Track: Database Design and Automation
Diverse Views on What Is a Road, Conflicting Dialects in a Common Language, GIS
James CatlinThe advances in GIS have been enormous, yet the biggest challenge, making GIS central within complex public decision processes, still lies ahead. Perhaps the task of mapping a road using GIS seems trivial. However, social process can lead to differing, sometimes conflicting, interpretations of common GIS data. As this paper's example shows, what to one person is a highway is to another a trail. The social environment where GIS is used remains largely unknown. More sophisticated technology alone is unlikely to lead to GIS's success in social processes. The solution lies in designing the use of our common language, GIS, to equally and fairly describe diverse points of view.
James Catlin
The Wildlands Project
165 S. Main Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
USA
Telephone: (801) 328-3550
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E-mail: jcatlin@worldnet.att.net