Astrid Elemans
Chief of Geoinformation Department
Municipality of The Hague
The Netherlands



BIO
Astrid Elemans heads the Geo-Information and Long Lease department within The Hague’s Department of Urban Development (DSO). Her key responsibility is to promote the use and collection of geographic information within the municipality. Elemans is a trained geodetic engineer and has over 25 years of experience working in a variety of positions in The Hague’s urban development field. Within the municipal organisation, she is an active contributor to the on-going development of a 3D model and the Key Register for Large-scale Topography (BGT). She is a member of the national agenda committee for the Key Register of Addresses and Buildings Source Data Holders/Clients (BAG BAO). The BAG has been incorporated in Dutch national system of Key Registers. In addition, Elemans participates in the geo-information consultations of the Netherlands’ four leading cities, the G4 (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht).

ABSTRACT
Geo-Information and Urban Development The municipal administration of The Hague has a long history of utilising geospatial information in support of the city’s urban development projects. One major application of this information involves the use of digital topographical information. Since 1990, the Municipality of The Hague has relied on a digital key map called DigTop. This source of geospatial information comprises, among other things:

• 92 structures in a number of categories, including buildings, roads, green space and public space;
• An annual data change volume of 500,000 points;
• Every year, 150,000 points are measured and included; DigTop is frequently used in support of the urban development process, in a variety of contexts. For example, DigTop is employed in the following planning processes;
• The development of plan areas/projects in the context of urban planning;
• The redevelopment of public space;
• The design and development of parking facilities.

In addition, since 2011, The Hague has had a 3D model of the city at its disposal. The utilisation of this model has further increased the scope for implementation of geospatial information. Over the past year, this 3D model has been used for: Sustainability developments in the city, e.g. determining the angle of roof surfaces, the installation of solar panels and the redevelopment of the public space along Grote Marktstraat (The Hague’s main shopping thoroughfare). The design of the Rotterdamse Baan: an important new arterial road for the city, a major section of which will be led through a tunnel.

Elevation data for the benefit of The Hague’s zoning plans. The city is updating all its zoning plans. Once this updating drive has been rounded off, planners will have easier and quicker access to the relevant elevation data.

Marcelle Hattingh
Director Corporate Geo- Informatics
City of Johannesburg
South Africa




BIO
Marcelle Hattingh is a registered Professional GiSc Practitioner. She obtained a BSC (Geography & Mathematics), BSc (Hons) in Geography and a Postgraduate Diploma in Information Management. Her career spans employment at the University of Pretoria, Department of Development Aid, Department of Water Affairs, Midrand Metropolitan Local Council and the City of Johannesburg where she currently holds the position of Director: Corporate Geo-Informatics. Her responsibility is to provide an effective and efficient spatial information service that meets the standard of a World Class African city.

ABSTRACT
Spatial information in the City of Johannesburg: a strategic corporate asset?
The Directorate Corporate Geo-Informatics (CGIS) in the City of Johannesburg is responsible for a spatial information service that meets the standards of a world-class African City. The maintenance of core datasets such as cadastre, property ownership, zoning, street addresses, road centerlines, imagery, etc. is required for the organization to operate and deliver services to its customers. Property information is the foundation to e.g. land asset management, rates and taxes accounts, valuation roll, land development (processing of development applications), etc. For purposes of this paper the focus will be on how spatial information is managed as a corporate resource in support of implementing the vision of the City.

Greg Babinski
KCGIS Center Project
Manager
King County
USA


BIO
Greg Babinski holds an MA in geography from Wayne State University in Detroit. He has worked for 24 years in GIS management and consulting, currently as the Finance and Marketing Manager for the King County GIS Center in Seattle. Greg has performed extensive original research in GIS management and finance. He is a frequent author and presenter for URISA, GFOA, Esri, etc. Greg has been active for 21 years in URISA, the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association. He is an author and instructor for URISA workshops and the URISA Leadership Academy. Greg is founder and Chief Editor of The Summit, the Washington State GIS Newsletter. He is the Chair of the URISA GIS Management Institute and immediate Past-President of URISA.

