GIS Users Invited to Test Spatial Planning Information Technology Platform

Local users of geographic information systems (GIS) are being invited to test and provide feedback on the National Spatial Planning Information Technology (NSPIT) Platform, which is in the final stages of completion.

The platform will be used for the dissemination of planning information to guide spatial development at the national and local levels. It will be accessible to the general public.

Spatial Plan Coordinator in the National Spatial Data Management Branch (NSDMB), Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Raymond Poyser, explained that NSPIT “is a web-enabled geospatial tool developed on open source data and software to provide the graphic and visual representation of the National Spatial Plan (NSP)”.

“NSPIT will be able to clearly display where our growth centres are, our town centres and where our human settlements are located. It will also display economic clusters, transport networks and our ecological zones based on the NSP. It allows the user to conduct spatial analyses to better inform planning and development or investment decisions, from a spatial perspective,” he explained.

Mr. Poyser was speaking at the second Jamaica virtual GIS user conference on September 24.

The NSP is a guide for national development and investment decision-making, identifying priority areas for planning and development of human settlements, commercial and industrial developments, with a view to improving the infrastructure for public utilities and social facilities.

The use and development of the NSPT forms part of the Government’s effort to utilise technology to drive and enhance business processes and national development. The platform was developed under a 13-month project with Germany-based consultants, Geosys Enterprise Solutions Limited.

Senior GIS Developer at Geosys, Numa Gremling, said that the platform is in the final stages of completion, with “documentation and some last-minute polishing” being carried out.

He noted that the platform has multiple components, but users will mostly interface with NSPIT Viewer.

“The NSPIT Viewer is the web map that allows you to access data from different government agencies. It will be that one location where people can find any GIS data for Jamaica as long as it is shared,” he pointed out.

“You can already test the platform and it is free, so create an account as it gives you more opportunities and tools you can use. It is important for us to get feedback because the more people test it and the more people use it, the better the product is going to be,” Mr. Gremling added.

The NSPIT platform can be tested at https://nspit.info/. Entities with spatial data that they wish to share on the platform can make contact with the NSDMB.