Steve Carver

Web-based public participation geographical information systems: an aid to local environmental decision-making

Current research examining the potential of the World-Wide Web as a means of increasing public participation in local environmental decision making in the UK is discussed. The paper considers traditional methods of public participation and argues that new Internet-based technologies have the potential to widen participation in the UK planning system. Evidence is provided of the potential and actual benefits of online spatial decision support systems in the UK through a real environmental decision support problem in a village in northern England. The paper identifies key themes developing in this area of Web-based geographical information systems (GIS) and provides a case-study example of an online public participation GIS from inception to the final phase in a public participation process. It is shown that in certain UK planning problems and policy formulation processes, participatory online systems are a useful means of informing and engaging the public and can potentially bring the public closer to a participatory planning system.

Public participation, GIS, and cyberdemocracy: evaluating on-line spatial decision support systems

In this paper we describe the development of Internet-based approaches to public participation and on-line spatial decision support systems in particular. Two case studies in developing web-based public participation GIS (PPGIS), one local and one regional, are described in detail. Results from the live testing of these systems are shown. These are discussed in the light of recent developments in ‘cyberdemocracy’ and conclusions are drawn about principles of on-line PPGIS and problems associated with public participation, user interaction, and familiarity with IT, copyright issues, access to the Internet, and relevant political structures.

Mountain environments and geographic information systems

GIS in the mountains of the Commonwealth of Independent States landslide hazard analysis research and management in national parks and adjacent areas impacts of climate change on mountain vegetation linkage of knowledge-based systems to GIS terrain modelling DTMs.

Democratic input into the nuclear waste disposal problem: The influence of geographical data on decision making examined through a Web-based GIS

Abstract.This paper elucidates the manner in which users of an online decision support system respond to spatially distributed data when assessing the solution to environmental risks, specifically, nuclear waste disposal. It presents tests for revealing whether users are responding to geographical data and whether they are influenced by their home location (Not in My Back Yard – style behavior). The tests specifically cope with problems associated with testing home-to-risk distances where both locations are constrained by the shape of the landmass available. In addition, we detail the users’ wider feelings towards such a system, and reflect upon the possibilities such systems offer for participatory democracy initiatives.

Using GIS on the Internet for Planning

Previous chapters in this book have shown the developing role of GIS in various fields of planning over the last fifteen to twenty years. In addition, selected chapters have dealt with related information technologies such as multimedia, remote sensing, computer modelling and artificial intelligence. All have important roles within the modern planning system, from urban design and cadastre to census planning and regional monitoring. This chapter addresses the role of the Internet within the planning field. In particular, it looks at the use of the World Wide Web (WWW) for public access to the planning system and, more specifically, planning-related GIS.

Developing Computer-Based Participatory Approaches to Mapping Landscape Values for Landscape and Resource Management

The last 50 years or so have seen a steady increase in the rate of destructive wildfires across the world, partly as a result of climate change and partly as a result of encroachment of human settlement on fire-based ecosystems (Russell et al. 2004; Westerling et al. 2006). Years of active fire suppression in such areas has inevitably led to the build-up of hazardous fuel loads, creating ideal conditions for destructive wildfires (Johnson et al. 2001). Recently, serious wildfires have occurred in Australia, southeast Asia and the Mediterranean, as well as those occurring in the USA in California, Montana, Idaho and Alaska. Current thinking on fire management is very much focused on re-instating natural fire regimes and allowing fire, as nearly as possible, to function in its natural ecological role (Miller 2006), thereby reducing the occurrence of destructive fires. Mechanical fuel treatments (e.g. thinning) and prescribed burning are being used to reduce fuel loads to near natural conditions, after which natural fire regimes can be allowed to operate. There are two main types of thinning that either remove selected trees to create a more widely spaced forest consisting of trees of different sizes/ages or remove all smaller trees and brush within the understory to leave a more uniform forest of more widely spaced older trees. Prescribed burning uses small managed fires, rather than mechanical means, to achieve the latter. This is a long and involved process and often has the potential to create conflict between the different management regimes associated with adjacent lands and between the different inhabitants and stakeholders affected in the short to medium term. This requires a high degree of collaboration and participatory planning if acceptable fuel reduction strategies and management plans are to be developed.

Evaluating field-based GIS for environmental characterization, modelling and decision support

ABSTRACT This paper examines the potential of using GIS (Geographical Information Systems) in the field for environmental characterization, modelling and decision support particularly in isolated areas where data collection is difficult. Observations are based on experiences gained during two Anglo-Russian expeditions to the Altai Mountains of south central Siberia aimed at evaluating proposals for a new national park in the Katunsky Ridge area of the Belukha Massif. The use of GIS together with GPS (Global Positioning Systems) for primary data collection and verification/update of existing data is described and the use of field-based systems for on-the-spot environmental modelling and decision support is evaluated.

The application of GIS in the lands sector of a developing country: Challenges facing land administrators in Ghana

The Government of Ghana is about to take steps under its Land Administration Project to initiate the adoption of geographical information systems (GIS) in the administration of land. This paper identifies some of the challenges for Ghanas leading lands agency, the Lands Commission Secretariat, and highlights problems such as the paucity of reliable data sets and lack of standards. One of the major planning issues in Accra is that of building encroachments, for which no digital information is currently available. The paper reports on a pilot study to record encroachments on public land and demonstrates the type of inconsistencies that are apparent between the planning and cadastral data sets that do exist. The paper emphasizes that appropriate applications of GIS in Ghanas land sector are those that consider the political, social and institutional contexts within which GIS is to be operationalized.

Developing and Testing an Online Tool for Teaching GIS Concepts Applied to Spatial Decision-Making.

The development and testing of a Web‐based GIS e‐learning resource is described. This focuses on the application of GIS for siting a nuclear waste disposal facility and the associated principles of spatial decision‐making using Boolean and weighted overlay methods. Initial student experiences in using the system are analysed as part of a research project on teaching GIS concepts to large numbers of students with little or no prior GIS experience. Some general thoughts on the utility of Web‐based GIS for learning and teaching are presented. Results from the first cohort of 167 undergraduate/postgraduate geography students using the system indicate that students find it easy to use, a useful aid to learning about the issues involved, and a thought‐provoking exercise in Internet‐based democracy.

Vector to raster conversion error and feature complexity: an empirical study using simulated data

ABSTRACT Simulated vector coastlines of known and varied complexity are rasterized at various levels by the quadtree method. The rasterizing error for each combination of coastline and raster size is calculated by a simple Boolean overlay method. The relationship between line complexity, raster size and rasterizing error is investigated and a method of selecting the most appropriate raster size based on the complexity of the source data and the required level of accuracy is presented.