ABSTRACT
The Role of Regional Geospatial Coordination for Effective City Management
Geospatial technology is a proven tool for effective municipal management. One characteristic common to every city is a boundary, and the geography within that boundary represents it primary asset. With the proportion of the world’s population living in cities forecast to increase from 50% today, to 70% within 50 years, careful management of this asset is crucial for sustainable cites that support healthy productive citizens. For cities and other local public agencies, enterprise GIS is expensive to develop, maintain and operate, even under the best of circumstances. But in many parts of the world normal ‘municipal’ functions are split amongst autonomous public agencies with overlapping boundaries. This creates challenges for geospatial professionals to rationalize GIS services on a regional basis, to minimize taxpayer cost, and to maximize effectiveness. In many major metropolitan regions the whole suite of typical municipal functions that might be under the control of a single city in some regions, elsewhere is split amongst separate central city, suburban city, county, utility, regional planning, school district, port/airport, public safety, and other districts. This paper will focus on the challenges and organizational strategies for integrating and rationalizing GIS in metropolitan regions that have fragmented and overlapping responsibility for municipal functions. A key concept is an awareness within jurisdictions of which geospatial functions are ‘back-end’ and do not add value to the jurisdiction. These can be provided by a regional geospatial utility. This allows the agency to focus on their end-user application needs for GIS based business solutions. Examples of integrated regional services that build on geospatial technology and support end-users within multiple jurisdictions across a metropolitan area will be featured. This presentation will be of value to agencies to assess the potential for a regional approach to geospatial services.

Eric Jeansson
GIS Manager
City Planning Authority
City of Gothenburg
Sweden


BIO
Eric Jeansson is GIS-manager at City Planning Authority, City of Gothenburg, Sweden. He joined the authority in 2006. Eric has over 15 years experience of GIS-analysis and strategic implementation of GIS in several organisations, mainly as a consultant. He is also chairperson of the largest regional GIS association in Sweden, GIS-väst, with 120 member organisations. Erics work in the City of Gothenburg is focused on geodata strategies and the mission to increase the use of GIS and geodata in the cities different departments. The virtual city, and crowd sourcing as a tool for city planning, are key projects. Eric holds a Masters degree in Geology and Earth Sciences.

ABSTRACT
Gothenburg: A city in transformation Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden, located on the west coast with a population of almost half a million. Seventy per cent of Scandinavia's total industrial capacity is located within a 500-kilometre radius of the Gothenburg Region. The Port of Gothenburg is the largest port in Scandinavia visited by more than 11,000 ships each year. Gothenburg is one of the fastest growing regions in Northern Europe The City of Gothenburg is changing. Large areas along the riverside, the River City, are waiting to be transformed into a new living, attractive inner city. To increase access to the inner city, a new train tunnel is built under the centre of Gothenburg, the West Link. The link will connect commuter rail services to routes that penetrate the city and give rise to new stations in the city. Several of the city’s densely built and central urban districts are close to the river or other bodies of water. During the second half of the 20th century, the number of periods of extremely high water and extreme precipitation has almost doubled. It is a challenge for the city to deal with these effects of climate change effectively. It is also a challenge for the city to create a robust urban environment and transport infrastructure that can reduce the city’s impact on the climate and the environment. Virtual city The City of Gothenburg is in an intense period with large infrastructure and city planning projects and high sea level scenarios caused by climate change, and the requirements of geographic data and planning tools are significant. One way to handle these complex projects is in the virtual city, a test bed and visualization arena. The virtual city can be used as an internal model and an internal tool where urban planners and architects, traffic planners, environmental investigators, etc. can simulate and communicate various alternatives in the city planning process. Crowd sourcing for city planning The virtual city is also used to involve the citizens of Gothenburg. A new service for communication and debate concerning city development has been developed; Min Stad (My City). Min Stad is a web portal based on a photorealistic 3D city model where users can, interactively, explore the city and post comments, and even publish 3D building models. Facebook accounts are used for user authentication before posting comments. Integration of social media also enhances the spreading of a single post throughout the community. The virtual city enables, in a unique way, citizens to communicate ideas and thoughts on the development of the future Gothenburg, and creates a debate arena where everyone can meet on equal terms. Min Stad will be used as inspiration for the City of Gothenburg in the mission to build a sustainable and secure city.

