November 16, 2006
By Anish Abraham
JOBURG kicked off International Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day in style with a breakfast for their most valued geographic data users.
These included representatives from other City departments, municipal-owned entities and private business. International GIS Day is held on 15 November.
A major achievement the City was celebrating was its implementation of a redesigned, easier to use website containing geographic information about Johannesburg.
Image taken at 20cm resolution, used in the latest aerial photographs
"We are among the few municipalities that have GIS online," said Marcelle Hattingh, the director of the City's Corporate GIS (CGIS) unit. "I think that even compared to those that do, we have a much more user-friendly system."
She said Joburg introduced the service as it encountered demand from residents for geographic information specific to the city. "As far as I know, we are also the only municipality providing more detailed geographic information data online through a subscription service."
The unit was well rewarded for the excellent work it did, she told the breakfast guests. Recently it had won an ESRI award in the United States and was runner up in the IT category in the Centre for Public Service Innovation Awards.
"We are so proud of the ESRI award. We were selected from over 100 000 websites, being the only one from South Africa and only one of three chosen from the entire continent," she said.
CGIS also unveiled a new land information system at the function, a break-through technology for the City that brings together information on various databases. This ensures a single point of access to geographic and spatial information. It includes information regarding title deeds, GIS, valuations and the development application system.
The land information system ensures integration of data that at present sit in various databases across the city; it also ensures that there is one property database for Auditor-General queries; and it enables users to identify development trends in the city.
"Reliable property information is a prerequisite for a credible billing system," said Maretha van Wyk, the acting deputy director for data administration and mapping.
She told current and potential clients that the unit was busy with the data clean-up process – eliminating spelling errors, wrong codes and missing records to ensure remaining data were as accurate as possible.
CGIS was also updating a database of more than 60 000 stands that had multiple street addresses because of their size. In trying to obtain the correct address being used, the unit would use information from its own databases and from the City's utilities, as well as from commercial databases if needed.
"We hope to have resolved up to 98 percent of the mistakes by the end of [November]. The aim is to have data of such quality that residents can eventually get zoning certificates off the website," Van Wyk said.
Apart from providing the information on the website, CGIS also trains people how to make best use of the website. It is thought to be in the best interests of users to train them to make full use of the website, rather than simply using it to print maps. At present, it is training staff at Joburg's People Centres so that residents from individual regions will not have to travel to Braamfontein each time they need geographic information.
Another improvement for CGIS is the higher resolution of the maps available through the subscriber section of the website, with resolutions being increased from 25cm to 20cm. Aerial photographs of the city, taken in April and May, are now sharper and clearer. They give a bird's eye view of all the developments taking place in Joburg.
Image taken at 25cm resolution, as used previously by CGIS
The unit also provides information gained through light detection and ranging (Lidar) methods, enabling City officials and private developers to create three-dimensional images of various areas in the city.
Chris Wray, the deputy director for systems administration and development, said the unit was busy working to create a three-dimensional model of the inner city using Lidar information; it should be completed by the end of the year.
"I am pleased to say that the new aerial photographs are already available on the website to subscribers. We are looking into making the information available on the free site in due course," Wray added.
Ending the function, Hattingh outlined six values that were vital to the success of the unit: customer focus, accessible information, quality, innovation, efficiency and professional staff.
"We would especially like to thank our valued clients for their ongoing support and for providing us with direction and critique," she said.
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