The Future & Applications of GIS

…if I really knew, would I still be here?

Uses of GIS: no change

The primary three:• manage data• analyze data• communicate informationBUT• relative importance shifting• implementation technology changing

Changing Emphases:

From Data to Analysis

75%Data Conversion:

10-15%Attribute Tagging

Spatial 5% Analysis

Data Conversion

Spatial Analysis

Attribute Tagging

Past Present/Future

Changing EmphasesFrom Description to Simulation & Modeling

Past

Picture worth athousand words:

maps & diagrams ofhow is, or how was

Web portals serve static data sets

Future

Visual simulation &virtual reality:

real time display of how is, and how might be-forest fire-freeway traffic flow

Web portals serve continuous sensor-derived data

Iconic models: scaled down representations of the real thing

Symbolic models: based on logical relationships in mathematical or statistical form

Changing Emphasesfrom 2-D description to 4-D interactionPast• 2-D flat map displays

– User as observerFuture• Effective 3-D visualization

– Via the merger of CAD and GIS?– What is the data model?

• 4-D incorporation of time: “The time has come for time.”– Via agent-based modeling / cellular automata? Or how?

• Cells (e.g. land parcels or people) interacting over time according to established rules

• 5, 6 and 7-D incorporation of touch (pressure, texture, temperature), sound and smell into modeling/simulation environment

• User as participant – researchers, professionals, the public interact with the model– the public as the planner (participatory GIS)

Changing Emphases:Out of this world

Past– GIS applied to Planet Earth

Future– GIS as a methodology for the analysis of spheres

• Other planets—Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus

• The human brain– One earth but many brains– & vis-a-versa: does the brain use “maps” for

organization?

Application Areas• The Appeal (Application) and Potential of GIS:

• The great appeal of GIS stems from their ability tointegrate great quantities of information about theenvironment and to provide a powerful repertoire ofanalytical tools to explore this data.

• Such a system would be valuable in a wide range ofsituations for urban planning, environmental resourcemanagement, hazards management, emergency planning,or transportation forecasting, and so on.

• The ability to separate information in layers, and thencombine it with other layers of information is thereason why GIS hold such great potential as researchand decision-making tools.

Application Areas

• Application Areas• GIS are now used extensively in government,

business, and research for a wide range ofapplications including environmental resourceanalysis, land use planning, location analysis,tax appraisal, utility and infrastructureplanning, real estate analysis, marketing anddemographic analysis, habitat studies, andarchaeological analysis.

Application Areas

• One of the largest areas of application has been in facilities management. Uses for GIS in this area have included

• locating underground pipes and cables,

• balancing loads in electrical networks,

• planning facility maintenance,

• tracking energy use.

• Local, state, and federal governments have found GIS particularly useful in land management. GIS has been commonly applied in areas like:

Application Areas

• zoning and subdivision planning,

• land acquisition,

• environmental impact policy,

• water quality management,

• maintenance of ownership.

• More recent and innovative uses of GIS have used information based on street-networks. GIS has been found to be particularly useful in

• address matching,

• location analysis or site selection,

• development of evacuation plans.

Conclusions

• GIS is rapidly becoming a key technology to support decision making at all scales

• The near future will continue to see accelerating growth in data availability and computing power to support GIS

• The strategic decision to make now is not whether, but when and how to use GIS to support environmental studies and decisions

Conclusion• Our only model for the future is the past• think back as many years as you are looking

forward– change has been both revolutionary.. and glacial

• don’t forget that the pace of change is accelerating– probably just gearing-up for the information age,

not reaching its climax• but remember,we have to get there from here

– can you envision a path?• if we knew the future, we wouldn’t be here!