Posted: November 09, 2009 12:34:47 PST
In celebration of geographic information systems (GIS) Day, the City of Bellingham is hosting a GIS Day Open House on Wednesday, Nov. 18. This free community event takes place 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the lobby of Bellingham City Hall at 210 Lottie Street.
The open house will showcase CityIQ, a new software developed by City GIS staff that incorporates the City's GIS mapping and document search functions. CityIQ allows users to access zoning and neighborhood information, park and landmark locations, utility data, and high resolution aerial photos. GIS Day will introduce this powerful tool to the public, and everyone is invited to stop by, try it out and provide feedback. The city plans to make the application available on the city’s website near the end of 2009.
"At the City of Bellingham, GIS has grown into an application that is considered mission critical," said GIS/Technical Services Manager Don Burdick. "It is used by over one-quarter of our staff on a daily basis in departments such as Public Works, Planning, Parks, Police and Fire." Displays will also include recent maps created with GIS and staff will be on hand to answer questions.
Held each year on the Wednesday of National Geographic Society’s Geography Awareness Week (November 15–21, 2009), GIS Day is a global event that celebrates geographic information system (GIS), the innovative technology that uses geography to bring countless benefits to the world. The City of Bellingham’s Open House provides an opportunity for those curious about GIS to see its applications in action.
GIS is a computer-based mapping tool that takes information from a database about a location, such as streets, buildings, water features, and terrain, and turns it into visual layers. The ability to see geographic features on a map gives users a better understanding of a particular location, enabling planners, analysts, and others to make informed decisions about their communities.
GIS Day serves to make people aware of GIS technology and the important contributions it is making in the fields of science, technology, information, and the humanities. It is a grassroots event and a reflection of the enthusiasm and commitment of individual GIS users everywhere.
For more information, contact Don Burdick, GIS/Technical Services Manager, at 778-7700 or visit http://www.cob.org/services/maps/index.aspx.
GIS Day is principally sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the Association of American Geographers, the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science, the United States Geological Survey, the Library of Congress, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett–Packard, and ESRI.
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Media Contact:
Don Burdick, GIS/Technical Services Manager
Public Works Department
360.778.7700
dburdick@cob.org
