Mapping for Change: Using Geographic Information Systems for Community Development
Date Published: 12/01/2002
Author: LISC & PolicyLink
Publisher: LISC
Increasingly, LISC and our partners have been tapping into the power of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to convey information in a concise and compelling manner through maps and to analyze data geographically. Our experience to date has convinced us that GIS is a powerful tool for community development planning, advocacy, organizing, fundraising, and evaluation. However, we have also learned that the barriers to effectively using GIS - including access to technology, data, skilled users, and resources - are significant, and frequently underestimated by new users.
This report documents the many ways in which GIS is furthering community development efforts and to share the hard-won lessons of those who have pioneered the use of this technology in this field. Section I of the paper provides a brief background of GIS and describes the spectrum of GIS functions, which range from simply displaying data to analyzing it. Section II provides models and sample maps to illustrate how GIS is currently being used for planning, organizing, partnership building, and evaluation/marketing. Section III gives an overview of the importance of GIS to community development, and elaborates two detailed case studies to illustrate this point.
Topics: Housing, --Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Land Use & Planning, --Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Type: Topical report