What is GIS?
A Geographic Information System (GIS) integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information.
-- ESRI
What is Central GIS?
The Central GIS Department creates and maintains base map information including parcels, lots, street centerlines, addresses, aerial images and administrative boundaries utilizing the Geographic Information System (GIS), which is integrated with the CAMA (Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal System). Your Property Appraiser’s Office maintains one of the largest property information databases in the county and has been working with the County to form a Centralized GIS System.
What can GIS do?
GIS allows us to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts. A GIS helps you answer questions and solve problems by looking at your data in a way that is quickly understood and easily shared.
-- ESRI
Can GIS Perform Georgraphic Queries?
The ability of GIS to search databases and perform geographic queries has saved many companies literally millions of dollars.
GIS has helped:
- Decrease the time taken to answer customer requests.
- Find land suitable for development.
- Search for relationships among crops, soils, and climate.
- Locate the position of breaks in electrical circuits.y
-- ESRI
What are some Examples of why GIS is important?
Real Estate Example:
- When buying a new house you might look for properties close to a school, within a certain type of neighborhood, under a certain price, and with a given lot size.
Disaster Recovery and Impact Assessment:
- When considering the impact of a disaster such as an earthquake, geologic and seismic information need to be analyzed and then linked with details about the people, properties, and infrastructure that have been, or can be affected.
-- ESRI