Brave New GIS Worlds

• Published in: Geographic Information Systems to Spatial Data Infrastructure pp. 67 - 86
• Main Authors: Wegener, Michael, Masser, Ian
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 2020
• Edition: 1
• Subjects: GIS Facility; GIS Software; Spatially Enabled; National Spatial Data Infrastructure; Digital Topographic Data; Global Geospatial Information Management; Concurrent Technologies; SDI Activity; GIS World; GIS Community; Land Information Systems; Pro-innovation Bias; SDI Model; Automated Data Capture; Harmonious Society; Human Language Technologies; Uncertainty Avoidance; SDI; SDI Concept; VGI; GIS Diffusion; Local Spatial Data Infrastructure; Support Visualisation; Spatial Data Community
• ISBN: 1138584622; 9781138584624
• DOI: 10.1201/9780429505904-4

This chapter aims to contribute to geography debate by suggesting a number of scenarios of possible future geographic information systems (GIS) diffusion which capture the range of perceptions of the impact of GIS on society found in different countries of Europe. GIS include a wide range of different applications including automated mapping and facilities management as well as land information systems. The utilization of GIS is heavily dependent on the availability of digital topographic data. GIS in Europe is both universal in extent and largely benign in operation by 2015, while the applications field as a whole has become highly fragmented and specialized in nature. The benign Beyond-GIS scenario, for instance, might have a chance in the mature democracies of north-west Europe, whereas countries with less developed political checks and balances might be at risk of moving into the directions of the Market or Big-Brother scenarios.