Spatially Oriented Information Systems for Planning and Decisionmaking in the Netherlands

During the last two decades attention to location-dependent information has greatly increased. Process planning and decisionmaking require the availability of relevant data and proper information to monitor development processes, to prepare alternative plans, and to analyse impacts. It has become clear that planners and politicians as well as decisionmakers do need a new way of presentation of information. The information required should be delivered not only quickly and efficiently, but also on thematic maps instead of as a pile of paperwork. The crucial element here is the spatial dimension, which must be the integrative basis of a relevant information system. After the introduction of the segment method as a basis for spatially oriented information systems it was used haphazardly in many countries in the nineteen seventies, particularly at national level. In the nineteen eighties these systems were also used for maintenance and control purposes at local level. In the Netherlands we are at the eve of the takeoff of nationally uniform applications of spatially oriented information systems at the local level. In this paper the political and administrative boundaries of the situation in the Netherlands is sketched. Although there is pressure for innovation it has taken a long time for a breakthrough, with a feasibility study in 1982 being followed by a cost-effectiveness study in 1983. In three different types of cities eight applications were made, in consultation with representatives of the local authorities of the municipalities concerned. In this paper the cases are described in outline with an emphasis on data processing, cartographic results, and cost-benefits. An outline of the planned activities for 1984 and 1985 in the Netherlands is then presented. It enables us to answer the question of who must be convinced to get spatially oriented information systems in operation: politicians or planners.