Resources | Events | eCommunication | Posting Center
Resources
|
|
posted: |
|
February 08, 2002 Christine Olivia Uy This thesis addresses advanced applications of geographic information systems (GIS) for decision making related to civil infrastructure systems (CIS). CIS can be divided into the societal and the physical environment, and can be further categorized into types of databases appropriate for GIS applications. For the societal environment, demographic and economic databases describe population and financial characteristics while data on the natural and built environments describe the physical environment. This work provides a brief description of GIS, including coverage of integrative technologies, such as global positioning systems, remote sensing, image processing, computer-aided drawing/design/drafting, statistical software, analytical modeling and simulation, and decision support systems. A summary of available data sets and sources are provided in Chapter 3. The Census Bureau collects the majority of demographic and economic data in the U.S.. Data on the natural and built environment are available at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse (NGDC) and other commercial search engines assist users in locating data sets through metadata specifications. Current GIS applications for transportation, human services, and lifeline systems are described in Chapters 4, 5, and 6. GIS applications used for infrastructure planning include demand estimation, site selection, location-allocation analyses, utility corridor planning, and environmental impact assessment. Management and operation applications include infrastructure maintenance (e.g., pavement, rail, bridge, cable, and pipeline), network analysis, outage/leakage management, safety analysis, disaster management, and vehicle/field staff routing (e.g., repair crews, emergency vehicles, meter readers). GIS has also been useful for customer service and public relations applications such as information dissemination over the Internet (e.g., traffic reports and crime statistics), and meter reading activities for utilities. Incentives and barriers to GIS addressed in this work include communication and collaboration, data management, and GIS education. GIS implementation is frequently advanced through pilot projects, regional collaborations, and public/private partnerships. Topics covered in data management include data quality, interoperability, and data accessibility. The need for accreditation and standards in GIS education are also discussed. Recommendations presented in the final chapter were compiled through investigations of GIS and issues identified by participants of a National Forum sponsored by the Institute for Civil Infrastructure Systems. These include partnership/funding opportunities, industry specific interoperability, enterprise-GIS implementation, data documentation, and GIS curricula.  http://www.nyu.edu/icis/GISForum/  |
|
|
|
Advanced GIS Applications for Civil Infrastructure Systems