1. Web-based GIS used to enhance public democratic involvement Andrew Evans, Richard Kingston, Steve Carver and Ian Turton, Centre for Computational Geography, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, Britain. Email: a.evans@geog.leeds.ac.ukhttp://www.ccg.leeds.ac.uk/vdmisp/ Introduction Increasingly the World Wide Web is being used to disseminate spatial information. However, few systems allow the public to manipulate information and submit ideas on spatial problems to those in power. Ideally, such systems should be available for the public to participate in solving real- world spatial problems. Why the Web? Not time limited like normal public consultation meetings. Accessible for those who cannot travel to meetings, the blind and deaf. Wider involvement than meetings, which are often dominated by small, vocal, groups. Easy use, electronic format data; a developing consensus can be instantly understood. User use can be analyzed, and pre-informed and informed decisions compared. Problems Lack of standards compliancy in browsers hampers coding. Lack of access availability - this is improving. Reluctance of some sections of society to use the web - improving with reduced access costs. Data copyright - this will improve when suppliers understand that bitmaps of their data are useless for all but the most trivial purposes outside the applications. Conclusions Public response was good given the youth of the medium. Democratic apathy can be reduced by the gratification of putting rapidly developed but well informed views over to those in power. Such schemes aid the development of communities of well informed, active people. Those in positions of power need alerting to the possibilities and advantages - a well informed public is better than an ignorant one, and a policy implemented with the public is better than one that is implemented behind closed doors and in fear of the public. The village of Slaithwaite in Yorkshire, Britain. http://www.ccg.leeds.ac.uk/slaithwaite/ Aim: To ask people how their village should be developed. System: Online map with ability to mark and comment on areas. Access: Web, and PCs taken to the village fair which was holding similar off-line meetings. School visits. Results: High use of system by the young, less-able, and middle income earners. Users ‘trusted’ the system more than the other events. Access to local beauty-spot increased, local canal re-opening, drugs action group set up, Plans for 55 more of the suggestions. Yorkshire Dales National Park Reforestation http://www.ccg.leeds.ac.uk/dales/ Aim: To decide where to plant new trees. System: Tree-structure information system to allow exploration of increasingly complex data on the factors involved in the decision. Questionnaire on the subjective factors (e.g., distance from roads). Answers used to generate a weighted map showing the chosen areas. Users then had the ability to change the weights used ‘on the fly’ and see the effect on the locations. Access: Web, and PCs taken to National Park visitor’s centres. CDs send to Schools and Libraries. Results: Recently passed to National Park’s Authority. Nuclear Waste disposal http://www.ccg.leeds.ac.uk/atomic/ Aim: To find a location for nuclear waste disposal. System: Tree-structure information system to allow exploration of increasingly complex data on the factors involved in the decision. Questionnaire on the importance of the factors is used to generate a map of chosen areas. ‘On the fly’ changes to the map weights allowed after the pre-map decisions are recorded (few people want nuclear waste as a neighbour!). Discussion, data linking, and feedback facilities. Access: Web and CDs. Results: Still in prototype form. What’s needed... Such systems should allow users to… access bipartisan information, and meta- information, in a way that encourages exploration. add multimedia information, discuss the data, and form interested communities. examine datasets and run models of "what if" scenarios. reach an informed decision, submit this to those in power, see the results, and gain feedback on the reasons for the final choice. This poster details three projects aimed at developing and testing such systems.