C a s e S t u d y
Development of a GIS in Pazardzik
Summary
The
n Scanned images of the maps of the communities within the municipality.
n Available surface and underground cadastral maps, including cadastral registries, created in a digital format from direct measurements.
n Digitized scanned images of surface and underground cadastral maps, including cadastral registries, for which no direct measurements exist in digital format.
n Existing digital zoning and development plans for parts of the communities within the municipality.
n Effective zoning and development plans for the communities within the municipality, digitized from drawings.
n Digital development plans of agricultural lands and forests, including the cadastral registries, with the permission of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests.
n Development plans for the former agricultural areas (digital or digitized from scanned images), including the cadastral registries, with the permission of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests.
n Addresses of registered property owners, with the permission of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works.
n Available digital and digitized work development plans for parts of the communities within the municipality.
Problem Statement
The municipality's cadastral maps, cadastral registries, and zoning plans are entered and updated manually. Cadastral maps and zoning plans, including data from the cadastral registries for physical and legal entities, are drawn by hand, as was done 50 years ago. This process is labor intensive, and involves errors and physical deterioration of paper maps, zoning plans, and lists. Also, it is physically impossible to keep all data - cadastral maps, cadastral registries, zoning plans, and development plans - in the same place. The municipality issues permits for new designs with reference to the type of development incorporated in the development plans. This is also labor intensive and involves physical deterioration of the hard-copy plans. The manual process hinders managerial decision making related to the territorial development of the municipality, as it is difficult both to blend the individual maps into a common view and to separate unnecessary from necessary information.
Project Description and Implementation Timeline
We started by establishing a GIS coordination group. Our West Bend partners shared with the group their knowledge of typical procedures for implementing a GIS:
1. Determine benefit to the municipality and all affected organizations and establish long-term goals for the GIS:
n Review literature on applications
n Examine other installations
n Attend demonstrations of vendors
n Examine current municipal practices for inefficiencies.
2. Develop a proposal for the GIS for approval by the municipal authority:
n Identify benefits
n Identify program needs for funding and labor
n Establish implementation method (outsource, in-house, cooperative with others)
n Obtain official endorsement/approvals
n Establish funding sources
n Consider external agency involvement/partnership.
3. Establish a guiding authority comprised of representatives of key departments to provide program guidance and establish interdepartmental policies. Identify the technical implementation team and GIS Manager.
4. Perform a needs analysis to determine data needs and design:
n Survey all departments to be served
n Interview representatives of other stakeholders, such as utilities and other agencies, for data needs
n Establish desired layers of information
n Prioritize layers
¨ based on immediate goals/needs
¨ foundational components first (spatial control, key references such as parcels, hydro, jurisdictional lines, etc.)
¨ create data definitions for all data fields.
5. Evaluate and select software by considering:
¨ Primary system purpose versus software capability
¨ Ease of use for both entry of data and user access
¨ Software (initial and maintenance) costs and dependability of supplier
¨ Openness of data architecture
¨ Hardware and operating system costs and east of use/maintenance
¨ Consistency with other agencies' use
¨ Integration capabilities with new technology (e.g., Web based, global positioning systems).
6. Train key technical staff and departmental users.
7. Design information models:
n Based on data purpose, user needs, and ease of maintenance
n Establish data entry procedures
n Create "metadata" (information documenting data).
8. Perform data entry and quality control on layers in order of priority.
9. Implement maintenance procedures as each layer is completed.
10. Integrate GIS usage within departments' daily functions in accordance with the original GIS proposal.
During the first visit of West Bend experts to Pazardjik, the work group for the GIS project developed a needs assessment questionnaire. We mailed the questionnaire to municipal directors, utility managers, and managers in the private sector, and then we held meetings with the management of com panies that would be the major users of the GIS. The work group analyzed the responses and identified the main layers. Our West Bend partners then evaluated the proposed layers; upon getting their approval in principle, our team began collecting the data and structuring the layers.
We undertook the following tasks in developing Pazardjik's GIS:
n Develop and adopt a GIS development concept for the municipality of Pazardjik.
n Purchase and install adequate software and provide needed hardware.
n Identify layers and sub-layers in which data will be entered.
n Establish a work group to enter, update, and maintain the data.
n Collect available digital cadastral maps, paper maps, zoning plans, and development plans.
n Send letters to the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, requesting access to the development plans of agricultural lands, forests, and former agricultural areas, and access to the address data of all registered property owners.
n Scan paper maps and digitize cadastral map images for all communities where direct measurements in digital format are not available.
n Migrate the digital and the digitized cadastral data.
n Enter the available digital zoning and development plans.
n Draw existing streets in the communities within the municipality.
n Design courtyard zoning in the communities, consistent with paragraph 8 of the Territorial Development Act; publicize and adopt the design.
n Draw the effective development plans of the communities.
n Enter the digital development plans of agricultural lands, forests, and former agricultural areas if provided by the Ministry of Agricultural and Forests.
n Scan and digitize non-digital lot plans of former agricultural areas if provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests.
n Enter address registration data on property owners if provided by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works.
n Structure GIS maintenance and update.
n Structure Internet access to the GIS.
Solutions Overview and Specific Results
We accomplished the following by April 20, 2002:
n We established a GIS coordination group, chaired by Mr. Daniel Mirchev. The group is exchanging information with our West Bend counterparts on an ongoing basis.
n We conducted a needs assessment of GIS development problems, needs, and opportunities.
n We created and adopted a GIS development concept and discussed it with the West Bend experts during their visits to Pazardjik.
n We purchased GIS software, CadIS. We presented the software to Mr. Mark Piotrowitz during the April 2002, visit to Pazardjik, and the joint GIS work group approved the software.
n We decided on the final layers and sub-layers.
n We chose Mr. Ognyan Vassilev to chair the work group that will enter, update, and maintain the GIS data. At a meeting with Mr. Piotrowitz, Mr. Vassilev presented his personal views on the development and maintenance of Pazardjik's GIS.
n We scanned and digitized the paper maps of 25 villages. We applied the same process to the sections of Pazardjik where no direct measurements exist in a digital format.
n We merged all digital and digitized cadastral data for Pazardjik and 25 villages.
The following tasks are scheduled to be completed by June 20, 2002:
n Scan the paper maps of the remaining six villages and digitize the images.
n Install the purchased software in three workplaces.
n Enter the available paper map data to fill in the cadastral maps.
n Complete the entire surface and underground cadastre, street and courtyard regulation, and newly planned development in an individual part of Pazardjik for which there is a digital cadastre based on direct geodesic measurements.
In the further stages of GIS development, we will complete the GIS for individual parts of Pazardjik and some villages, depending on the availability of data. It is expected that by
Benefits and Conclusion
The development of Pazardjik's GIS began successfully. Even though we have financial constraints, the software and hardware are not state-of-the-art, the national GIS concept is unclear, and there are legislative obstacles that hinder the access to information, the members of the GIS development team are doing their best to complete the project.
The development of Pazardjik's GIS will enhance and modernize the functioning of the muni cipal technical office, which will result in the delivery of better services. We will be able to provide timely and needed support to the utility companies, the fire and police departments, the civil protection department, and the tax and legal authorities.
The development of the GIS will also lessen the burden on other units within the municipal administration and will allow us to make quick, informed management decisions related to territorial development, infrastructure
