Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
getting everyone to use public transport instead of driving did not have a huge
impact on air quality; there was only a very slight decrease in pollution levels. It is
possible that the pollution, which only existed in the center of Paris, has started to
extend out to the city's peripheries. Much research still requires to be carried out on
this theory.
The use of a GIS to create a prevention plan (formed on the basis of the
documents produced, which provide information on the amount of pollution that is
present in the atmosphere) requires the collaboration of many different people who
are involved in the entire process. These people range from the model designers
right through to the people in charge of health and administration, as well as the
politicians and the inhabitants of the areas in question. It is possible for a GIS to
become a governance tool by using all of the different people who are involved in
the fight against pollution.
6.4.3.
Is geographical information used as a governance tool?
The introduction of governance has led to an increased number of technicians
leaving the world of teaching to take on more support and intermediary roles
24
. The
large number of communication services that exist in towns means that for the
moment elected politicians are able to create positions for those technicians who are
changing vocation. Thanks to this change in vocation it has become possible for
technicians to communicate information to the general public in simple terms.
Trying to decode extremely technical information and make it available to the
general public as well as to decision-makers in a language that can be easily
understood is a real challenge. Complicated, technical language should be avoided
in order to create a real sense of governance between the different groups of people
who are affected by the quality of the environment that surrounds them, and thus by
the quality of the surrounding air. There are occasions when the technicians who
work in this field do not understand each other, meaning that the language that they
use will not be understood by the general public. Governance is often hindered by
the technicians and their backgrounds as they are incapable of producing
information that is aimed at the general public. Each individual inhabitant of a town
or city needs to be involved with governance, so that this method can be applied to
the problems associated with air pollution. On one hand, governance needs to feed
public debate on a particular topic, and on the other, the general public needs to
become more involved in governance. This idea of governance stems from the
world of politics, and should incorporate technical knowledge that can be used to
overcome the problems.
After being used as part of a long trial period, would it be possible to integrate
mass communication methods (made up of GIS) into more general methods that are
used to improve the quality of the environment on all levels? What the inhabitants
of towns and cities want to know about pollution levels and what they can do to
24 State plan adopted in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais.
