Participation Conference

I post my reviews in the dicussion page try file but did not load. I ended up doing a copy and paste that is why it looks different. Then this posting.


Natural Habitat and Open Space Assessment
(Long Island Sound Stewardship System)

Bill Briles
GIS Applications
June 15, 2010

This is a case study using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) assessment tools to assist in making planning decision for the Long Island Sound. The goal was to promote a network of protected and reclaimed natural areas and parks along the Sound from New York City to Rhode Island. The key players in this process where:
· Regional Plan Association (RPA)
· Audubon Society New York
· Save the Sound
· U.S. Fish and Wildfire Service
· Public Stakeholders
The purpose of assessment was to provide a basis for evaluating public and recreation sites so that they would be included into the stewardship system. The assessment involved changing existing vector data bases into raster data bases. Then to use that data to generate composite maps.
This was a three step process:
· Establish the criteria to build the assessment on
· Resolving priority areas
· Accepting public comment
RPA was responsible for performing the assessments. There first step was to establish the criteria to be used. There was wide of range of data sets that could be used. RPA determined that there were three which were given priority:
· Existing parks and protected areas
· Unprotected open space
· Existing private recreation facilities, the public was using to access the Sound


Infrastructure Mapping for Planning and Maintenance
(New York City)
Bill Briles
GIS Applications
6-15-2010

The City of New York sewer system is very complicated having over 6,200 miles of sanitary sewer line, 300,000 manholes, 14 treatment plants, and thousands of other facilities. This system was administered by many different agencies. The records for the system were in many different formats stored in various locations. The majority of were asbuilts and contract plans. They had been prepared in many different types of media; however none were stored in a digital format.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection, DEP, was given the responsibility of the planning, contraction, and maintenance of the entire system. DEP with outside consultants after studying what type of documentation there was and how to integrate that with future development decieded that Geographic Information Systems, GIS, was the answer to store all of the existing data available. DEP also determine that records of all new projects could be stored and access in a GIS format.
In it investigation DEP determined that the best way to update the records and provide data to those persons needing information on the sewer facilities was using GIS. DEP developed over 100 applications that were used by over 11 Groups within DEP organization
DEP also realize that there GIS data could also interface with layers of data compiled by other Departments using GIS, Example of the various data that could be interface were land base maps, tax block, lots, and parcels. Orthophotos and any other information created using GIS software.