Geographers and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)  professionals around the world celebrate the importance of their professions and contributions to their communities and the world each year on GIS Day.  The 10th anniversary of GIS Day is November 19, 2008.  Although planners are typically not GIS experts, GIS and knowledge of geographic concepts are important qualities for governmental planners to possess.  In fact, planners can have academic degrees in a variety of fields including community planning, geography, sociology, public administration, economics, and others.  Each field is unique, but the number of fields encompassing planning suits the variety of community issues planners address.  GIS is an important tool that many planners utilize to assess these issues and relate technical information to decision makers and the public. 

Why does geography matter?
Geographers seek to understand how things happen and occur within a particular space.  Everything happens in some type of space, so geographers are trained to think spatially.  Spatial regions can vary tremendously and do not even need to happen on Earth.  A spatial area might include the intersection of Long Hollow Pike and New Shackle Island Road, Sumner County, the Southeast, North America, or a virtual world with user-created avatars.  They can range in scope and size.  Geography is important because everything that humans do occurs in some sort of space.  Studying these actions, interactions, relationships, or lack of relevance helps us understand ourselves and others.  Geographers study these concepts with a critical eye towards why these actions occur, how they occur, when they occur, and most importantly WHERE they occur.

Examples of Different Spatial Levels	Long Hollow Pike & New Shackle Island Road	Sumner County, Tennessee
The Southeast	North America	Virtual Worlds

Geography is evident in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election.  Television analysts talk of "red states and blue states" because voting results can be mapped across any spatial region.  Maps can be brought up showing how states and counties voted in 1996, 2000, and 2004 whether those locations voted the majority Democrat or Republican.  Analysts can assess how likely people are to vote in a particular state or county based on this historical information, current polls, number of people on the ground for a particular campaign, and crowds at political speeches.  Geography is the key to projecting how likely a candidate is to win.

What is GIS?
GIS stands for Geographic Information Systems.  GIS existed before the modern computer where geographers laid out mylars containing geographic information on top of one another to make maps.  GIS was adapted to modern technology fairly quickly.  Now, GIS acts as a decision support system composed of software on a computer that can pull various layers of geographic information that can be manipulated or analyzed in relationship to other layers of geographic information.  One may pull up Sumner County on a GIS as one layer, then another layer showing roads, and another layer showing hospital locations.  These layers will make a map of hospital locations in Sumner County, but by adding other types of information one can use the GIS to make decisions.  If one adds traffic crash locations to the map, then decision makers may analyze where the location of a hospital might seem most appropriate in relationship to where the most traffic fatalities and injuries are occuring.  One can see that adding additional layers such as population growth by zip code and EMS locations can significantly enhance and inform the decision making process resulting in better decisions.  These geographic layers can be added to make the decision making process more complex, and oftentimes there is no clear answer.  That is why it is important to have professionals within government to assist with researching, manipulating, and analyzing geographic information.  Geographers, community planners, sociologists, and others can assess these conditions and recommend alternatives or solutions.  Ultimately, it leads to better, more informed decisions made by elected officials and citizens.

How do I use GIS?
You probably have used GIS and never realized it.  Have you used Google Maps, Mapquest, or Yahoo! Maps to obtain driving directions?  Or utilized a friends GPS (global positioning system) such as a Garmin or Tom-Tom to lead you to your next destination?  The technology these systems utilize is based upon a GIS.  Google Maps pulls geographic layers such as roads.  You enter your start and end addresses, and it computes the shortest route.  You can alter your results by avoiding highways.  The GIS assists you in making a decision on the best route to arrive at a destination.  The GPS units in vehicles contain geographic layers of restaurant locations so now you do not even have to know exactly where you want to eat but simply the type of food you desire.  You input "Pizza" on your GPS, and it calculates directions to a local pizza shop.

How does Sumner County use GIS?
Sumner County is fortunate to have a sophisticated GIS system coordinated by the Sumner County Property Assessor's Office and maintained by GEO-Jobe GIS Consulting that pulls information together from various departments from within the county.  Many answers that Planning & Zoning Department employees provide to you rely on the county's interactive GIS mapping site.  In fact, when this system goes down, it takes much longer for staff to generate answers to questions.  If you call the Planning & Zoning Department asking about the zoning of your property, this is typically looked up within the GIS, and we can quickly see your zoning classification, your neighbors' zoning, the road servicing the property, and aerial photos depicting the general location of large structures.  Staff answers your questions more quickly and accurately because of the GIS.  With the Internet, you can access this information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Of course, you can always call our office with any questions. 

                                           
Below are a few more examples of how the Planning & Zoning Department utilizes GIS:

Sumner County Zoning Map








Sumner County Planning & Zoning Department staff took zoning maps that were hand drawn with the zoning classifications and digitized them so users can access the information on the county's GIS website.  This information is now kept updated and used to produce the official zoning maps housed in the Planning & Zoning Department.  Whenever a city annexes properties or the County Commission approves a rezoning, these maps are updated.  The image to the left is a smaller scale map depicting the entire county's zoning.  Although not official, this map is regularly updated and can be ordered by contacting the Planning & Zoning Department.  This map contains the same information that is accessed on the county's GIS website.













Recent City of Gallatin Annexation





Sumner County Planning & Zoning Department staff worked with the Planning Division staff from the City of Gallatin to double-check parcels that were proposed as part of an annexation involving properties to the west of Gallatin's existing city limits.  These parcels were identified through a map and parcel number and checked against adopted urban growth boundaries and city limits information maintained by the city and county.  Staff quickly identified areas using GIS with questions for the city.  This information was also utilized by the Sumner County Property Assessor's Office to update the city limit boundaries on the county's GIS site and property tax information.







R1A Zoning









Sumner County Planning & Zoning Department staff produced this map showing County Commission Districts and locations of R1A zoning.  This was produced for the Planning Commission while considering changes to the Zoning Resolution only impacting properties zoned R1A.  This was an effective visual to show the areas with R1A zoning, which county commissioners may be interested in these changes, and the number of people and parcels these changes might impact.












County Growth Rates


Sumner County Planning & Zoning Department staff produced this map of growth rates involving Tennessee counties.  This quickly shows that the counties around Nashville-Davidson County experienced some of the highest growth in the state since 1980.  This information is part of other historical data and projections used to justify the purpose and need for a county-wide comprehensive plan.




Learn more about GIS, GIS Day, and GIS applications by visiting www.gisday.com or www.esri.com!