Sharing Geographic Information

Developments in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are changing land-use decision making in profound ways. Access to data on land and its uses is essential to a wide range of planning functions, both public and private. But data collection and maintenance are difficult and expensive. The potential for sharing information within and among organizations makes GIS technology accessible to planners, analysts, and policymakers.Onsrud and Rushton have gathered together leading academics in organization theory, management information systems, and GIS as well as practitioners from federal, state, regional, and local governments, GIS software developers, consultants, and spatial data suppliers. The contributors describe and analyze their past experiences - both successful and unsuccessful - in sharing geographic data. They identify opportunities, options, and potential pitfalls for organizations as well as for individuals and recommend strategies and models for improved information sharing.This book explores organizational theory issues in the context of geographic data-sharing environments, experiences in the sharing of geographic data, organizational dynamics and lessons learned from past experiences, and pragmatic considerations in the further development and improvement of a spatial data infrastructure. This volume is essential reading for planners, geographers, policy analysts, and decision makers concerned with land use, transportation, infrastructure, and environmental issues at all spatial levels.

About the Author :
Harlan J. Onsrud is professor in the department of spatial information science and engineering at the University of Maine and a research scientist with the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA). He recently chaired a US National Research Council Study on the Licensing of Spatial Data and Services and is a lifetime national associate of the US National Academies of Sciences.

Review :
-The articles are first-class and the organization is exemplary.- --Environment and Planning A -Well- developed expositions of a wide range of issues... Excellent job of bringing together a host of perspectives on sharing geographic information... a highly valuable contribution.- --Professional Geographer -Without any doubt, the use of geographic information technologies has developed a plethora of geographic information; however, much of this information is never utilized beyond the project for which it was prepared. Recognition of this problem, together with the awareness of potential for other uses, reaches back to the very origins of GIS development. Without the constraints of paper map sheets and the speed of computers, geographic information, so the idea goes, should be readily available to anyone interested... The basic premise of this book is that sharing geographic information is beneficial for anyone, public or private, engaged in land-use decision making... [T]his book does an excellent job of bringing together a host of perspectives on the sharing of geographic information. I recommend it to anyone looking at these issues for its breadth and well-developed expositions of a wide range of issues... Because of the ongoing importance of data sharing, this book's broad and detailed chapters will certainly make interesting reading for the broad range of interests in societal uses of geographic information technology for some time.- --Francis Harvey, Urban Studies -This is one of the first texts to be published dealing almost entirely with GIS organizational issues, rather than technical ones... [T]his book should be available to students and academics with a serious interest in GIS, or planners and the like who are beginning to think about implementing GIS or sharing spatial data with others.- --Jane Drummond, Urban Studies -This anthology of twenty-nine essays summarizes the collective insight of the thirty-four participants in the Initiative 9 Symposium of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis.- --Mark Monmonier, Annals of the Association of American Geographers -Helps illuminate the difficult set of problems encountered when geographic information, both public and private, is shared. . . . Required [reading] for builders of GIS databases in the public sector.- --Journal of Planning Education and Research "The articles are first-class and the organization is exemplary." --Environment and Planning A "Well- developed expositions of a wide range of issues... Excellent job of bringing together a host of perspectives on sharing geographic information... a highly valuable contribution." --Professional Geographer "Without any doubt, the use of geographic information technologies has developed a plethora of geographic information; however, much of this information is never utilized beyond the project for which it was prepared. Recognition of this problem, together with the awareness of potential for other uses, reaches back to the very origins of GIS development. Without the constraints of paper map sheets and the speed of computers, geographic information, so the idea goes, should be readily available to anyone interested... The basic premise of this book is that sharing geographic information is beneficial for anyone, public or private, engaged in land-use decision making... [T]his book does an excellent job of bringing together a host of perspectives on the sharing of geographic information. I recommend it to anyone looking at these issues for its breadth and well-developed expositions of a wide range of issues... Because of the ongoing importance of data sharing, this book's broad and detailed chapters will certainly make interesting reading for the broad range of interests in societal uses of geographic information technology for some time." --Francis Harvey, Urban Studies "This is one of the first texts to be published dealing almost entirely with GIS organizational issues, rather than technical ones... [T]his book should be available to students and academics with a serious interest in GIS, or planners and the like who are beginning to think about implementing GIS or sharing spatial data with others." --Jane Drummond, Urban Studies "This anthology of twenty-nine essays summarizes the collective insight of the thirty-four participants in the Initiative 9 Symposium of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis." --Mark Monmonier, Annals of the Association of American Geographers "Helps illuminate the difficult set of problems encountered when geographic information, both public and private, is shared. . . . Required [reading] for builders of GIS databases in the public sector." --Journal of Planning Education and Research "Without any doubt, the use of geographic information technologies has developed a plethora of geographic information; however, much of this information is never utilized beyond the project for which it was prepared. Recognition of this problem, together with the awareness of potential for other uses, reaches back to the very origins of GIS development. Without the constraints of paper map sheets and the speed of computers, geographic information, so the idea goes, should be readily available to anyone interested... The basic premise of this book is that sharing geographic information is beneficial for anyone, public or private, engaged in land-use decision making... [T]his book does an excellent job of bringing together a host of perspectives on the sharing of geographic information. I recommend it to anyone looking at these issues for its breadth and well-developed expositions of a wide range of issues... Because of the ongoing importance of data sharing, this book's broad and detailed chapters will certainly make interesting reading for the broad range of interests in societal uses of geographic information technology for some time." --Francis Harvey, Urban Studies "This is one of the first texts to be published dealing almost entirely with GIS organizational issues, rather than technical ones... [T]his book should be available to students and academics with a serious interest in GIS, or planners and the like who are beginning to think about implementing GIS or sharing spatial data with others." --Jane Drummond, Urban Studies "This anthology of twenty-nine essays summarizes the collective insight of the thirty-four participants in the Initiative 9 Symposium of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis." --Mark Monmonier, Annals of the Association of American Geographers "Helps illuminate the difficult set of problems encountered when geographic information, both public and private, is shared. . . . Required [reading] for builders of GIS databases in the public sector." "--Journal of Planning Education and Research" "The articles are first-class and the organization is exemplary." "--Environment and Planning A" "Well- developed expositions of a wide range of issues... Excellent job of bringing together a host of perspectives on sharing geographic information... a highly valuable contribution." "--Professional Geographer" "Helps illuminate the difficult set of problems encountered when geographic information, both public and private, is shared. . . . Required [reading] for builders of GIS databases in the public sector." "--Journal of Planning Education and Research" "The articles are first-class and the organization is exemplary." "--Environment and Planning A" "Well- developed expositions of a wide range of issues... Excellent job of bringing together a host of perspectives on sharing geographic information... a highly valuable contribution." "--Professional Geographer"