The Use of Web­based SoftGIS Method in the Urban Planning Practices

Development o f m ore i nteractive a nd i nnovative m ethods i s n eeded i n t he f ramework o f collaborative planning and decision making so that urban planning as a process could open up and target real two­way communication. Localised ‘ soft’ data that the residents could produce by evaluating their living environment is needed concerning the quality of an environment as perceived b y i nhabitants. T his k ind o f k nowledge i s d ifficult t o f ind o ut, c ollect, i nterpret a nd share. Through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Geographical Information System ( GIS) n ew p ossibilities e merge t o d evelop u seful m ethods. N ew t echnology h elps t o gather a d atabase o f ‘ soft’ d ata. T he ‘ soft’ d ata c an e ventually f orm a s pecial d atabase o f geographical information (GI). Essential is to bring this so called ‘ soft’ data besides ‘ hard’ formal data.  A web­based GIS method called softGIS is an example of tools for residents to produce and evaluate the perceived quality factors of the environment. This method enlarges our view of the Public Participation Geographic Information system (PPGIS) and especially web­based PPGIS, which challenges the traditional top­down practices towards more bottom­up thinking. This paper introduces prototype of softGIS method which was tested in City of Jarvenpaa in Finland. In this paper we analyze softGIS method, study the nature of the ‘ soft’ knowledge produced and the possibilities to develop this method in the future.