GIS in Land Use Planning: Lessons from Critical Theory and the Gulf Islands

Abstract

Geographic information systems (GIS) assume an increasingly large role in North American land use planning. Although GIS is often promoted as an answer to both democratic and sustainability issues in planning, this paper calls these premises into question and suggests a less ambitious role for GIS technology in the planning process in the new millennium. The contributions of critical theory to conceptions of decision making and action in planning, as well as a case comparison study of government GIS systems and those of community groups in British Columbia's Gulf Islands are considered. Both strains of argument lead to the conclusion that more than new technology, fresh commitments to communicate and to share planning power and responsibility are needed for more democratic, interactive land use planning.