Architecture for space and time distributed collaborative spatial decision making

The idea of GIS used by citizens in exercising democracy, dubbed public GIS, involves the use of GIS tools to help laypeople understand the spatial consequences of proposed projects, evaluate alternatives, and create new solutions. The widening use of the Internet creates the opportunity of making GIS a truly public decision making tool by making it accessible regardless of location and times. Before public GIS becomes a reality, however, empirical studies are needed to determine the feasibility of this idea. This paper presents the design of a prototype called Spatial Understanding and Decision Support System (SUDSS) that can be used as tool in implementing public GIS. SUDSS will be used in a series of controlled experiments in which groups of participants will collaborate on the Internet in a real world landuse zoning decision making problem. The paper discusses system's interface design, functionality, and architectural arrangements.