
Well, there are literally no limits to the possibilities of information paired with visual data and intelligence gathering, three concepts you will find at the heart of many GIS or geospatial information systems.
Of course, many of the GIS systems in use or under-development today have little to do with a bunch of folks pulling together information from Google Maps, the Web and the local rumor mill. However, they do both share the concepts and benefits of disciplined sharing.
Today, GIS enables the mapping of locations and objects, the placement of intelligence into the objects and the use of tools and applications to derive knowledge from this converged data, often for the public good.
Whether it’s a group of curious neighbors, or military command centers in the heart of war zones, sharing data collectively and actioning the information derived from it has endless possibilities for communities and government alike.
More than Just Images: Mapping Locations, Placing Intelligence, Deriving Knowledge
Many still think of GIS as satellite-based imagery, but GIS has come a long way since Google Earth took the world by storm in 2005 with its commercially available high resolution imagery.
The applications and uses of GIS now number in there thousands, and are constantly evolving driven by market-forces, user demands, and a great deal of them time - unforeseeable challenges.
Take for example, the recent flooding in Pakistan. While satellite imagery from GeoEye and Google Earth was able to make the scale and impact of the devastation realizable it was a combination of Google-developed and user-driven map and GIS-based technology that really helped make an immediate impact on relief efforts.
Learning from their experience in Haiti where aid workers stressed the need for accurate and up-to-date information about available health resources, Google’s Crisis Response team developed a Resource Finder application. This new editable map-based tool was quickly rolled-out in Pakistan to help relief workers maintain and disseminate updated information about which services various health facilities offer including, doctors, equipment and beds available at neighboring health facilities so that they can efficiently arrange patient transfers.
Google Resource Finder connects relief workers with up-to-the-minute intelligence about available health facilities and the resources they offer. (Official Google blog post)
Citizen Participation in Disaster Recovery
Geospatial technologies are increasingly participative and are being leveraged by the masses for the good of the masses; take for example the earthquake in Haiti. 72 hours after the earthquake struck, citizens were contributing data and information to Google MapMaker to help build an up-to-the minute map of Port Au Prince that helped aid disaster recovery efforts.
Unlimited Potential
So what’s next? Well, alas, I doubt my little Home Owner’s Association will be investing in the latest GIS systems and apps to assuage our curiosity and intelligence gathering efforts about local infrastructure projects. But the truth is, the possibilities are unlimited.
By enabling the sharing of up-to-the-minute data across government and citizen populations, the convergence of information and imagery made accessible and useable via ever-evolving tools and apps, ultimately saves us all time, money and lives. To learn more about how government agencies now and what the geospatial proposition is for the future, read “On the Frontlines: Geospatial Trends in Government”.
Google Resource Finder connects relief workers with up-to-the-minute intelligence about available health facilities and the resources they offer. (Official Google blog post)
Citizen Participation in Disaster Recovery
Geospatial technologies are increasingly participative and are being leveraged by the masses for the good of the masses; take for example the earthquake in Haiti. 72 hours after the earthquake struck, citizens were contributing data and information to Google MapMaker to help build an up-to-the minute map of Port Au Prince that helped aid disaster recovery efforts.
Unlimited Potential
So what’s next? Well, alas, I doubt my little Home Owner’s Association will be investing in the latest GIS systems and apps to assuage our curiosity and intelligence gathering efforts about local infrastructure projects. But the truth is, the possibilities are unlimited.
By enabling the sharing of up-to-the-minute data across government and citizen populations, the convergence of information and imagery made accessible and useable via ever-evolving tools and apps, ultimately saves us all time, money and lives. To learn more about how government agencies now and what the geospatial proposition is for the future, read “On the Frontlines: Geospatial Trends in Government”.Related Blog Posts
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Channel Partners, Digital Design
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Article originally posted to the GovDesignHub here.
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Article originially posted to the GovDesignHub here.
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Civil 3D Version Interoperability
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1. Training
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Download the eBook here!
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Civil 3D 2019 – “Things I Appreciate Out of the Gate”:
DLT Solutions
CAD General, Digital Design, Technology, Tips and How-Tos
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Taking 3D Contextual Design to the Next Level
DLT Solutions