Municipal
GIS: The
Abu Dhabi
experience
Future Demand, Approaches and Constraints
General
Existing datasets have to be seen as big-value assets and have to be better utilized and maintained. If immediate and easy access to updated information is provided, it will eliminate redundant collection and storage of data by governmental departments, and storage of extra copies of data by individual users, thereby improving efficiency of many processes and providing direct cost savings.
There is a constant demand from public for providing access to various data and services from the Municipality. There is also demand for automating many processes. Also there is increasing
pressure to develop simpler end-user applications designed for users with little or no previous experience in searching for land-based data. The solution is to create web-portal as the only place to start
navigation through municipality data and services.
Map Server
Over 70-80% of the work in the Municipalities is related to spatial information. To communicate about development plans with the public, utilities and other public sectors the use of integrated web-based GIS solutions is essential. This will help to:
- Create and distribute information transparently and correctly
- Integrate information from different sources
- Optimize processes to reduce costs
Once a web based map server is developed, citizens, business entities and the administration itself, can find all geo-related information such as topographic maps, orthophotos, other reference data and thematic data such as boundaries, transports, environment, etc. at a single place. At the final shape, the solution will require a lot of interoperability effort between all the parties involved (e.g.: municipality, utilities, military, environmental, etc.). To function efficiently, also the metadata registers have to be properly established.
Fig 4: Planning Drawing sample. Source:
Planning And Surveying Sector, Abu Dhabi Municipality
Fig 5: In House Asset Inventory, Source: GEOMAP (www.geomap.com)
Metadata Directory / Catalogue
The use of GIS by the Municipalities over many years now has made the volumes of their data largely increased and structurally complicated. It will be necessary to establish geo-data catalogues to describe these large amounts of data and to make "navigation" between them easier for GIS users.
Any digital geographic data is a representation or an attempt to represent features of the real world. The representation is always generalized and there is a certain degree of abstractness and generalization. Some elements may be simplified or approximated and some are totally ignored. To clarify such imperfections in data and to prevent misunderstanding and misuse, the limitations and assumptions need to be documented as metadata. This description of the data about data enables the users to evaluate the usability of data for their use.
It is essential that such a concept is implemented in the Municipality which will enable users to understand database contents, features, its relations, etc.
Municipal Infrastructure Asset Management
As municipalities became large organizations during the last many years, a common experience is that they are unsure of the infrastructure assets they own, their location and their condition. As assets, the authors understand not only typical utility network assets or road furnishings but also in-house technical equipment, telecom installations, furniture, etc.. The GIS & CAD-based Asset Management
allows municipalities to capture information in a standardized format to ultimately allow them to understand what they own, what it's worth, what its condition is and where it is located. More important, these solutions consolidate disparate data sources into a centralized location for better decision-making (Fig 5).
A key benefit is that municipality will fully understand the infrastructure they own and its current state, which is useful for forecasting, budgeting and capital planning, and it will ultimately enhance services delivery.
Integration with GPS
There is no doubt that GPS technology already revolutionized the field of Surveying. GPS is becoming more and more popular provider of data for GIS systems. As Municipalities became also GPS users, a strong drive towards integration between GPS and municipal GIS systems is being observed all over the world, including the Middle East and U.A.E.
GIS/GPS integration can be categorized as follows:
- Data-focused integration
- Position-focused integration
- Technology-focused integration
The level of integration varies from a 'disparate' connection (transfer of data between GPS and GIS system) to the very advanced embedding of GPS technology within GIS application software.
There are many interesting initiatives recorded in the Middle East region in the area of GPS and GIS integration. As an example, Abu Dhabi Police and Dubai Municipality are already having these technologies integrated. Most likely, Municipalities of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain will have their solutions in place very soon. The mobility of portable GIS and GPS systems is stimulating another "revolution" in the area of Municipal GIS.
Data Quality
Municipalities implement GIS to allow more efficient, cost-effective operations at multiple physical facilities and across municipal boundaries. They need the capability to design, track and maintain their assets in real-time to eliminate waste and to provide a higher return on investment. All these require appropriate quality of data in order to avoid losses and surprises caused by poor / unsatisfying quality.
What does the "quality" mean in terms of GIS data? It is likely, that Municipa-lities will differ between each other as it comes to the definition. However, one universal definition fits to all - acceptable / good quality of data is that which does not harm the quality of business process and its business output. In other words, coordinates of plots, digitized from 1:25000 topographic maps will meet the standard for Environmental Section controlling the extent of soil pollution. At the same time, it will be totally unacceptable for Utility Services Section working with Route Approvals. The same data will meet quality criteria in case of one business process and will be rejected as unacceptable for another one.
Then, it is clear that "data quality" is a relative term and cannot be assessed in absolute values only. At this point we are coming back to the problem of properly constructed metadata catalogues helping users to search for correct data i.e. data which suite the requirements of their business processes. In many instances, the human factors is involved, and, by the negligence or lack of professional skills, makes improper use of GIS data and, as a result, lower quality of business outputs.
The importance of quality issue makes the implementation of Quality Assurance / Quality Control systems indispensable for all Municipalities.
Commercial Aspect
The controversial question raised by many Municipalities around the world is: to charge or not to charge for external access to municipal data? There is no definite and universal answer as it depends on municipal budgeting system, local habits, financial standing of local government, political systems etc., however, the following tendencies have been observed around:
- Those who pay for data are more concerned with their proper use than those who are getting them free of charge
- Those who contribute with their data to the municipal database (e.g. Utility Agencies) are (on average) enjoying free-of-charge access in return to their contribution
- Some data are being made accessible free of charge for the external users (especially for the e-Government applications) while some of them are being charged.
It has to be noticed that "liberalization" in access to municipal data is making the problem of data ownership and privacy more critical than before. How to look at cases where external party gets the municipal data free-of-charge and then use them for commercial purposes to a third party? How to protect personal rights if information about the property value is being made available to the external parties? These are issues, which need to be considered while liberalizing data distribution.
Constraints
There are many statistics published by different organizations and utilities on the most "popular" constraints which Municipalities encounter when implementing inter and intra municipal applications. They are listed below in a
descending order of importance [2]:
- Cost of customized GIS applications
- Availability of financial resources for GIS applications
- Coordination with other municipalities / departments
- Cost of data maintenance
- Cost of data collection
- Availability of skilled human
resources for the use of GIS
- Administrative aspects involved in data sharing / access
- Cost of GIS software
- Cost of Web-based service with access restrictions
- Legal concerns related to liability issues in mutual agreements
- Management philosophy and style
- Coordination with other sections / departments within the same municipality
- Legal concern related to protection of proprietary software.
The issues are similar to the Middle East region also.
Conclusion
Geographic Information Systems is a very essential part of day-to-day operations in any municipality. It is important to utilize and maintain the data efficiently. Success of municipal Geographic Information Systems activity depends not only on allocated funds to finance it but also on the decisions which solutions to support. Spatial data should be better manageable and in the same time more accessible for larger groups of users.
The Web-based applications should
support workflow of the organization and streamline all services offered to the citizens.
References
- Geoplan Consultants Inc., Local Government Resource Handbook, Part V, 2001
- Hegyi Geomatics Int. Inc., Comparative Study of GIS Data Products Used in Various-Sized Municipalities …, 2004
- Andrew Harrington, Trimble Navigation Ltd., GIS and GPS: Technologies that work well together, 2001
- Norplan AS, Design and Implementation of GIS and GIS Integration, 2003