Greenwich Bay and Its Watershed: Spatial Data for Planning and EnvironmentalManagement

摘要

It is impossible to make responsible land management decisions without currentand accurate data about the environment. In a municipal planning context, the fundamental unit of land management is the individual parcel of property defined by plat and lot boundaries. Land use activities on individual parcels can collectively cause significant impact to the environment. For example, leachate emanating from failed septic systems on individual parcels contributes to the nutrient enrichment of Greenwich Bay. The slow incursion of development on individual parcels nibbles away at forest and wetland habitats that support biodiversity. For informed and effective decision-making, the land manager must have an integrated picture of how individual parcels of land are used, their geomorphological setting (soil, slope, aspect), and the legal and environmental constraints to potential land uses. The information management technology that is used to integrate and assess spatial (map) data are geographic information systems (GIS). The baseline data required to develop a land management system of parcel-level accuracy are not, however, readily available. The objectives of our project were to (1) design and develop a prototype GIS database that would give planners, environmental scientists, and engineers information with sufficient breadth and detail to make informed decisions for land use management; and (2) assess the strengths and weaknesses of the prototype database and recommend a data system that could be implemented for the city of Warwick, R.I.