International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XXXIX-B4, 2012
XXII ISPRS Congress, 25 August — 01 September 2012, Melbourne, Australia
DEVELOPMENT OF A SPATIAL INFORMATION CONSULTING METHOD FOR
MERGED LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Naoya Oku® *, Mayumi Mizobuchi ^ Atsushi Hatta *
* Kokusai kogyo Co., Ltd., 1-1-15, Nishinagasu-cho, Amagasaki, Hyogo, 660-0805, JAPAN
(naoya oku, mayumi mizobuchi, atsushi_hatta)@kk-grp.jp
Commission VI, WG IV/1: Geospatial Data Infrastructure
KEY WORDS: GIS , Consulting , Method , cost ,data , systems , management
ABSTRACT:
In Japan, the merger of local governments is progressing. Since a digital divide may exist between local governments before merging,
however, the merger may increase the gap through presenting the contrast and may provide trouble for equitably providing citizen
services that the merger should aim for. To solve this problem, we developed a spatial information consulting method for merged
local governments. The method can be classified into four phases according to its execution steps. The four phases are “gap analysis”
that compares the current state of merging local governments (As-Is) against the ideal state (To-Be),”Scenario analysis” that shows
how to realize To-Be against current issues that have been defined through gap analysis, “Cost-benefit analysis” that calculate costs
and benefits to verify the feasibility of the analysis-based scenario, and “Roadmap formulation” that reflect the results obtained by
the analysis over a yearly schedule table. In result, we have achieved the appropriate planning to integrate data and system for
merged local governments, and be introduced in a packaged framework to other local governments that have similar issues.
1. Introduction
1.1 Local government mergers
Local government mergers, known as “Large Heisei Mergers,”
were conducted in Japan between 1999 and 2006. These
mergers reduced the number of local governments to 1,700, à
almost half the figure prior to 2005. Conversely, the average Before merger After merger
city area nearly doubled (Figure 1). “Large Heisei Mergers" are e. e.
expected to enhance the financial bases of local governments
and improve citizen services by offering such services equitably
at head and branch offices.
Figure 2. The merger of local governments
However, pre-merger maps used by local governments include
paper maps as well as digital ones. Also, the precision of digital
Num. of Local Bodies maps varies, depending on the contexts in which they were
M E E RATES 20; prepared. Accordingly, integrating these maps requires
surveying, analysis and planning, with a view to overall
optimization.Furthermore, local governments vary in the degree
3,000 ^ :
Even when such systems were introduced, they often have
different background map data and system functions. Rather
than offering merger advantages, this information gap (digital
divide) between local governments’ pre-merger data and
systems can result in problems in a merger. Benefiting from a
merger therefore requires a consulting method that addresses
the question of how to overcome the digital divide.
2000 5:
1,000 Fd
Figure 1 The no. of local gov. after “Large Heisei Mergers”
1.3 Existing research on local governments’ GIS
1.2 The need for spatial information to be integrated
gue Individual special divisions of local governments having their
The merger of local governments also had a substantial impact own geographic information system (GIS) have been already
on the field of spatial information. In the course of local addressed, and the effects of helping to make routine work more
government activities, numerous maps are used in a variety of efficient and supporting planning have been anticipated (A.
fields, including the management of infrastructure related to Haque, 2001) The Ministry of Internal Affairs and
roads, water and sewerage, as well as the management of citizen
information. Offering citizen services using maps such as these
equitably to all post-merger jurisdictional areas necessitates the
creation of maps of all areas integrated via merger (Figure 2).
Communications has also promoted the use of an integrated GIS
as a "system (mechanism) for sharing information prepared by
different divisions and using it cross-sectionally in the agency"
(Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, A
* Corresponding author.
36
to which they used digital maps to offer services prior to merger.
