Geographic information systems now available in New York state

Geographic information systems (GIS) and desktop mapping combined is one of the most rapidly growing computer technologies in the world, according to Geographic Services Corporation in Norwich, Vt. This technology allows users to visualize complex information in a geographic context, and has proven a valuable decision-making tool in a variety of disciplines.

Recently the Liverpool Sheraton was host to the 11th annual meeting of the New York State (NYS) Geographic Information Systems Conference. Sponsors were the NYS Urban and Regional Information Systems Association, the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing/Central New York Region, and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Twenty-four exhibitors conducted demonstrations and distributed promotional literature for their GIS-related products to nearly 400 representatives of planning, engineering & forestry, real-property, records-management and environmental organizations. Plenary sessions described New York's work with GIS in records management, library services, and the formation of a geographic data clearinghouse. Concurrent sessions and posters reported GIS applications in environmental studies, local government, public health, and decision support. The goal of the conference was to update participants on how to get, save, and share geographic data.

In the business sense, GIS is computer-based technology that permits the user to analyze and visualize, on a map, data such as the spread of competition, distribution routes, or potential customers. The map may be of streets, counties, ZIP codes, or any other geographic component of business data. A marketing manager can click any area of this map to bring up records of average income, age, or other demographic statistics associated with this area. Systems may use colors, fill patterns, line types, or symbols for geographic contrast.

How to Site a Store

This technology is illustrated with an example taken from MapInfo, a leading producer of software for the business-geographic industry. In the example, the vice president of a children's clothing business is asked to select an optimum site for a new retail outlet and distribution center. This location must be close to established mail-order customers and in an area of many homes with children age 10 and under. Specific floor space, parking area, and lease expense are requirements for the property.

MapInfo's Desktop Mapping Software is used to locate this site with Windows, Macintosh, Sun, and Hewlett Packard platforms. The first step is to access the customer data base or spreadsheet file and pick a format such as DBF, Microsoft, Excel, or Lotus 1-2-3. The next step is to attach the data to specific sites on the map by a process called "geocoding." It is now possible to view the geographic distribution of these customers and zoom in on any area to find their highest concentration. Then, to show location of the homes with children 10 and under, MapInfo applies data for age distribution (by ZIP code) to this area, using different colors to show various populations. This reveals the spatial distribution of children age 10 and under within the highest concentration area of established customers. From the database of real-estate and property listings (already attached to the map), the user makes queries to find the location that meets the requirements for floor space, parking area, and leasing.

In this example, the customer data of the children's clothing business combined with the MapInfo software, map, and real-estate data provided the required information. The prerequisite is that the data have a geographic component.

GIS has been employed extensively by Federal Express, according to ARC News, a publication provided at the conference by Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) Marketing Representative William "Skip" Heise. During 1990 Federal Express considered using GIS to study pickup and delivery systems. The goal was to find voids in its service, and the company geocoded its operation with ARC/INFO software, available from ESRI.

Using service and facility information combined with census data, Federal Express managers could see clearly on a map the location of customers, and relate that information to the needed level of service. The GIS allowed the managers to see their data in different ways, and to make adjustments in trade areas as needed. It also gave them new ideas for services.

ARC News also describes how a major food chain used GIS to decide whether or not to discontinue a breakfast program in Austin, Texas, where it was not selling well. Since this program sold well in Phoenix, Ariz., the management used GIS to examine the sales fluctuations and customer profiles in both areas and confidently concluded that the poor performance of the program in Austin was due to the characteristics of the people in Austin versus Phoenix and not the quality of the breakfast program. The management closed the program in Austin and continued it in Phoenix.

Map by Photogrammetry

The base map for GIS can be created using photogrammetry, the process of surveying or measuring by taking aerial photographs of the region to be mapped. "This produces a black-and-white image," stated exhibitor Peter Archibald, manager of marketing and product applications of PCI Remote Sensing Corporation of Toronto, Canada. "Then you fit photos into a mosaic and look at this with a high-resolution scanner to get a digital photo. This image becomes a reference from which to create maps."

Information such as street names, customer data, or ZIP codes is "layered" to this reference, or base, map. With the MapInfo data model, these layers are derived from different file formats and can be applied to a single base map.

"Information is constantly added to these maps by government at all levels, and hopefully will be collated" commented exhibitor Gary Happe, vice president and Northeast regional manager of Aerial Data Reduction Associates, Inc. in Pennsauken, N.J. "Utilities also feed information and businesses can tap this," he added. Terry Strasser of the New York State Reference Library Services has worked with GIS for three years to make geographic data more available to the public.

