Towards Dynamic Land-Use Planning Using Geospatial Technology: Conceptual Design of a Collaborative Web-based GIS

This article presents the conceptual design of a collaborative web-based Geographic Information System (GIS) for land use planning in which all parties including land use planners, applicants/developers, and community stakeholders can participate. The approach employs three-tier architecture built in a Java client-server environment, and consists of the ESRI ArcGIS 9.2® Server Advanced Edition and MySQL relational database. The ESRI ArcGIS 9.2® Server Advanced Edition includes a collection of advanced web applications and services. This server edition can be used for web-based delivery of GIS information, hosting GIS web portals, processing of enterprise GIS databases, and distributed GIS data management and analysis. MySQL is a freeware, multi-user SQL Database Management System (DBMS), which is easy to learn than most database applications and is very popular for web applications. Using the system, users can log on and see the proposed site plans overlaid with sensitive environmental areas of concern, new zoning layer, drainage infrastructure, and they can post their comments and concerns. Real stakeholders can interactively post comments, concerns, and create mark-ups on the maps to reference areas of concern. The main applet will have controls so that everyone can view, but only real stakeholders can edit and add comments and mark-ups. The system helps to create a resilient user community that is more environmentally conscious and promote overall process of land use planning that is collaborative and transparent.