Last week I attended a meeting at SEMCOG and got a lot of helpful information, as well as a number of valuable contacts. They talked about how GIS has been very helpful in planning the development of a local community.
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Economic development is a concern for every organization, especially non-profits who reach out to communities. Many NPOs (Non-Profit Organization) are using GIS (Geographic Information System) to analyze and present demographics and population statistics efficiently, as well as visually locating agencies they work with. With a GIS created map, a person can take in all this information from one page; otherwise the information could be in the form of many pages of tables, and then one would have to connect relevant information to data in the other tables.
Additionally, GIS is being used to analyze and plan developing communities. I wanted to learn more about this great new technology, so I have been GIS surfing online. I found many great sources of information.
Last week I had the pleasure of attending one of SEMCOG’s (Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments) quarterly meetings of the Southeast Michigan GIS User Group which are open to the public. I was hesitant to attend, but I am more than happy that I went. Initially I was concerned about how appropriate it would be for me to be there for the organization I work for. Additionally, I did not want to waste my time or my company’s, and come back without any useful information. Furthermore, I got the impression that the meeting was geared more for experienced GIS professionals, a crowd I definitely did not fit in with, to say the least.