Developing GIS based citizen services in the City of HelsinkiCurrent Challenges and Examples from Pilot Projects

Jonna KangasojaCity of Helsinki

jonna.kangasoja@helsinki.fi

TED Workshop21 May 2005

Current Challenges

• History of the development of e-participation in the City of Helsinki builds of pilot projects (e.g. ‘Home Street’, ‘Net Maunula’)

• How to integrate the line organization with the project organization?

• Institutional mediations (Anttiroiko 2003) are most critical in the development of new deliberative forms of democracy

The City of Helsinki’s IT-strategy 2003 – 2006

• Comprehensive e-Services for residents: applications, permits, notices, appointments, reservations etc. handled also electronically by all departments of the City

• Data-secure and confidential dealings with the City administration and service producers for individuals and business enterprises

• Multi-channel provision of advice and information services

• New GIS-based citizen services via www

GIS-based services are popular

The www.hel.fi site contains 100 000 pages with total 6 million hits/year

The existing map service http://kartta.hel.fi page has 400 000 searches/week

Web Based Map and Geospatial Information Services

• Regarded as central tool in implementing the City’s IT and e-Service strategy

• Future vision of Citizen’s eGovernance services: possibility to get address/location based information on all on-going municipal projects, service points, contact persons.

• Organizational challenge: Tradition of strong and fairly autonomous departments and administrations.

• ‘GIS core group’ – a horizontal topical structure of expertise inside the City.

•There are over 14 GIS-based services in the design or development phases

•Web-based map and geospatial information service by the City Survey Division

•Soil survey information service by the Geotechnical Division of the Real Estate Department

•Real time town plan service by the City Planning Department

•Building Permit Service ARSKA by the Building Regulation Department

•Regional library application HELMET

Pilot projects

GIS and the City Planning Department

• A web-based service offering real-time information on city plans under preparation (town plans, subdivision plans, traffic planning projects etc.)

• Up-dating is distributed, embedded in the normal work practices of the department

• Dynamic map, moving on the map, searching with place name, address

• The whole trajectory a project from the beginning until the plan gets a legal status

• Future: developing the interactive component

Helsinki Urban DatabaseData feed from various registers

PRIMAS

Updateevery night

Service databaseCityGis4

Updates from the most important data sets daily:

• land property and real estate information• buildings• town plans and subdivision plans• land and building ownership information• construction projects• address information

GeoMediaOracle

MUNICIPAL SERVERSpatialWeb4

BentleyPublisher

Service points

Basic registers

SERVICE DATABASECityGis4

PRIMAS

MapInfo

GIS-services/Regional filters

Map services

ArcView

Access Stella

Access

Access Access

Interface for embedded

services

Hierarchy of the Municipal ServerThematic services

-administrations assemble the content

Government to business

services

City district services

- assembled content-edited content

e-Services e.g. permits Basic services

-maps- registers

Project services- project information- citizen’s feedback

GeoMediaWebMap

User-interface of the web-based geospatial information service

Register data as separate application

Objects overlap in the map window

directory of functions and content

Two general maps

search functions in the menu toolbar