The use of GIS in Brownfield redevelopment

In recent years, the issue of Brownfield site development - the re-use of previously used urban land - has gained a significant place in the planning agenda. However, not all Brownfield sites are derelict or contaminated land, some are significant as environmental amenities - be it part of wider ecosystem or a green area for the local population. The growing concern to include environmental aspects into the public debate have lead the Environment Agency, the Jackson Environment Institute and the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis to commission a short term pilot study to evaluate the contribution of a GIS for decision support and for "discussion support".In this paper, we describe how the state-of-the-art in geographic information (GI) and GI Science (GISc) can be used in a short term and limited project to achieve a practical and usable system. We are drawing on developments in information availability, as made accessible through the World Wide Web and research themes in GISc ranging from Multimedia GIS to Public Participation GIS

Geoinformation, Geotechnology, and Geoplanning in the 1990s

Over the last decade, there have been some significant changes in the geographic information available to support those involved in spatial planning and policy-making in different contexts. Moreover, developments have occurred apace in the technology with which to handle geoinformation. This paper provides an overview of trends during the 1990s in data provision, in the technology required to manipulate and analyse spatial information, and in the domain of planning where applications of computer technology in the processing of geodata are prominent. It draws largely on experience in western Europe, and in the UK and the Netherlands in particular, and suggests that there are a number of pressures for a strengthened role for geotechnology in geoplanning in the years ahead

Systems for the Nineties - Distributed Multimedia Systems

We live at the dawn of the information age. The capabilities of computers to store and look up information are only just beginning to be exploited. As little as ten years ago, practically all the information stored in computers was entered and retrieved in the form of text. Today, we are just starting to use other means of communicating information between people and machines -- computers can now scan images, they can record sound, they can produce synthesized speech, and they can show two- and three-dimensional images of spatial data. The realization that we are still at the beginning of the information age comes when we notice the vast difference between the way in which people interact with each other and the way in which people can interact with (or through) machines. When people communicate, they tend to use speech, gestures, touch, even smell; they draw pictures on the white board, they use text, pictures, photos, graphs, sometimes even video presentations. nterpersonal communication is truly multimedia communication in that it makes use of all our senses

A survey of current trends in incorporating virtual reality and geographical information systems

The paper describes the results of a comprehensive literature and Internet survey on current trends in virtual Reality GIS (VRGIS). In the first part of the paper, a background of VRGIS is set, followed by the description and classification of the main research areas which focus in VRGIS research with an attempt to clarify the reasons that led the researchers to pursue a VR solution for the specific problems in their research field. Based on the observations from the current practice, the main definitions of VRGIS are discussed in the third section. Finally, future directions and possibilities for development are drawn

Multi-service management in a multi-provider environment

As the spread of digital networks makes access to data communications globally available, the interest of communication service providers is switching away from the provision of these bearer networks and towards the provision of the value added services that will operate over them. At the same time the liberalisation of telecommunication markets is precipitating a dramatic change in the profile of communication service providers. In this complex telecommunications markets the open management, not only of the networks, but of the services themselves will become increasingly important. The large number and diversity of roles of the market players makes the management of inter-organisational relationships fundamentally important to the management of services. The ITU's series of recommendations on the telecommunication management network (TMN) provides a basis for inter-domain management, however, this and other standards have so far concentrated on the management of individual network components and of networks operated by single organisations. This paper provides an initial example of how the management of multiple services in a complex multi-player market can be modelled using TMN techniques for implementation on existing management platforms. The paper begins by briefly outlining current work in this field before describing aspects of this multi-player multi-service management problem and how they can be modelled and implemented in a real system

A Survey of Current Trends in Incorporating Virtual Reality and GIS

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