15 Uses of GIS in planning

15 Uses of GIS in planning

 

"GIS is an integrated system of computer hardware, software, and trained personnel linking topographic, demographic, utility, facility, image and other resource data that is geographically referenced. If you’ve ever used an Internet mapping program to find directions, congratulations, you’ve personally used GIS. The new supermarket chain on the corner was probably located using GIS to determine the most effective place to meet customer demand” (NASA GIS definition).

1. Telecom and network services: GIS plays an extremely important role in the telecoms and network services. It is used in planning, collecting, analyzing and storing the complex network designs that are needed to come up with a working architecture in the field of telecoms.

2. Urban planning: Urban planning is one of the most important uses of GIS in planning. It can be used to analyze the urban growth and its direction during expansion. This data can then be used to scale up the growth of the urban area and help avoid chaos that might be caused by congestion.

3. Transportation planning: GIS also comes in handy in the area of transportation. This is done especially where new transportation facilities need to be developed within an already congested city. GIS can be used to map out the areas where the facilities will be built so as to avoid congestion.

4. Environmental impact analysis: GIS plays an important role in the environmental impact analysis process. After the analysis, the data in GIS can then be used to inform policy that will be used to plan an area to reduce the human effects on the land which causes environmental degradation.

5. Agricultural planning: GIS plays an important role in agricultural planning. GIS can be used to provide information that can be used to plan what crops need to be grown in what areas of the farm depending on the soil structure and soil composition.

6. Land use planning: Land use planning will depend on the information provided by GIS in deciding which part of the land should be subjected to what land use. It becomes easier to know what crops will thrive on what part of the land and this helps in improving yields.

7. Surveying: GIS provides information about land that can be used during land surveying to determine the vastness of the land and the nature of the soil and the soil structure within the area. This also plays an important role in deciding what use the land will be put to.

8. Community development: GIS stores data that can be relevant in community development. The data can provide insights that can help inform the planning of the community land based on the needs of the community.

9. Fire equipment response analysis: GIS can be used to evaluate how far each portion of the street network is from a firehouse. This can be useful in evaluating the best location for a new firehouse or in determining how well the fire services cover particular areas for insurance ratings.

10. Energy use tracking and planning: GIS can also be used to track the usage of power and other sources of energy to ascertain how much power or energy is needed to satisfy the requirements of a given city or state.

11. Forest fires hazard zone mapping and planning: GIS can also provide data that can be used to map out zones that are prone to forest fires. When this is determined, prior arrangement and mitigating measures can then be put in place to reduce the effects of the forest fires. 
12. Traffic density planning: GIS can also provide information regarding the traffic density of a given city or road. This information can then be used to plan the city effectively with an aim of reducing traffic altogether. 

13. Space utilization planning: GIS is instrumental in providing information on space utilization. This also helps in planning how buildings and other features should be positioned which maintains sanity in urban areas. 

14. Disaster and business community planning: GIS can also provide data about disasters in a particular area. With this information, people can tell what areas are prone to disasters which helps them plan effectively.

15. Regional planning: GIS can also provide important data that can be used for regional planning especially in cases where different regions need to be put under different uses.