Rapid development is transforming the Triangle and other regions in North Carolina, bringing economic growth and increased diversity but posing serious environmental, social and infrastructure dilemmas for planners. Now, North Carolina State University researchers have developed a prototype for an online regional database that will help communities better manage this growth. The prototype offers unprecedented public access to comprehensive geographical and statistical information for the 14-county Upper Neuse region, available in the form of customized, computerized maps. The maps incorporate layers of environmental, natural resource, socioeconomic, geographic, infrastructure and development data into a single, user-friendly format. It's already been used for purposes as diverse as storm tracking, recreation planning and producing support materials for the Triangle's bid to host the 2007 Pan American Games.
Researchers hope to expand the database to include information for other regions of the state.
Dr. Hugh Devine, professor of parks, recreation and tourism management and head of the university's GIS research and teaching program, directed the project. The Triangle Greenways Council, a community advocacy group, is using the system to locate existing greenways and to spot gaps that need to be filled to create a greenway encircling the Triangle. The N.C. Division of Forest Resources has asked Devine's lab to build a map that illustrates where Hurricane Fran knocked down trees in 1996. After identifying areas with heavy amounts of downed timber and the overlap with existing infrastructure, the agency can build pre-suppression fire plans. Devine's lab is designing a geographic storm-spotter database for the National Weather Service in Raleigh.