Examples abound: Information such as the teacher/pupil ratio in a capital district school district, the percent employment change by county for 1985-92, and a map of off-track betting (OTB) by city for the New York State Racing and Wagering Board has been prepared. Strasser also made TIGER (Topologically Integrated Geographical Encoding and Referencing) more manageable with GIS. TIGER files were prepared to conduct the 1990 U.S. Census of Population and Housing. TIGER Version 5 files include street names, highways, highway names, bridges, town and city boundaries, water features, and railroad tracks. Every U.S. county is covered by a TIGER file.

GIS in Records Management

New York is investigating additional ways to use GIS, such as in records management, and offers grants to local governments for such projects. The New York State Government-Information Locator Service, an Internet resource operated by the State Library and the State Archives and Records Administration (SARA), wishes to use GIS to provide a comprehensive directory of New York.

Ann DeCaterino, project support manager for the Center for Technology in Government, and Larry Alber, manager of GIS for the Department of Environmental Conservation, discussed the Prototype NYS Geographic Data Clearinghouse, a "repository of spatial data and metadata (data about data) accessible over the Internet to any user." This clearinghouse is set up to prevent unnecessary GIS investment in New York state. Metadata provides a common reference for data users. DeCaterino suggested that interested businesses telephone the Center for Technology in Government at (518)442-3892 for brochures and mailings.

Kristine Kelley, research associate for the Center for Technology in Government, described her research for the development of a coordinating body for GIS in New York state. Her work showed that most states have such a body which is funded by amounts ranging from a thousand to a million dollars. New York has formed a temporary council to review issues related to GIS. Kelley also gathered opinions from New York GIS users as to what they felt the coordinating body should be.

GIS has been used in New York to study the geographic distribution of lead poisoning in children, make decisions in forest management, prepare tax maps, study timber rattlesnakes, and examine pollution in Onondaga Lake. GIS has been used also to prepare for the economic consequences of a natural disaster, such as the collapse of Akzo's Retsof Mine in Livingston County in March 994 as water intruded, more than 1,000 feet below ground level, into the southern end of the mine. Water dissolved the salt bridging across working galleries, causing the ceilings to give way in that section of the mine. (Though seismologically minor in intensity--3.6 on the Richter scale--the event produced a sinkhole at the surface, which could be picked up by GIS technology.) The north galleries continued production until September of this year, stockpiling rock salt to carry the company over until another mine begins operation a few miles away.

New York has received support (often voluntary) from GIS vendors in its educational efforts. NYSEG (New York State Electric & Gas Corp.) is helping the Southern Tier counties with funding for GIS, and they are sharing the data, according to Michael Stoogenke of GeoSource in East Syracuse. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. has cooperated with the Adirondack Park Agency and with the Northern Saratoga County Economic Development Task Force to produce and share digital tax-map data.

GIS Software

Exhibitors interviewed stated that GIS software is marketed by conferences, word-of-mouth, and in publications such as GIS World, GeoInfo Systems, GIS Europe, Business Geographics, and some PC magazines. Chuck Pietra, president of MicroCAD Managers in Liverpool, has written articles in CADalyst and CADENCE, describing how ESRI's AutoCAD software combines GIS and CAD technologies. GIS information is in most libraries, especially university libraries, and can be accessed using the World Wide Web of the Internet. GIS World, Inc. sponsors an annual GIS in Business Conference; information on this is available from Kimberly 1. Parker at (303)223-4848.

The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS), a co-sponsor of the conference, "seeks to advance mapping sciences through the use of photogrammetry and the advanced image-processing technology usually associated with satellite or airborne imaging," stated Ed Freeborn, vice-president of the Central New York chapter of this society. Membership information is available by telephoning (315)470-6750, he added. The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA), a group of professionals in local government, consulting, academics, and information-systems manufacture and development, promotes the application of information systems in decision-making for both the public and private sectors. Membership information is available by telephoning (202)289-1685.

GIS has seen a 10- to 30-percent growth per year for the past 15 years, according to Peter Archibald. "We are at a turning point, where technology is available to everybody; we are riding on the back of the Internet. Our experts feel that this is going to develop into transaction-based processing, where you pay as you go with your PC rather than pay at one time for expensive software."

Fred Wilson is a freelance writer in Syracuse

Copyright Central New York Business Journal Nov 13, 1995
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved