City of Toledo hosts GIS Day event

Press Release from City of Toledo:

City of Toledo Division of Engineering Services Hosting GIS Day Event

Discovering the World through GIS

The City of Toledo Division of Engineering Services will be hosting an event in celebration of GIS Day on November 16, 2011 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. located on the first floor of One Lake Erie Center at 600 Jefferson Ave. Activities include a poster competition for high school and college students, presentations from local organizations and schools, a map gallery featuring a display of maps showcasing the current uses of GIS at the City of Toledo, interactive learning experiences and more.

Held each year on the Wednesday of National Geographic Society’s Geography Awareness Week, GIS Day is a global event to make people aware of geographic information system (GIS) technology and to highlight real-world applications of this ever expanding technology.

A GIS is a computer-based mapping tool that takes information from a database about a location, such as streets, buildings, water lines, and sewer system, and turns it into visual layers. The ability to see geographic features on a map gives users a better understanding of a particular location, enabling planners, analysts, and others to make informed decisions about their communities.

Anyone interested in learning about GIS is welcome to attend the City of Toledo’s GIS Day. This free event will showcase how GIS is currently being utilized throughout the city’s departments. There will be GIS professionals on hand to answer questions and demonstrate multiple uses of the technology including the integration of GIS with our new web-based computerized maintenance management system.

“GIS is relatively new to the City of Toledo, but the positive impact it is having in helping city employees is quickly growing; from assisting the field crews on being able to locate underground utilities; to aiding engineers during their design of construction projects; to management in their decision making process,” says Robin Whitney, Commissioner of Engineering Services.

For more information about GIS Day as well as a schedule of events, please visit http://toledo.oh.gov/Departments/PublicUtilities/DivisionofEngineeringServices/tabid/339/Default.aspx or call (419) 936-3846.

###