Spatial data infrastructure and the environment of urban areas
Kelly, Paul, Robin McLaren & Hartmut Muller
Spatial information has become indispensable for numerous aspects of urban and rural development, planning and management. The increasing importance of spatial information has been due to recent strides in spatial data capture (especially satellite remote sensing), management (utilizing GIS and database tools) and access (witness the growth in web mapping), as well as the development of analytical techniques such as high resolution mapping of urban environments. A key factor for success will be utilisation of spatial information and technologies to support management of key problems such as disaster management, flooding control, environmental management, health and transportation. The concept of spatial data infrastructures (SDI) has been developed to encompass the efficient and effective collation, management, access and use of spatial data. The rapid growth of urban areas causes severe social, economical and ecological problems. New tools, techniques and policies are required to baseline and integrate the social, economic and environmental factors associated with large urban areas, to monitor growth and change across the area and to forecast areas of risk. This will lead to more proactive urban planning and environmental management. The paper summarizes the results of FIG Commission 3 working group WG3.2 Using Spatial Data Infrastructures to Manage Citiess obtained so far to identify relevant spatial tools that will support development and use of spatial data infrastructure (SDI) by city authorities in the worldds largest cities.
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