There is so much that you can do with a GIS technology, the most common example is making layers with data showing all sorts of different variables of a community to help inform decision makers and inform the public. For example, my hometown of Syracuse could really use (and publicize) housing information. A useful application would be to see how many vacant houses are in the city, and map that with educational levels, income, etc. This data hopefully exists somewhere in the city, but making a visual representation and sharing with the public, will help drive action and inform decisions.
GIS has multiple applications, one area we are seeing a lot of impact is in crisis management. During an emergency, officials need to be able to quickly connect and collaborate with each other. This is now easier to do than ever before with modern technology. With GIS technology, information can be instantly shared and updated in real-time – this information allows decision makers to improve their decision making during a crisis and allocate resources to the proper locations.
At all levels of government, GIS can be used to help improve transparency, identify at risk communities and be used to help manage critical resources of the community.
But that’s just the start, here are my Top 10 benefits of GIS:
- Improved decision by government officials
- Instantaneous collaboration through the cloud
- Layer complex data to drive improve decision making
- Improved transparency for citizen engagement
- Identify at-risk or under-served populations within a community
- Improved allocation of resources and planning
- Management of natural resources
- Improved communications during a crisis
- Cost savings by improved decision making
- Planning for demographic changes to community
I know there are many other benefits of GIS, so what are some other benefits of GIS technology?
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When Esri was founded in 1969, it realized even then that geographic information system (GIS) technology could make a difference in society. GIS helps people to solve problems at local, regional, national, and global scales. Access maps and apps at ArcGIS.com. Check out the Communications & Citizen Engagement Sub-Community of which they are a council member. |
