Wanigas? said:
And yet I can go to
http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/mgdl/ and download National Wetlands Inventory ArcView shapefiles for any county within the State of Michigan and map them - it's free and it's public - but so what? I'm certainly not in the position to buy the lands that I have mapped. What really needs to happen, after the mapping is completed, is that foundations and State agencies should appropriate funds to organizations that can acquire and permanently protect those lands.
I think part of the point of the article is that a lot of these lands are already protected and mapping it has the potential to keep them protected.
Yes, some data is available for free on the internet. I had one class devoted entirely to "GIS Data Sources on the Internet" -- how to find the free stuff. But a) if it is mainly compatible with ArcView, the need to purchase that software is a financial barrier b) the most commonly available type of file is only readily converted by the most expensive version of ArcView, something that even the professors who teach how to use the software generally consider to be unethical on the part of ESRI c) that means that a lot of folks have a financial barrier to using a lot of the free data on the internet. If you do not have the high end stuff, you wind up dowloading data that is no longer "smart" -- you might wind up with just an image without any coordinates, which has limited usefulness for a GIS. (There are cheaper tools which can do a partial conversion. And I did recently sign up for the GRASS users list. So I am going to learn what its capabilities are in those areas. It is a free GIS.)
Furthermore, the geographic component is only ONE type of data in a GIS. I know you do GIS so I know you know that a GIS software is, essentially, a specialized database which allows for the mapping of the data. Most data is associated with a spatial component (such as demographic data being associated with home addresses). So anyone who has a database of original data generated by their own internal procedures has a valuable resource they can mine. The non-map components of the database can be exported and manipulated in Oracle, Excel, etc. and then re-imported. Or imported to begin with from an existing database that isn't map-capable.
Gedunker you described a POLITICAL barrier -- lack of cooperation due to ulterior motives -- and then spoke of a 'cost barrier'. I know there are both of those but I think it is important to be clear which one you are concerned about. Again, when I have time, I will see what I can come up with that might answer some of your questions. Feel free to PM me or e-mail me. I could help you do a quick and dirty assessment of what resources you already have that can be used in a GIS.
I think GIS is very cost-effective stuff. I believe that being able to make more informed decisions saves money, time and effort, and avoids problems. Problems get expensive to have. A lot of people don't believe you can resolve the problems. The belief that something cannot be addressed effectively becomes a "self-fulfilling prophecy": if you don't bother to try to resolve it, it probably won't ever go away. One way to get to 'yes' is to do the planning beforehand and have the facts in place to convince folks that this can be done, it has x,y,& z advantages, etc.
When I wanted to suggest that the homeless shelter where I volunteer should do something with a website, I did the research on what domain names cost, which ones were available for the executive director to choose from (and had one to suggest), what benefits they could get out of having a website, etc. They already had a website that is impossible to find. They happily wrote a check for the cost of a domain name when I showed up with samples of redesigned pages on my laptop and a full explanation of how it could be done, what it would cost, etc. I had no problem getting a green light and was handed a folder full of material to put up on the website as I get to it
And, no, I didn't originally have that kind of cooperation up there. I originally assisted existing staff and tutored homeless kids, in spite of all the computer skills that I listed on my resume. I did the research and convinced them to let me repair the dressers and later offered to help with specific things on the computers. I sold them on one small project after another, built up "good will" and confidence that my suggestions were do-able and were NOT just some additional burden on them, with no real benefit to them. I made it very clear that what I needed from them was small and the benefit to them was substantial. At first, I had to diplomatically address a lot of criticism. They didn't have any faith in my ideas -- until I proved that they worked. I got the chance to prove myself by seeing it from their point of view, addressing their concerns, having an answer for every criticism, and remaining positive and supportive. If they had an objection, I ignored the negative attitude and ONLY dealt with their legitimate concern and why they felt it could not be done. I refused to take any of it personally and I avoided attributing anything to "ill will" or "bad motives".
City building (or community building, rural or otherwise) is very much about dealing with the messiness of human lives and human interactions. If you assume bad motives and the like on the part of those individuals who are standing in the way of certain goals, you have probably already lost the battle. You must assume that they have legitimate concerns, which merit being addressed. Yes, some folks are just bad apples. But most folks are just human beings, warts and all, and looking kindly upon their frail humanity gets you listened to better than if you scream about how horrible their warts are. We all have our personal limitations -- things we can't imagine, don't understand, etc. Making it clear that you think someone is "stupid" doesn't help. It just makes sure that the closed-mind adds a padlock anytime you enter the room. :-D Explaining to them that it is completely understandable they don't know this stuff, they are busy and important people who shouldn't have to know this stuff, and it is your job to know this stuff and explain it to them can start opening minds and getting you listened to. Then give them some time to think about it. I never expect to get a "yes" the day I broach a topic. I expect to open the topic that day, not settle it once and for all.
Just some of my meanderings. God, please don't take that as a 'diatribe'. I am just really chatty sometimes.
