Citation

Hissong F, Couret C. Am. City Cty. 1999; 114(9): 5 p..

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Penton Media)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

After initially rejecting recommendations of a report on federal geographic information systems (GIS) activities, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbit recently told Congress that he supported the formation of a National Spatial Data Council and the implementation of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). Furthermore, he called for legislation to underpin the NSDI. The conversion is too little, too late, according to some local officials. Without significant previous federal leadership, local governments seized the GIS reins. As a result, officials question whether the federal government is familiar enough to set standards for data storage and sharing. At its best, NSDI presents an opportunity for officials at all levels to contribute to standards development and other elements of the NSDI. Success will be difficult, however, as turf wars threaten the NSDI's progress. Four sidebars highlight New York City's upgrades for GIS; a GIS project in Kent County, Michigan, that has linked more than 20 cities, townships, and municipal government organizations to achieve one of the largest, most comprehensive enterprise GIS implementations ever undertaken; a 1998 GIS project in Garrett County, Maryland, that now links centerline files and color digital images of the county's 700 mi (1,126 km) of roadway with maintenance records, state bridge inspections reports, and other associated data; and a Survey Control Database template created by the Washington Council of County Surveyors.