1-7 GIS as an Information Infrastructure

Information has become a key issue in the age of computer, space technology and multimedia, because the information infrastructure contributes to the quality of life as in the follwings infrastructure.
Social infrastructure...better society
Environmental infrastructure....better management
Urban infrastructure.....better life
Economic infrastructure.......better business
Educational infrastructure......better knowledge

Figure 1.6 shows major components of GIS information infrastructure.
In order to achieve the GIS information infrastructure, the following issues should be solved and promoted (see Figure 1.7)

Open data policy
GIS data and information should be accessible by any user, freely or at inexpensive costs and without restriction.

Standardization
Standards for data format and structure should be developed to enable transfer and exchange of geospatial data.

Data/Information sharing
In order to save cost and time for dizitization, data sharing should be promoted. In order to foster operational use of geospatial data, information and experience should be shared among users.

Networking
Distributed computer systems as well as databases should be linked to each other to a network for better access as well as better service.

Multi-disciplinary approach
Because GIS is a multi-disciplinary science, scienctists, engineers, technicians and administrators of different fields of study should cooperate with each other to achieve the comman goals.

Interoperable procesure
GIS should be interwoven with other proceduces such as CAD, computer graphics, image processing, DEM etc.