GIS for Municipal Infrastructure Management: A Case Study

Author: Sebastian Albrecht
Organization: GDS & Associates Systems Ltd.

101 - 1965 West 4th
Vancouver, V6J 1M8
British Columbia, Canada

Phone: (604)734-8650
Fax: (604)734-8651
salbrecht@gds.ca

The City of Richmond required a GIS data browser to view existing municipality assets. The intention of the application was to assist in the day-to-day management of City infrastructure. Visual Basic and Esri's MapObjects technology were selected to develop this application due to their adaptability and low cost. The municipality also wanted to have a City-wide data set that would be as accurate and up-to-date as possible. They elected to collect GPS data of existing infrastructure and integrate private utility data obtained from industry. This paper addresses some of the issues involved in planning, developing, and implementing a municipal GIS browser-type application.