DATA EXCHANGE: Advances in digital mapping, file compatibility and web-based applications, such as Google Maps, are helping to make geographical information systems (GIS) an essential tool for managing traffic

摘要

Investment in software and new technology is typically one of the first areas to bear the brunt of spending cuts in troubled financial times. But talk to delegates at the recent GIS in Transportation event in Oklahoma City, USA (April 5-8), and you'll find that interest in (and spending on) GIS for transport applications is growing at an unprecedented level. This is confirmed by James E. Mitchell, IT GIS manager at the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development, who says, "I don't think it [the recession] has much effect. In fact, it might increase the use of GIS as a way to automate many analysis processes and do various workflows more efficiently."