Did you know that millions of people around the world use geographic information system technology to enhance their businesses for more productivity?

Geographical information technology allows city planners and developers to create better city plans in less time. Haven’t heard of GIS for city planning and community development? This post will help you understand how mapping technology has redefined the way city planners work.

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Fig.1 – Land use mapping for Kitsap County

How Can GIS Benefit City and Community Planners?

Regardless of the size of the community or city, community planners have to deal with  spatial data such as transportation networks, land use data, zoning, housing stock and zoning information. In addition, they have to keep track of changing communal requirements. GIS helps planners have a better understanding of city structures before they can make any decision regarding community plans. Here’s how GIS models can help city planners:

Continuum of GIS Models

GIS models can enhance community development through better understanding of the current city structure. The freely available maps allow city planners to allocate resources and develop strategic plans according to the city requirements, and make decisions regarding various community issues. There are various GIS models that can be used for better city constructions. Some of the most commonly used GIS models include:

Context Maps: Context maps are the essential GIS tools that allow community planners to understand information of broad geography. The maps display the geographical information that is otherwise hard to decipher.

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Fig 2. – Context Maps

Display Maps: Display maps are another commonly used tool that displays the various variables of a certain community by small geography.

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Fig.3 – Display Maps

Analytical Maps: Analytical maps are of great help when it comes to analyzing evaluating various variables of a certain community by both broad and small geography.

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Fig.4 – Analytical Maps

Conclusion

GIS has been used as a tool to plan government and private sector projects and now they are being utilized for better community and city planning.

Question: Are you aware of any other GIS models (apart from the one’s mentioned above) that can help plan better cities and communities? Share with us through our comment section below.

Continue your GIS education now by going to training.gis-university.com/5stepchallenge

References
http://www.kitsapgov.com/dcd/gis/maps_data/standard_maps/regulatory_planning.htm
http://community-wealth.org/
http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/gis/manual/style/
http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/getting-started/articles/026n00000017000000.htm#ESRI_SECTION1_B8511B3BFEF4478688542A88AF0E843

Ian
Ian