Geoinformation for Sustainable Cities

	Participants discuss GIS development and needs assessment process

GIS Workshop Materials | GIS Workshop Pictures

The International City County Management Association (ICMA), through funding provide by the U.S. Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), collaborated to develop and implement a workshop, Geoinformation for Sustainable Cities,  aimed at increasing the capacity of cities in the Middle East and North Africa to address urban poverty and development with the aid of geospatial information technology.  The workshop was held in Amman, Jordan July 16-20, 2006.

The workshop was structured to introduce components of geospatial information technology to urban planners for use as tools to improve their ability to accommodate growing urban populations, and the increasing demands for the provision of potable water, sanitation and waste disposal, infrastructure, public safety, transport, energy, and emergency services that directly impact urban quality of life. Workshop participation is by invitation only.  Cities selected to participate sent two representatives: one with policy-making authority, and one with technical planning and computer skills.  Participants attended sessions to learn how geospatial tools have been used to address urban issues in several growing cities both within and outside of the region, and how to apply this knowledge to their own urban context.  The technical professionals from each city also received training in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the Global Positioning System (GPS) at the Infograph training center in Amman.

By the end of the workshop, participants increased their capacity to provide for the needs of their growing urban populations as well as their understanding of the role of geospatial information in urban policy development, including the management of infrastructure and the delivery of services to citizens.  Not only do participants have a better understanding of how to gather and organize data about their cities at the local level, they have learned how to synthesize and apply the data to the policy design and decision making processes.  They have developed a specific strategy incorporating GIS and GPS technology for the respective cities and the participating engineers have gained experience using the technology applications and relating it to urban planning.

Useful Links

Background Reading:

• GIS Guide for Local Government Officials
• GIS for Urban and Regional Planning 
• GIS Solutions for Urban Planning  
• ESRI GIS for Local Government   
• GIS for Housing and Urban Development
• Report on U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development and Research Grant H-21260CA To University Consortium for Geographic Information Science UCGIS
• ICMA's GIS webpage
• GIS for Urban Management
• Using GIS to Define Grades of Poverty
• Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) Association
• Executive Summary of Cities Transformed

Programs:

• Cities Alliance
• Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) and HUD USER- International Activities   
• UN-HABITAT United Nations Human Settlements Programme
• UN-HABITAT Sustainable Cities Programme
• ESRI and UN-Habitat, 1000 Cities Programme
• UN-HABITAT World Urban Forum  
• GIS and Urban Indicator Analysis University Consortium for Geographic Information Service (UCGIS); Sponsored by HUD

Tools and Resources:

• ESRI Data Models
• Trimble GPS Tutorial
• Applications of GIS in Urban Management
• GIS for Urban Management and Planning

Sample Government Documents:

• Richland County Area GIS Needs Assessment, Feasibility Study, and Three Year Implementation Plan
• Internal Policy Concerning the Use of GIS Hardware, Software, and Data from Richland County, South Carolina
• Ordinance Allowing for Creation of IT Department and GIS Data Management

Topical Case Studies:

• GIS and Brownfields: Encouraging Redevelopment, Public Inolvement and Smart Growth
• GIS as a Means to Support Non-Motorized Travel
• Spatial Analysis Optimizes Malaria Prevention Measures: ESRI Case Study

Locational Case Studies:

• Bangalore, India
• Caracas, Venezuela
• Rostock, Germany

About ESRI: ESRI is about improving our world and the use of our resources through better information management.  ESRI is the world leader in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).GIS allows us to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in ways simply not possible in the rows and columns of a spreadsheet. Beautiful and interesting maps provide better decision making tools and analysis and make a difference in our world.  www.esri.com

About Trimble: Trimble is a leading innovator of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. In addition to providing advanced GPS components, Trimble augments GPS with other positioning technologies as well as wireless communications and software to create complete customer solutions. Trimble's worldwide presence and unique capabilities position the Company for growth in emerging applications including surveying, automobile navigation, machine guidance, asset tracking, wireless platforms, and telecommunications infrastructure. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Trimble has more than 2,000 employees in more than 20 countries worldwide. www.trimble.com  

Download

Flyer about workshop produced for WSIS conference (in English and Arabic) (Adobe Acrobat Document, 1,091 KB)

Sustainable Cities Programme in Tanzania (Adobe Acrobat Document, 1,237 KB)

GIS for Urban Management: Additional Publications and Literature (Microsoft Word Document, 85 KB)

GIS for Urban Management: Training Programs (Microsoft Word Document, 44 KB)

GIS for Urban Management: Additional Website Resources (Microsoft Word Document, 107 KB)