A comparison of manual and geographic information system techniques for environmental planning mapping and analysi

A municipal master plan based on residential carrying capacity and environmental sensitivity was produced for a rural western New Jersey township using traditional manual overlay techniques. Files containing road, wetland, hydrography, woodland, soil, floodplain, and geology data were developed. Comparison of databases developed using traditional and alternative data sources was performed. The correlation between wetlands as depicted on the National Wetlands Inventory Maps and hydric soils as identified on the U.S. Soil Conservation Service soil survey maps was investigated. Total map similarity and similarity between individual map features was measured.;Map overlay commands were executed on the geographic information system (GIS) to produce a composite map simulating that produced using traditional manual techniques. Using a GIS to perform this planning analysis took approximately three times longer than performance by traditional manual techniques, while generating a map that was 39 percent different--the GIS map not necessarily being in error. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.).