| Interesting comments made on pages 18 & 19 of this
report - reference to GIS and usable information/data available to Emergency
First Responders. This technology is now available to emergency responders
in industry.
Spatial data and geographic analysis
“The spatial element enables data tha you have to be brought to that
higher level [of usefulness] by being able to integrate it, analyze
it, and present it in ways that you just can’t do conventionally.”
Interviewees pointed out that an emergency is almost always a spatial
event. Consequently, mapping and geographic data analysis were crucial
to response and recovery efforts, and to providing public information.
The visual aspects of spatial data make it remarkably versatile and
suitable for a wide variety of audiences, including expert analysts,
emergency response teams, policy makers, and citizens. The use of maps
to convey status and safety information is one of the unquestionable
success stories of the response.
Spatial data provides a comprehensive view of many different attributes
of the geographical region impacted by the emergency such as physical
geography, critical infrastructure, building footprints, transportation
routes, and demographic characteristics. These types of information
can be geo-coded (associated with an exact place) which then allows
them to be combined, compared, correlated, or integrated to produce
new information.
According to one participant, the experience of using spatial data
“led us to profoundly understand the importance of place and location
and organizing data according to spatial attributes because then the
data makes more sense from it being combined.” Geographic information
systems (GIS) and location-based information services on the Web emerged
as the most versatile analytical tool associated with the response.
"Information, Technology and Coordination: Lessons from the World
Trade Center Response.
University at Albany, SUNY, Center for Technology in Government. 2004. |
