WILL County Geographic Information Systems

Presented By:
Jason Morrison Will County GIS Manager
Ron Hodgen Ruettiger, Tonelli & Associates

Overview:
What is GIS? Explanation of the technology
Applications of GIS: how it is being used and the ways it can be used
GIS projects in Will County
Implementing a GIS system in Local Government
Demonstration

Definition of GIS:

• An organized collection of computer hardware, software, geographic data, and personnel designed to efficiently capture, store, update, manipulate, analyze, and display all forms of geographically referenced information. IT IS A SYSTEM

• A computer system capable of holding and using data describing places on the earth: a database management system.

• A GIS creates "smart-applets": maps, or tables, or applications that are produced as the result of a query of a database. Maps or data that display answers to questions.

• GIS software contains a set of tools for visualizing, exploring, editing, and analyzing information linked to geographic locations

• A GIS is NOT a mapping system
• A GIS is NOT a design tool
• A GIS is NOT a display tool

• A GIS IS an analytical tool
• A GIS IS a problem solver

• A GIS answers questions

GIS Data Structure:

The Layering of Geographic Data:

· Location: what is at_?

_ The first of these questions seeks to find out what exists at a particular location. A location can be described in many ways using: a place name, a postal or zip code, or a geographic reference such as latitude and longitude.

· 2. Condition: where is at_?

_ Where certain conditions are satisfied.

_ Example: Find all the unforested land at least 2,000 sq. meters in size that do not border a road or is crossed by a stream of more that 25 meters wide.

· 3. Trends: what has changed since_?

_ finding the differences within an area over time.

_ Example: Display the areas where cancer rates are highest_lowest_how has this changed over the past 10 years.

· 4. Patterns: what spatial patterns exist...?

_ This question is more sophisticated. You might ask this question to determine whether cancer is a major cause of death among residents near a nuclear power station. Just as important, you might want to know how many anomalies there are that don't fit the pattern and where they are located.

· 5. Modeling: what if_?

_ What if a new stop sign is added to a road network

_ "What if .." new street was added to the road network - how would this affect emergency response times. Answering this type of question requires geographic as well as other information.

· Emergency Dispatch: routing for police, fire and ambulance_businesses such as UPS, American Airborne, and Federal Express.

· Site Selection: deciding where to set up a facility, business, or service.

· Boundary Determination: school districts, tax districts, arbitrary boundaries such as sales boundaries.

· Planning: allocating resources for road/highway maintenance, emergency planning, taxing.

· Land Parcel Information: tax assessment

· Water and Sewer (utility departments or utility companies): determining flows, pipe breaks, outages, new service, and planning new development

· Digital Data Warehousing: data is being used while being stored-data management system.

· Community Involvement: Internet

· Digital Orthophoto Imagery (Aerial Photography).

· Layered information: layered information can include topography, utility, parcel and/or zoning information which can be produced as tables or maps.

· Examples...

Digital Orthophoto Quad

Elevations

Parcel Information: Building Footprints

The Need for GIS:

· Geography (and the data describing it) is part of our everyday world.

· Almost every decision we make is constrained, influenced, or dictated by some fact of geography.

· Example: sending fire trucks to fires by the fastest available routes.

· Governments often award grants to local governments based on population.

· We study disease by identifying areas of prevalence and rate of spread.

GIS projects in Will County:

· Supervisor of Assessment: Cadastral (Parcel) Information - tax assessment

· Land-use: Planning, Engineering, Zoning

· Emergency 911: Dispatch

· County Clerk: Census 2000

· Other Departments using: Forest Preserve District, Recorder of Deeds

· Partnerships may be the key

· Implementing the right hardware and software systems

· Most important factor: personnel

· Cooperation between Departments

Cooperation and Support of Policy Makers

Things to be considered for costs:

_ Consulting: GIS work by consulting firms

_ Hardware costs: computer equipment, networks, media storage, etc.

_ Software: GIS applications

Training: seminars, users groups, conferences