User Conference 2004 - Special Achievement in GIS

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Comune di Roma, Ufficio Città Storica - MBCA

Project Goal

COsMa, The Historical Heritage Map of the Ostiense Marconi Urban Project, being developed within the context of the New Urban Development Plan of Rome, aims at creating a GIS Management Information System for urban planning and for preserving and valuing cultural and historical heritage, as well as strategic elements found in the areas examined which are of great archaeological significance and include a large number of archaeological industrial structures. The main objectives of the projects are:

- recording and surveying heterogeneous geographically-referenced information relating to geological and geo-archaeological corings, archaeological sites, historical buildings, monuments and former industrial sites;

- performing diachronic investigations and making complex spatial analysis of the phenomena investigated (critical geological and archaeological elements, state of conservation of ancient buildings, etc.);

- introducing a system for developing historical data management;

- monitoring rehabilitation activities;

- disseminating and exchanging updated and refined data developed within the framework of the various bodies and institutions involved in the project;

- supporting programmes for the development and management of the territory;

- saving both time and financial costs in implementing urban interventions;

- disseminating information in the near future by means of publications, presentations, exhibitions and via Internet.

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Business Problem Solved

We succeeded in overcoming a longstanding organizational and cultural barrier that limits sharing data and collaboration among the various Bodies and Organizations. We were able to establish and manage a formal, effective and efficient networked system of collaboration between Local and Central Bodies, setting up a working team that includes staff of the Rome City Council and of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. The team work is coordinated by the Historical City Office of the Rome City Council, directed by Arch. G. Farina.

Technology Implemented

The project is developed with ESRI software (ArcView 8.3; 3D Analyst and Spatial Analyst). The descriptive information relative to archaeological, historical and environmental data is managed through a relational data base. It is a highly normalized DB, characterized by scalability, exportability and modularity. Its schema can be implemented both in DB Desktop (Access) and in RDBMS server (Oracle, SQL Server). This will facilitate the migration to the ArcSDE architecture without requiring major modifications. Furthermore, an external application was developed that utilizes ADO (ActiveX Data Object), interfaces with the DB, interprets the data and visualizes it.

The development of a new function in ArcGIS, through the use of ArcObjects Utilities, enables retrieving the code of the selected feature and transferring it to the data explorer application developed. The new application is particularly relevant for the management of attachments such as pictures, drawings, plans, etc., managed as OLE data. This enables the Operative System to open any document with the same application that generated it. The analysis performed in ArcGIS is managed through the DB View. This makes it possible to generate and manage reports and layouts.

Development Team Biography

The multidisciplinary working team is composed of art historians and GIS specialists, architects, graphic designers, archaeologists, geologists, and programmers. The diverse professional profiles of the participants and the interdisciplinary and collaborative approach adopted represent one of the main strengths of the project.

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