Abstract
Today’s technology plays a crucial role in the effective use of environmental information. This includes geographic information systems and infrastructures. The purpose of this research is to identify the way in which the Polish spatial data infrastructure (PSDI) supports policies and activities that may have an impact on the environment in relation to one group of users, namely urban planners, and their tasks concerning environmental management. The study is based on a survey conducted in July and August, 2014. Moreover, the authors’ expert knowledge gained through urban development practice and the analysis of the environmental conservation regulations and spatial planning in Poland has been used to define the scope of environmental management in both spatial planning studies and spatial data sources. The research included assessment of data availability, infrastructure usability, and its impact on decision-making process. The results showed that the PSDI is valuable because it allows for the acquisition of data on environmental monitoring, agricultural and aquaculture facilities. It also has a positive impact on decision-making processes and improves numerous planners’ activities concerning both the inclusion of environmental indicators in spatial plans and the support of nature conservation and environmental management in the process of working on future land use. However, even though the infrastructure solves certain problems with data accessibility, further improvements might be proposed. The importance of the SDI in environmental management is noticeable and could be considered from many standpoints: Data, communities engaged in policy or decision-making concerning environmental issues, and data providers.
Highlights
One of the factors influencing the task and process flows related to environmental management and the quality of services in the area of environmental management is the wide range of resources involving data and technological solutions
The purpose of this research is to identify the way in which the Polish spatial data infrastructure (PSDI) supports policies and activities that may have an impact on the environment in relation to one group of users, namely urban planners, and their tasks concerning environmental management
It has a positive impact on decision-making processes and improves numerous planners’ activities concerning both the inclusion of environmental indicators in spatial plans and the support of nature conservation and environmental management in the process of working on future land use
Summary
One of the factors influencing the task and process flows related to environmental management and the quality of services in the area of environmental management is the wide range of resources involving data and technological solutions. Many other authors (e.g., Wilcox 1990; Longley et al 2005; Masser 2007; Craglia and Campagna 2010) emphasize the benefits of spatially oriented ICT, i.e., the geographic information system (GIS) and the spatial data infrastructure (SDI), in many sectors and various applications. Tuchyna (2006) shares his experiences involving the process of SDI development within the Environmental Management (2016) 58:619–635 environmental sector, and Latre et al (2013) present SDI support for environmental e-government services A review of the literature on environmental management shows numerous successful applications of the GIS (Gonzalez et al 2011; Gonzalez Del Campo 2012; Emili and Greene 2013; Gebbert and Pebesma 2014; Inanloo and Tansel 2015). Tuchyna (2006) shares his experiences involving the process of SDI development within the Environmental Management (2016) 58:619–635 environmental sector, and Latre et al (2013) present SDI support for environmental e-government services
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
