Village of Wellington GIS

Geographic Information Systems..... seeing Wellington with new eyes...

About GIS

A popular definition describes a geographic information system (GIS) as "an organized collection of computer hardware, software, geographic data, and personnel designed to efficiently capture, store, update, manipulate, analyze, and display all forms of geographically referenced information." A shorter definition that's more to the point: "GIS uses computers and geography to help people better understand the world we live in, and solve problems."

Solving problems. That's what GIS is all about. GIS is a tool that people are using to make our world a better place to live.

Before GIS, the way people made decisions -- about forest conservation, for instance, or where to locate a new business or build an airport -- left a lot to be desired. They relied on traditional paper maps, printed statistical tables, and hand-drawn charts. Crucial documents were easily mislaid or worn out. The same maps and records were often maintained by separate departments-- wasting time, duplicating effort, and inviting error. Paper maps, tables, and charts were hard to keep up-to-date. And, even with the best paper maps, tables, and charts, people had to try to imagine how things really were.

The result was decisions based on poor information, that solved only part of a problem, or were just plain wrong. All the alternatives weren't considered because they couldn't be seen. To make things worse, the alternatives that were considered were often based on incomplete or bad data. It was as if people were looking at the world through a flawed lens.

GIS was the clear, powerful lens that managers and decision makers needed. GIS took those dusty, dog-eared paper maps, tables, and charts and digitized them so computers could store and manipulate them.  It then cross-referenced maps with other data, so any information in a table could instantly be seen on a map, and anything on a map could be studied just as fast in a table or chart. Suddenly, at the click of a button, people saw the world as never before.  Hidden relationships, patterns, and trends no one had noticed before were suddenly right there on computer screens and printed GIS maps. 

And GIS maps are smart. They link to other data like addresses, or to demographic information like income and education. Unlike old-fashioned maps, GIS maps dynamically change as the data they're based on changes. So the world they show always reflects the world as it really is--today, tomorrow, ten years from now. 

With GIS, you can combine and recombine map elements to reveal relationships, patterns, and trends. GIS gives you the tools to analyze these patterns: for finding where things are, measuring how far they are from each other, finding the best way to get there, and exploring how they relate to each other. 

Sure, imagination is still needed. But GIS, by automating everything that was tedious and time-wasting about managing geographic information, and because it can pose endless series of "what if..." scenarios, does the "imagining" for people, letting them concentrate on what's most important--weighing alternatives and making the right decisions. 

GIS Disclaimer