Geographic Information System Applications in the Public Sector

Geographic information systems emerged in the 1970s and have become a significant decision-making tool as their capabilities have been enhanced. This chapter discusses various GIS applications and highlights issues that public managers should consider when evaluating implementation of a geographic information system. GIS applications provide benefits at the planning level by producing maps efficiently, and at the management decision-making level through an ability to geographically display important information for policy-level decisions. While GIS analysis can be a powerful tool, there are a number of issues that pubic managers should consider in order to achieve effective implementation and use of geographic information systems.