Herman de Haan
Geoinformation Specialist/Advisor
City of Delft
The Netherlands



ABSTRACT
Regional Cooperation Geo-information Haaglanden
Regional cooperation geo-information Haaglanden in the NetherlandsObjective: The objective of this project is the cooperation between the municipalities in the region “Haaglanden� to promote geo-information, to exchange knowledge in the field of geo-information and to examine which geo-information data exchange is necessary to support projects in Haaglanden. It also examines how cost savings can be achieved through the use of geo-information.Tasks: The participants perform the following activities in order to have a basis for suggestions for improvement:o Inventory in which development stage geo-information is managed in each municipalityo Identifying which data is already available (digital map layers orgeo-services) for cooperation, including any available metadata sets.o Identifying which regional project can be supported well with geo-information.o Active exchange of geo-information.o Inventory of best practices: how does geo-information may result incost savings.Project resultsIn 2012 the project has the following results:o An overview of the organization of geo-information per municipality;
- An overview of supply and demand of map layers and geo-services per municipality;
- An overview of regional projects which can be supported well with geo-information;
- The sharing of knowledge and experiences in the field of geo-information between the municipalities;
- Best practices that underline how the use of geo-information may result in cost savings.
- Securing the results in the organization of each municipality.

J. Eric Lomeli, GISP
Sr. GIS Analyst/GIS Projects Coordinator
County of Bexar (Texas)
USA



BIO
J. Eric Lomelí, GISP is the Senior GIS Analyst and GIS Projects Coordinator of the eServices & Technology Innovation Division of the Information Technology Department at Bexar County (Texas). His specialization areas includes GIS Project Management, Spatial Analysis and Demographics. Eric held positions as GIS Specialist, GIS Instructor, GIS Researcher and GIS Officer for academic institutions and research centers, such as the Program on Mexico at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Institute of Economic Development at the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) prior to joining Bexar County in 2007. With over 10 years of GIS experience, he holds a Masters of Science in Geographic Information Systems from the University of Redlands and is an International Certified GIS Professional (GISP). In 2011, he was Chair of San Antonio’s regional GIS consortium: Strategic & Geospatial Coordination Committee (SGCC). While at Bexar County, he has been part of a team recognized with numerous state and national awards, including ESRI’s Special Achievement in GIS in 2012.

ABSTRACT
Making the most with less in Local Government
Tough economic times, experienced in the past few years, have led local governments to cut budgets, freeze positions and in some instances resizing. This same situation has led to a new state of mind in finding the best possible ways to save money, time and resources, and ideally, creating money revenue projects. The use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) has increased in Bexar County (Texas) due to all the reasons mentioned above: “Making the most with less”. Bexar County’s eServices & Innovation Technology Division (GIS, Web and Training Groups) has leveraged free resources made available from GIS companies and developers, customized and deployed external and internal applications through GIS web services and free mapping platforms, and more, in order to meet the demand for highly efficient tools to minimize cost and increase efficiency. The GIS Group will present various GIS mapping applications that best serve the public, elected officials and staff. The road ahead will also be discussed as Government 2.0 reaches the ears of local government leaders and community engagement is a must.

Kofi Yeboah
GIS Manager
Accra Metropolitan
Assembly
Ghana


BIO
Kofi Yeboah has post-qualification experience in urban planning and management issues since 2002 and has further education in Urban Land Administration with vast supplementary training with several institutions in GIS and ICT. He has been a young accomplished project manager for the Urban Management Land Information System for five years in Accra. He is a professional member of the Ghana Institute of Planners and has presented several papers on innovative tools for urban management in international conferences. Yeboah has worked on World Bank, Government and community urban projects including ICT for social accountability and the Consultative Citizens Report Card which have enviable success stories.

ABSTRACT
Urban Management Land Information System (UMLIS): Addressing the City Management Challenge
The Local Authorities in Ghana responsible for providing clean and healthy environment and public infrastructure for the citizens. Due to financial and technical means it often fail to fulfil most responsibilities. This is a common problem for all local authorities in Ghana. In 2005-09 the Urban Management Land Information System (UMLIS) pilot project was carried out by Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD). The objectives of the project were a built-up capacity within AMA and a developed and tested UMLIS in a pilot scale. The prime objective of UMLIS is a more efficient collection of property rates and other fees as main strategy for revenue mobilisation the coming year (Accra Metropolitan Assembly, 2006). It has been shown in the project that UMLIS is an efficient tool for collection of property rates, and for urban mangement in general. Information about buildings, parcels, use, value, owners and rates to be paid is stored in digital form and the information can easily be illustrated and indentified in a digital map. The possibility of storing data from various sources through well structured alliances into a common platform is a starting point for exchange of information and collaboration between departments and different organisations. Inconsitensies in land information has been identified as one of the main reasons inefficient municipal service delivery and UMLIS can facilitate exchange of information and be a municipal spatial data tool for efficient urban management.

