Abstract
Abstract. Management of the urban environment and urban development require well organized data and information as a basis for decision making, planning and policy development. Such data and information needs to be up-to-date, reliable and complete, and moreover be available at the time of need. The latter is especially relevant in the case of disasters such as fires, flooding, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Current and future impacts of the on-going climate changes increase the need for geo-referenced data and information on environment, biodiversity and public health, in support of preparation, protection, mitigation and reconstruction. It is important that urban authorities devote more attention and resources to data and information management in order to be able to cope with the present and future challenges of ever growing cities with increasing impacts on their surroundings, and moreover to deal with the impacts of environment and biodiversity on the cities, their population and economies. SOD, Woerden has a long and successful track record of certified training and education in the field of data and information management for authorities, including urban government. The courses provided by SOD cover a wide range of subjects from metadata and digitizing, to enterprise content management and geo-information management. While focused on the Netherlands, SOD also has initiated similar training opportunities in Belgium and Surinam, and efforts are under way in other countries. P. Geerders Consultancy has considerable experience as a consultant and trainer in the field of methods and technologies for the provision of information in support of decision-making, planning and policy development related to integrated management and sustainable development of natural resources. Besides in various countries of Europe, he has worked in Latin America and the Caribbean region. Since several years, P. Geerders works as a freelance teacher with SOD. The paper presents a vision on training and education of urban authorities in information handling and management.
Highlights
City planners and local politicians all over the world usually think and talk in terms of higher, wider, larger, and more
Such a holistic approach is offered by the concept of integrated management, which takes into account all relevant aspects and interests and tries to reach a balance in which sustainability is the main criterion
The authors feel that urban authorities should devote more and specific attention and resources to the issue of data and information management within their organisations
Summary
City planners and local politicians all over the world usually think and talk in terms of higher, wider, larger, and more. Most cities in the world show a tendency to “develop”, which in practise translates into “growth” of the number of inhabitants, the number of industries, the number of houses, offices, streets and other infrastructures, and of the surface area covered This form of city development results in an increased negative impact of cities on their surrounding environment: noise, contamination, waste, change of local climate, use of energy, loss of space for nature and loss of biodiversity. He has worked as a freelance teacher for SOD and in this capacity has developed and presented several courses relating to the management of geo and non-geo information Based upon their experience, the authors feel that urban authorities should devote more and specific attention and resources to the issue of data and information management within their organisations. The paper will present a number of key issues related to data and information management by urban authorities
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