Infrastructure Engineering - Research Publications

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    Spatial Data Integration Challenges: Australian Case Studies
    MOHAMMADI, H ; RAJABIFARD, A ; BINNS, A ; WILLIAMSON, I (Spatial Sciences Institute, 2007)
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    What will motivate local governments to share spatial information
    McDougall, K. ; Rajabifard, A. ; Williamson, I. P. ( 2005)
    Local government is a rich source of accurate and detailed spatial information which is utilised not only at the local level but increasingly at other levels of government. To build the spatial data infrastructure (SDI) at a state and national level, the role of local governments and their motivation to participate in the sharing of spatial information must be better understood. Although institutional problems still present some of the greatest challenges in building multi-jurisdictional SDIs, the technical and physical capacity of the smaller jurisdictions can impact on their ability to participate with larger and usually better resourced jurisdictions.In recent years partnerships have emerged as a useful mechanism for establishing a framework and environment conducive to data sharing. However, unless the partnership arrangements are carefully designed and managed to meet the business objectives of each partner, then it is unlikely that they will be sustainable in the longer term. This paper outlines research being conducted on the factors that contribute to the success of local-state government partnerships initiatives in Australia. The research methodology, which consists of mixed method approach utilising case studies and a qualitative survey of local government experiences in partnerships arrangements will be discussed. The case studies based in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania focus on the arrangements to share property related information and reflect a variety of collaborative approaches. Some initial findings of the research will be presented and their possible implication to future partnership initiatives will be discussed.
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    What Will Motivate Local Governments to Share Spatial Information?
    MCDOUGALL, K ; Rajabifard, A ; WILLIAMSON, IP (Spatial Sciences Institute, 2005)
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    Land administration and Spatial Data Infrastructures
    Williamson, I. P. ; Grant, D. ; Rajabifard, A. ( 2005)
    Internationally the spatial data infrastructure (SDI) concept has focussed on national SDIs.However SDIs are increasingly focussing on large scale people relevant data (land parcelbased data or build environmental data) with the result that today it is suggested most SDIactivity worldwide is at this level. A central aspect in understanding these developments isthe evolution of mapping, and the growth of land administration systems and nationalmapping initiatives in different countries.The objective of this paper is to discuss the evolving nature of SDIs away from a simplenational concept to a complex hierarchy where large scale SDIs are the major influence. Thepaper concludes with a discussion of policy development and the impact of institutionalarrangements in managing spatial information.
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    Making the SDI concept relevant to Asia-Pacific countries: the PCGIAP experience
    HOLLAND, PETER ; WILLIAMSON, IAN ; RAJABIFARD, ABBAS ; Manning, John ( 2005)
    Development of regional spatial data infrastructures (SDI) is one of the distinctive features ofthe last decade. This is mainly due to the need for seamless consistent spatial data beyondnational boundaries to support decision-making at a multi-national level. The development ofthese regional initiatives began with the creation of regional SDI coordination groups such asthe Permanent Committee for GIS Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific (PCGIAP), formedin 1995 under the auspices of the United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asiaand the Pacific (UNRCC-AP).The aims of the PCGIAP are to maximise the economic, social and environmental benefits ofgeographic information in accordance with Agenda 21 by providing a forum for nations fromthe Asia and Pacific region (the largest region in the world) to:Share experiences and cooperate in the development of a regional SDI;Contribute to the development of the global SDI; and,Participate in any other form of activity such as education, training, and technologytransfer at different jurisdictional levels.Over the past ten years, the PCGIAP has confronted a number of issues associated withbuilding a regional SDI. The group has also assisted member nations in their national SDIinitiatives.This paper describes some of the experiences of the PCGIAP, in particular:The establishment of a new geodetic datum for the region;The benchmarking of cadastral systems;The conceptualization of a framework for marine zone administration in the future; and,The strategic issues confronting the PCGIAP at the start of its 2nd decade of operation.
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    Development of a Virtual Australia Utilising an SDI Enabled Platform
    Rajabifard, A. ; Binns, A. ; Williamson, I. P. ( 2005)
    Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) which is an evolving concept and can be viewed as anenabling platform linking data producers, providers and value adders to data users. With thisin mind, many nations and jurisdictions are investing in developing such platforms andinfrastructures that enable their stakeholders to work together in a more mutual approach tocreate distributed virtual systems that support better decision-making. The success of thesesystems depend on collaboration between all parties and need to be designed to supportefficient access, retrieval and delivery of spatial information to where it is needed.Within Australia, through the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRC-SI),there is a vision to provide a single entry point to SI, modeling and visualization tools, makingspatial information available and useful to all - at any time and in any place. This requires theseamless integration of SDIs at different levels including state and national to form a virtualjurisdiction such as Virtual Australia, providing a foundation for identifying best practice andkey performance indicators of SDIs in terms of their policy, technology and institutionalframeworks.This paper will discuss how SDIs can be used as an enabling platform in the construction anddelivery of a Virtual Australia, based on the SDI hierarchy model where data flows withminimal impediments within and between state and federal/national levels. The benefits ofVirtual Australia will be more than just the representation of feature based structures of theworld, it will also include the administration and institutional aspects of such features,enabling both technical and institutional aspects to be incorporated into decision-making. Thisis an aspect of research identified as more challenging than complex technical issues.