Håkan Engman
Vice President Sales and Marketing
Agency9 AB
Sweden



BIO
Håkan Engman has over 20 years experience in senior positions in the IT and mobile sector with IBM, Ericsson, BMC Software and several start-up companies. At Agency9 Håkan is reponsible for global sales and marketing.

ABSTRACT
City Development Through 3D Collaboration and Access on the Web
Efficient collaboration and communication is fundamental in building and managing sustainable cites. Leveraging the benefits of clarity of 3D illustrations, internet based visualization tools provided as a cloud service, allow easy distribution of information and collaborative work in projects teams internally within city organisations but also external architects, experts, builders, politicians and other stakeholders involved in the project. Project members are assigned authorisation and editing rights under a role-based access structure eg an external architect providing a 3D illustration for his proposal may be given access to upload and edit his proposal but cannot see or modify other suggestions. An interactive project model can easily be published externally on the website allowing the user to navigate freely and to make comments in the virtual 3D model. The tools are focused to be intuitive and to easy to use to maximize the usability among persons without 3D expertise. Large terrain and 3D city models can now be used as a tool by a wider audience. This presentation will provide several examples as online demos and explain the benefits learned in projects with municipalities and city governments. Extended capabilities allow visualising city assets as layers of spatial data draped on the 3D terrain model. Eg in a street environment all available data for street furniture, trees, traffic sign and signals. This is a powerful capability available to publish a 3D view of the existing environment and a possibility for new project to sketch illustrations of new project. The obvious benefits of the web based access is that the 3D data and tools can be accessed throughout the organisation without requirement for powerful workstation or a certain software to be installed. The 3D is becoming a natural component in the work of the municipality from communication department to planning or technical operations. The attraction of 3D as a presentation format with benefits of giving a more realistic representation compared to pictures and 2D maps can be used to generate interest to the formal processes of building sustainable cities.

Prof. Renzhong Guo
Deputy Director - Urban
Planning, Land and Resources Commission
Shenzhen Municipality
China


BIO
Renzhong GUO works at the Urban Planning, Land and Resources Commission of Shenzhen Municipality. Also he is a member of International Eurasian Academy of Sciences and guest professor at Wuhan University. He received his B.S. and MSc in Cartography from Wuhan Technical University of Surveying and Mapping (WTUSM) (now Wuhan University) in 1981 and 1984, respectively. In 1990 he received his PhD in Geography from University of Franche-Comté. His current interests include 3D cadastre, digital city management,map generalization and spatial analysis.

ABSTRACT
Open Geospatial Information Platform for City Management
The rapid development of geospatial technology has greatly facilitated applications of spatial data in many aspects of city life. The major challenge we are now confronting is no longer how to get data, but how to get proper data, to get data adapted to specific use. For example, different applications may need same geo-data but with different resolutions, so further processing is very often needed. As spatial data processing is so time-consuming and expertise-based, thus quite expensive, this turns into an obstacle for many applications. An open geospatial information platform would be eventually a roadmap to meet this challenge. With such a platform, not only data are put on line, some highly automated techniques for processing or integrating data are also put on line, end users with little GIS training may use these online tools to process data for their specific applications. This platform comprises what we like to call geospatial service on line.

Raf Buyle
Program Manager
V-ICT-OR
The Netherlands



BIO
Raf Buyle is program manager and advisor e-government strategy at The Flemish Organization for ICT in Local Government, Belgium. Raf holds a Masters Degree of Applied Engineering in ICT – Electronics. Since 2002, he was involved in GIS and e-government projects as a project manager or consultant. In addition, he was mainly involved on the GIS/SDI-infrastructure of the Flemish government (MAGDA GEO), the Flemish Environment Agency (Monitoring of the sewerage treatment) and GIS implementations for Smart Cities. Raf is a member of the World Wide Web Consortium (GLD) and active in the Open Data community as member of OKFN Belgium.

