Planning GIS
Planning GIS provides Geographic Information Services to planning projects for Gaston County Departments and municipal planning departments. This analysis and data management may contain but is not limited to demographics, growth analysis, boundary projections, zoning analysis and multi jurisdictional street roadway centerlines and address coordination. Currently the department is working on the following projects: Preparing for the 2010 Census Project, projecting building and population counts, mapping water and sewer service areas, county and municipal zoning and other projects related to the Department of Planning and Development Services.
Contact Information:
Planning GIS Manager 704.866.3907
Planning GIS Data Analyst 704.866.3770
Planning GIS Specialist III 704.866.3530
PlanningGIS@co.gaston.nc.us
For more information about Planning GIS, select from the following:
"What is GIS?"
This is probably the most asked question to those in the Geographic or Geospatial Information Services field and is probably the hardest to answer in a succinct and clear manner.
GIS is a rapidly growing technological field that incorporates graphic features with tabular data in order to assess real world problems. The GIS field began in the mid 1960's, with the discovery that maps could be programmed using simple code and then stored in a computer for future use. This was a welcome change from the era of hand cartography or mapping by hand. The earliest version of GIS was known as computer cartography and involved simple line work to represent land features. From that evolved the concept of overlaying various mapped features on top of each other to determine patterns and other spatial instances. The real power in GIS is through using spatial and statistical methods to analyze attributes and geographically referenced information.
Other quotes to answer "What is GIS? "
"In the strictest sense, a GIS is a computer system capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information, i.e. data identified according to their locations. Practitioners also regard the total GIS as including operating personnel and the data that go into the system." USGS http://www.usgs.gov/
"A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing things that exist and events that happen on earth. GIS technology integrates common database operations such as query and statistical analysis with the unique visualization and geographic analysis benefits offered by maps." ESRI http://www.gis.com/whatisgis/index.cfm
"GIS is an integrated system of computer hardware, software, and trained personnel linking topographic, demographic, utility, facility, image and other resource data that is geographically referenced." NASA http://gis-www.larc.nasa.gov/public/