Redlands, California-Constructing
a geodatabase to manage a highway, railway, mass transit, or navigable waterway
system can be highly technical and painstaking. J. Allison Butler's bookDesigning
Geodatabases for Transportation,new from ESRI Press, provides the
practical, step-by-step direction that will make the process easier.
The book,
released this month, shows how to meet transportation data requirements within
a unifying multimodal framework that promotes efficiency. Larger transportation
agencies-consisting of highly independent sections, each with its own database
structure and no cross connections-have traditionally focused on highway construction
and maintenance. But, with rising fuel costs, agencies are turning to
enterprise geographic information systems (GIS) to better manage their
transport systems and coordinate different modes of travel such as providing
bus feeder routes to commuter rail stations.
"GIS has long included spatial databases for transportation, but this book
is the first published about how to design one," says Butler, a spatial
geodatabase design expert who has spent 30 years working for local, regional,
and state transportation agencies.
Butler says
larger transportation organizations have often designed homegrown solutions to
meet information needs, but these often turn out to be poorly documented and
hard to change. "
Designing Geodatabases for Transportationshows
how to solve the many problems existing today as a result of haphazard database
design over many years," Butler
says.
The
database design in this book shows how the agencies can coordinate internal and
external connections without making drastic organizational changes. The ideas
are presented in a "cafeteria" style that allows the users to pick
solutions that meet their needs.
Designing
Geodatabases for Transportationdescribes how to design a GIS to manage
data about transportation facilities and services, from railroads to
traffic-monitoring systems. Early chapters cover basic geodatabase design
concepts and include best practices sections on data business rules and
geometric abstractions. Later chapters go into data editing, linear referencing,
and classic transportation data models. Through targeted sidebars, the book
presents ArcGIS fundamentals and geodatabase design guidance geared to novices
while also providing advanced information aimed at experienced GIS developers.
The
book's last section delves into enterprise solutions and modal data models,
with chapters dedicated to the Unified Network for Transportation (UNETRANS)
data model, state Department of Transportation (DOT) highway inventory editing
and publishing, navigable waterways, and railroads.
Butler has authored more than 75 papers and
other published works and has been an innovator in such fields as spatial
database design, construction management, planning policy, and economic
development. He was a key participant in developing the GIS Certification
Institute (GISCI) and currently serves as its president.
Designing
Geodatabases for Transportation(ISBN: 978-1-58948-164-0, 450
pages, $64.95), is available at online retailers worldwide, atwww.esri.com/esripress, or by calling 1-800-447-9778. Outside the United States, visitwww.esri.com/esripressordersfor complete ordering options or contact your local
ESRI distributor. For a current distributor
list, visitwww.esri.com/distributors. Interested retailers can contact ESRI Press
book distributor Ingram Publisher Services.
The complete selection of GIS titles from ESRI Press can be
found on the Web atwww.esri.com/esripress.
Visit us atwww.esri.com.
ESRI Press Publishes a Practical, Comprehensive Guide to Designing a Geodatabase for Transportation
July 14, 2008
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