ABSTRACT
GIS for Intelligent Cities of the future: Can “Crowdsourced” Data Augment Authoritative Datasets in Local Communities?
The rapid pace of urbanization in Cities has outpaced the abilities and resources of city managers and planners to maintain adequate provision of services. The perils: overcrowding, shortage of housing, congestion, escalating land prices, degrading quality of life and so on… therefore technologies like GIS should rather be problem oriented, reflecting the needs of the local people. Data and the ability to act on it is what makes a city more intelligent. Some of the most valuable data today is gathered by citizens, sometimes referred to as volunteered geographic information (VGI) or user-generated content (UGC). This gives ordinary citizens the opportunity to provide feedback directly to the government. The gathered data can significantly augment authoritative datasets and provides extraordinary opportunities for citizen science. A pertinent question pops up: “Is there a place for “crowdsourced data in the “authoritative” GIS environment?”. The challenge for GIS practitioners is to ensure the usability of this data in a GIS workflow or to turn this crowdsourced data into useful geographic knowledge.

Paolo Viskanic
Managing Director
R3 GIS
Italy



BIO
Paolo Viskanic has a degree in Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and a long experience in GIS projects all over the world. After 8 years in East Africa with the United Nations he worked in Eastern Europe for the World Bank and now manages R3 GIS, an innovative GIS Company in Northern Italy.

ABSTRACT
R3 TREES: Integrated Management of Urban Green Areas
We are used to enjoy parks, recreation areas and trees along roads in our cities. Behind this assets there are many activities, which are necessary to keep the places save and enjoyable: regular maintenance works, periodic assessment of trees, monitoring of playgrounds, documentation and accounting of work done.
R3 GIS has developed a WebGIS plattform to document and manage all activities connected to the maintenance of urban green areas. With R3 TREES all information about public greens and their objects (stock of trees, lawn areas, street furniture, pavements, hedges etc.) can be managed and their maintenance and care (whether lawn cutting jobs, pruning trees, pest control or fertilisation) is programmed and documented.
R3 TREES is mainly used by municipal administrations, since it helps to optimise organisational and decision making processes and because it offers a detailed and up-to-date database comprising all objects of public greens. Different levels of access permission can be set according to the user’s position and function. R3 TREES is capable of supplying you with a snapshot of the inventory of your public greens.
In the presentation the innovative management model is described, with examples from the city of Milano, where workers using a GPS handheld computer monitor the implementation of maintenance activities, verify Key Performance Indicators and detect the information for the constant update of the cartography, which is an integral part of all maintenance activities.

Dr. Mahavir
Head, Department of Environmental Planning
School of Planning and Architecture
India



BIO
An architect and urban and regional planner by profession, also holds a Ph. D. jointly from ITC and the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. Engaged in teaching, research and practice of Physical Planning, Remote Sensing and GIS, for about 30 years, he is presently heading the Department of Environmental Planning at SPA, New Delhi, India. One of the authors of the NUIS Scheme, Geo-spatial vision for urban India has been his recent interest area.

ABSTRACT
A Geo-Spatial Approach to Urbanisation in India: The Unexplored Role of NUIS
Urbanisation in India is a phenomenon more due to spontaneity rather than conscious spatial planning. As it is, there has been a general tendency of non-`geo-spatial’ approach to urban planning in India. No concentrated attempts are in place to plan or recommend an urban settlement pattern in the country, spatially. The last such effort by the National Commission on Urbanisation remained recommendatory. Location of SEZs in the country (or in the States) also does not reflect any geo-spatial approach. Absence of a Union Ministry of Regional Development further contributes to a `non geo-spatial’ approach towards urbanisation.

The scheme of National Urban Information Systems (NUIS), launched in 2006, a landmark towards geo-spatial approach to urban planning, comprises two major components, i.e, the Urban Spatial Information System (USIS) that includes development of GIS based multi-hierarchical database, with application tools, to support Master/ Zonal plan preparation; Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) administration and utilities management, and the National Urban Databank and Indicators (NUDB&I), that includes designing and establishing a comprehensive data bank and integration of these parameters to support spatial planning. Although the Scheme does not target planned urbanisation as one of its objectives, it can be manipulated to achieve the same, coupled with a strong National Urbanisation Policy. Dovetailed with a National Land Use Policy, currently due for adaptation in the Parliament, the urbanisation in India could move from a spontaneous phenomenon towards a series of conscious geo-spatial decisions.

Abdulhakim Abdulkarim Malik
Director of GIS Department
Dubai Municipality
UAE



ABSTRACT
National Coordinates Grid
Dubai Municipality initiated this strategic important project to make it easy for all government organizations, companies, residents and tourists with different nationalities and languages to locate and reach any place in Dubai easily using digital maps available on smart mobiles, tablet pcs, notebooks, and navigation devices. This will be achieved by creating a national coordinate grid on a digital map, developing applications and fixing plates that carries location information on all the buildings in Dubai. All types if buildings will be covered like government organizations, hospitals, parks, commercial buildings, houses, factories, warehouses, etc. This project will strengthen the position of Dubai to host Expo 20/20 because it will help people from different nationalities and languages to navigate and reach any location in Dubai easily. Currently we have developed a web application that will give you a good idea of this system.

