Development of New York City's geographic data network

Abstract

New York City has begun the coordinated development of a network of information systems which will assist all agencies of the City government in exchanging information needed for routine operations, planning and analysis. The approach used here places operational requirements in the paramount position. That is, the methods by which agencies can receive, use and transmit data vary widely and depend largely on the services each agency is required to provide. Thus, the concept frequently proposed, of a massive, centralized urban data bank was found to be inadequate. Instead, New York is developing a series of systems using various methods for data handling as determined by the requirements on each system. The heart of this network is a system which stores and transmits current information on the data elements which are used by agencies throughout the City government. These are elements relating to the basic geographic environment of the city; the land, streets, buildings and location of public facilities.