The Municipal Geo-Portal for Coastal Planning

Sergio Farruggia

Genova Municipality (I)

Abstract

In last few years, the Municipality of Genova has pushed significantly for its own re-organisation.
This process has also contributed with a positive influence on the development of a Municipal Information Infrastructure, in particular by stimulating the development of web services devoted to various Departments of the Municipality, to the Municipal Companies, as well as to the enterprises and to the citizens.
This process led the design of a "Municipal Geo-Portal", developed upon the consideration that Geographical Information plays a fundamental role to work and to do at all the levels of analysis and representation, and among them of course the municipal and metropolitan level.

The promotion of a networked Geographical Information Infrastructure -GII- (that is "distributed" with regard to its organisational aspects even before considering the technological aspects) to which dynamically link a complex system of stakeholders, has pushed as well for the creation of a local initiative for the actual development of the Municipal GII.

The adopted approach considers the Geographical Information as "raw material" potentially available for different category of stakeholders that on one side can be considered as "users" of geographical data and services; on the other side however these users can play the role of "suppliers", thus enlarging in a virtuous way the range of data and service available.

Because for final users maps are the most common and basic paradigm to access and exploit Geo-Information, it is from them that you can start to structure and deliver a service to citizens for any matters where Geo-Information has a role. This basic information is accompanied by technical data tailored for the different uses.

That is valid for users at almost all levels: civil servants and professionals, but as well common people asking about a variety of information items on the city and on all services that it can offer them. Let's e.g. think to urban planning and coastal planning, tourism, traffic, etc.

The process of developing the GII in Genova, is already in a mature level able to start with an operational approach to "e-geography", that is to services to be included in the context of the City portal.

The provision of such services will lead to a further development of the management of territorial data in the City of Genova, throughout:

• the diffusion of the information about the urban regulation zoning currently in force;
• the enlargement of the "kernel" of skilled users;
• the decentralisation of the "update" activities towards the institutional users, to complement the work of the technical staff of Municipal GIS Department.