Erik Telldén
Plan Architect
Norrköping Municipality
Sweden



BIO
Erik Telldén has a Master degree in Planning architecture and has worked with city planning whiten municipalities for several years. Erik has had a special focus on developing new ways of public participation and crow sourcing connected to urban planning processes and is one of the initiators to the city of Norrköpings strong ventures in digital democracy through visualisation and 3D. Erik is currently working with city planning for SWECO, Oslo Norway.

ABSTRACT
Crowd sourcing with 3D in Norrköping
In the project “Vision for the Industrial landscape” Norrköping’s Municipality uses the power of the residents to collect data in order to develop the heart of Norrköping, the Industrial landscape. An interactive web-based photo-realistic 3D map was an essential part of this project. Today there is a need to make concrete and politically anchored development plans for the area, while there is also a need to capture the dedication and all the good ideas that exist among the residents of the city. These ideas must be put forward and integrated with municipal plans and physical modification work. Traditionally, public dialogue related to the planning process occurs in formal structures, through public meetings or through written comments. This is however a method often proved to only reach a very limited group of people, often elderly, very committed, but in many cases conservative residents. Through the launch of the web-based 3D map the residents were given an unprecedented opportunity to participate constructively in the discussion of the city's development. This was clearly shown by the overwhelming amount of thoughts and ideas shared in the map during the four months that the map was available to the public. All in all almost 450 ideas were received. The residents' vision for the Industrial Landscape will be presented to the ruling politicians during spring 2013.

Robert Widz
Business Unit Manager
Managing Director
EMEA Government, Intergraph® Poland



BIO
Robert Widz graduated from the Faculty of Mining Surveying and Environmental Engineering at Cracow University of Science and Technology in Poland. In his 20 years with Intergraph, Robert has held numerous positions that include: GIS Application Engineer, Sales and Marketing Manager and Business Unit Manager. He has supported the successful delivery of numerous high-profile projects including: ARMA (the Polish Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture) and GUGiK (Poland’s Mapping Agency).

ABSTRACT
Smart Cities
Smart Cities is a complex concept, built on the technological and sociological interconnection and interaction of hardware and software with government programs, commerce and needs from society and the environment. The scope and possibilities of this are almost without bounds. City control rooms provide a convenient model with which to explore the core foundation and functioning of a Smart Cities approach, encapsulating both the principles involved (spanning the fusion of systems, data and processes) and the extended insight and capabilities delivered. This presentation will share relevant experiences of Intergraph, and its parent company Hexagon, in developing and implementing elements of the Smart Cities technology stack. From the underpinning business applications and the combination of their data and processes in operation rooms to their application to mobility, water, energy, environment and emergency management, this presentation connects the disparate organizations and people that act and interact in the Smart City.

Shestakov Alexander Leonidovich
Rector
South Ural State University
Russia




ABSTRACT
Use of GIS for Municipal Economic Development: An Example from Russia
GIS technologies have been playing an important role at South Ural State University (SUSU) over the last few years. SUSU implemented a number of GIS projects for enterprises and state government to solve managerial and strategic problems related to regional development . In December 2011 the University carried out a joint project with the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communication of Chelyabinsk region in development and implementation of geospatial portal of the region. Basic functions and tasks of this web portal are integration of information about the region provided by different departments. The portal includes accurate representation of spatial relations between the objects (connectivity, adjacency, co-occurrence, inclusion, etc.), access to which is necessary for the solution of a wide range of problems. In addition to functions related to digital mapping the portal provides tools for applied geospatial analysis. The use of geospatial approach contributes to the solution of the problems related to geospatial data management and systematization in municipal and housing services. The systematization makes it possible to have a complete picture of all the objects of the municipal heat supply both within and outside of built environment. Interactive GIS capabilities allow increasing the efficiency of the municipal outdoor lighting management and maintenance. Implementation of the above-mentioned projects contributes to the development of a new technology for macro modeling and online computation of the processes in the heat supply system using data on rated and actual working conditions of heat network received in online operation mode.