The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for transportation applications is widespread. Typical applications include highway maintenance, traffic modelling, accident analysis, route planning and environmental assessment of road schemes. A fundamental requirement for most transportation GIS is a structured road network. Additional information concerning general topography, land cover and land use is pertinent to the consideration of the impact of construction. In many countries, lack of appropriate data for GIS remains a chronic problem. This paper reviews traditional sources of data for transportation GIS applications and proposed alternatives using remote sensing techniques. Drawing upon the experiences of staff at the National Remote Sensing Centre, the benefits and pitfalls of remote sensing in the context of transportation GIS are examined. (A)
Samenvatting