The Corporate Geographic Information System (CGIS) Web site, an Internet mapping site to celebrate world geographic information system (GIS) day on Wednesday, is live, says the City of Johannesburg.
"The CGIS department provides a centralised GIS service and maintains the corporate data for the City of Johannesburg`s internal departments as well as its utilities, agencies and companies. City Power, Johannesburg Water, Johannesburg Roads Agency, City Parks and Pikitup each run their own GIS departments and are subscribers to the services and data of CGIS," says Marcelle Hattingh, director of CGIS.
GIS is a computer-based mapping tool that takes database information about a location, such as streets, stands, buildings and water features and turns it into visual layers.
GIS day, held annually during the National Geographic Society`s Geography Awareness Week from 13 to 19 November, is a global event that celebrates geographic information technology.
"One of the primary goals of the department is to make spatial information available to users on their desktops and to capacitate them to help themselves," said Hattingh.
The online mapping service caters for people involved in management, marketing, monitoring or planning issues. The technology can be used to help local governments place clinics and voting stations in newly developed areas.
This is an ideal tool as 19.7% of SA`s population resides in Johannesburg and 40% of SA`s gross domestic product is produced in the area, says Hattingh.
"The City of Johannesburg covers an area of 1 644 km2, has about 600 000 stands and one million households, of which about 33% are estimated to be housed in informal settlements or in backyard shacks. More than 65% of the city`s residents live in Soweto," she says.
Companies can subscribe to the service for R500 a month or R5 000 a year while individual users pay R100 a month.
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