GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) ENHANCED COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION: IMPROVING PUBLIC HEALTH

Abstract

Local governments need to develop technologies for analyzing and maintaining the health of their cities and improving the reporting and communication of incidents with their citizens. A user-friendly mobile application using location services with the ability for citizens to easily report incidents and for local governments to distribute resources is needed. City governments need a method of locating issues, increasing accountability, and allocating resources. At the same time, citizens need a way to voice their concerns without having to navigate the maze of government departments. To address this problem, a prototype of a mobile application and a dashboard was constructed using GIS technologies. To assist with the creation of the prototype, multiple departments within the city of San Ramon, California were contacted to provide data on their prior experiences as well as their current needs. The resulting prototype application and dashboard allow multiple city departments to access the incident database including photographs and submitter comments, while also having the ability to view the various GIS attributes of the incident location using cartographical technologies. Use of a system with GIS functionality allows users to effortlessly communicate incidents of concern and at the same time allows local governments to more efficiently and transparently allocate public resources.