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    Development of a Virtual Australia Utilising an SDI Enabled Platform
    Rajabifard, A. ; Binns, A. ; Williamson, I. P. ( 2005)
    Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) which is an evolving concept and can be viewed as anenabling platform linking data producers, providers and value adders to data users. With thisin mind, many nations and jurisdictions are investing in developing such platforms andinfrastructures that enable their stakeholders to work together in a more mutual approach tocreate distributed virtual systems that support better decision-making. The success of thesesystems depend on collaboration between all parties and need to be designed to supportefficient access, retrieval and delivery of spatial information to where it is needed.Within Australia, through the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRC-SI),there is a vision to provide a single entry point to SI, modeling and visualization tools, makingspatial information available and useful to all – at any time and in any place. This requires theseamless integration of SDIs at different levels including state and national to form a virtualjurisdiction such as Virtual Australia, providing a foundation for identifying best practice andkey performance indicators of SDIs in terms of their policy, technology and institutionalframeworks.This paper will discuss how SDIs can be used as an enabling platform in the construction anddelivery of a Virtual Australia, based on the SDI hierarchy model where data flows withminimal impediments within and between state and federal/national levels. The benefits ofVirtual Australia will be more than just the representation of feature based structures of theworld, it will also include the administration and institutional aspects of such features,enabling both technical and institutional aspects to be incorporated into decision-making. Thisis an aspect of research identified as more challenging than complex technical issues.
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    National land information infrastructure through a collaborative framework
    Marwick, Brian ; RAJABIFARD, ABBAS ; Kalantari, Mohsen ; WILLIAMSON, IAN (International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), 2012)
    Australia is being faced with issues which demand a national focus. These issues include natural resource management, land markets, trading in commodities such as water and carbon, and the development of national policies for housing and infrastructure. Businesses also are demanding a more national approach as an increasing number of businesses now operate nationally. This is reflected in the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures which show the number of businesses operating in all states and territories increased by 70% between 2003 and 2007. Over the past several years considerable effort has been directed by the Australian Government towards the development of a “seamless economy” to improve productivity across its federated system of government. In this environment, Land administration in Australia is also jurisdictionally based with no national infrastructure capable of delivering the land information necessary to meet Australia’s needs. In the past, this jurisdictional based approach to land administration has satisfactorily served Australia in an environment where the vast amount of service delivery by both business and government was state focused. Each jurisdiction has taken advantage of the ongoing technological developments to enhance their respective systems and it would appear that many of the needs at a jurisdictional level continue to be met. Whilst land administration has not featured specifically in this reform several of the nominated projects involved land in some form. To respond to the national drivers, this paper aims to introduce a collaborative framework for the implementation of a national land administration infrastructure which relies on the state and territory based systems as its primary source of information.
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    Critical issues in global geographic information management - with a detailed focused on data integration and interoperability of systems and data
    RAJABIFARD, ABBAS ( 2010)
    The GSDI Association continues its support for the United Nations for taking the initiative on this critical global geographic information issue; and is willing to contribute to new arrangements to improve global geographic information management. The role of the GSDI Association, in essence, is to facilitate better global outcomes through utilisation of geographic information and spatial data infrastructures (SDIs). This role directly complements the proposal to establish a United Nations Committee on Global Geographic Information Management (UNCGGIM). The GSDI Association's view of the changes now taking place in the geographic information world and these changes exemplify convergence of technologies and disciplines. These changes need to be influenced where appropriate, and leveraged, by the global geographic information community, particularly by the United Nations. This paper presents some views related to the “critical issues in global geographic information management” and in particular a response to the following issues: - Governance: is global governance relevant and necessary? - Interoperability of systems and data - Data integration and layering, and - Capacity building and technology transfer In responding to these issues, the paper however provides a more detailed discussions on “interoperability of systems and data” and “data integration” in particular the technical and non-technical issues and heterogeneity associated with multi-sourced spatial data integration in the context of SDI.
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    Geospatial strategic planning for Isfahan municipality
    Sadeghi, Morteza ; Panah, Homayoon Yazdan ; Hosseini, Ali ; Sabagh, Mahmood ; RAJABIFARD, ABBAS (Leuven University Press, 2010)
    Nowadays, globalization and rapid changes in developing countries affect the behavior and culture of people. Adapting to these changes is the vital means to remain in the competition of being a developed society. One of the most important changes is the relationship between humans and land which have evolved by way of many parameters such as globalization, urbanization, technological and economic reforms. In order to be able to adapt this changing relationship it is required to enable societies by developing new infrastructures and tools. Strategic planning is a key concept for effective and successful development of these infrastructures and tools which have to be considered by the governments and decision makers. The municipality of Isfahan, a metropolitan city in the central part of the Iran, in 2006 established a strategic plan for spatial data and services infrastructure and its first revision and evaluation has been done in 2009. This paper describing the principals of spatial strategic planning in multi-unit organizations, such as municipalities, the results of establishing this strategic plan in Isfahan municipality is also presented. The geospatial strategic plan in this project had four stages including comparative studies, investigating high level related documents, developing visions and missions and designing GIS strategic plan using SWOT analysis. In this study, major strategies and policies are proposed in the domains of Geospatial Businesses (GB), Geospatial Systems and Services (GSS), Geospatial Data (GD) and Geospatial Information Technology (GIT). In order to achieve the high level performance, different infrastructure components for enabling geospatial businesses, projects for geospatial enabling systems and services, projects for enabling geospatial data acquisition and different projects for enabling geospatial information technology are proposed. Concentrating on spatial data and service infrastructures and capacity building, an evaluation of an ongoing plan has also been done to check the compliance of that with the new changes and conditions. The evaluation illustrates that the plan leads to better realizing spatially enabling Isfahan municipality to deliver better services to its citizens.