Implementing GIS for Planning Lessons from the History of Technological Innovation

Abstract

Geographic information systems have finally arrived in state and local governments and, with them, an extraordinary opportunity for planning. Many groups with differing agendas are competing to define this new technology, what it will do, and who will use it. It is by no means certain that planners will do well in this competition. This article mines the literature on technological innovation and concludes that planners must understand GIS as a socially constructed technology, including not just hardware and software but also the practices, laws, organizational arrangements, and knowledge that are necessary for its use. The article recommends a strategic approach to GIS implementation that involves both human and technical systems.