The appropriateness of geographic information systems for regional planning in the developing world

Abstract

ABSTRACT. This paper examines organizational and political issues associated with the use of geographic information systems (GIS) and land information systems (LB) in the developing world. The paper suggests that "appropriate technology" for the developing world does not have to be oldfashioned or unsophisticated; it just has to be cheap, effective, reliable, and easy to use. As a result, the question of whether GIS technology is appropriate for regional planning in the developing world is dependent on the availability of all four components of the GIS technology "package": suitable equipment, appropriate information, proper organization, and available expertise. This paper considers each of these components as they relate to the use of GIS for regional planning in the developing world.

Perspectives on geospatial information science education: an example of urban planners in Southern Africa

“…The other problem is attributed to the poor Internet connections. These findings are similar in most developing countries, because setting up GIS hardware; software and supporting infrastructure, such as servers, are often very expensive (van Genderen 1992;Klosterman 1995;Kohsaka 2000). In South Africa, the situation is worse in smaller local municipalities than that in metropolitans.…”

“…Studies, particularly from a developed world perspective and by authors in developed countries, have endeavored to explain the reasons behind the limited use of GIS and PSS in municipalities (Geertman 2008;Vonk and Geertman 2008;Pelzer 2016;Te Brömmelstroet 2016). Some of the reasons include: mismatch between supply and demand of PSS (Vonk and Geertman 2008), lack of knowledge on real-life applications of PSS (Te Brömmelstroet 2016), mismatch between tools and users (Klosterman 1995(Klosterman , 2008, complexity of the PSS and lack of funding to develop the PSS (Batty 2007;Brail 2008;Geertman 2008;Moore 2008;Forgie 2011;Pelzer 2016;Te Brömmelstroet 2016). A major reason for the limited use of PSS is that they are too complex, difficult to implement, and do not cater for situations with little or no data, such as the cases in most developing countries (Klosterman 1995;Musakwa and van Niekerk 2013).…”

“…Some of the reasons include: mismatch between supply and demand of PSS (Vonk and Geertman 2008), lack of knowledge on real-life applications of PSS (Te Brömmelstroet 2016), mismatch between tools and users (Klosterman 1995(Klosterman , 2008, complexity of the PSS and lack of funding to develop the PSS (Batty 2007;Brail 2008;Geertman 2008;Moore 2008;Forgie 2011;Pelzer 2016;Te Brömmelstroet 2016). A major reason for the limited use of PSS is that they are too complex, difficult to implement, and do not cater for situations with little or no data, such as the cases in most developing countries (Klosterman 1995;Musakwa and van Niekerk 2013). In developing countries, particularly Africa, there are few PSS been developed.…”

Transformation of urban planning

“…Klosterman [8] argued that, as early as the1960s, urban planning emerged as an applied science. In the 1970s, it moved to focus on the political process.…”

Building a geographic info-structure for sustainable development planning on a small island developing state

“…In developing a GIS program, Yap faces the four general challenges described by Klosterman (1995) affecting all developing countries: gathering accurate and appropriate information, having the available expertise to manage and develop the GIS, having a proper organizational structure to exploit the GIS capability, and having adequate technology. First, while interest in GIS among government administrators is high, few digital geographic data are readily available for Yap.…”