<s>
Geographic	B-Application
information	I-Application
system	I-Application
(	O
GIS	B-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
commonly	O
used	O
tool	O
for	O
environmental	O
management	O
,	O
modelling	O
and	O
planning	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
simply	O
defined	O
by	O
Michael	O
Goodchild	O
,	O
GIS	B-Application
is	O
as	O
"	O
a	O
computer	O
system	O
for	O
handling	O
geographic	O
information	O
in	O
a	O
digital	O
form	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Private	O
business	O
,	O
whether	O
in	O
land	O
management	O
,	O
resource	O
extraction	O
,	O
retail	O
,	O
manufacturing	O
or	O
social	O
media	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
also	O
incorporate	O
GIS	B-Application
into	O
overall	O
profit-making	O
strategies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
more	O
narrowly	O
used	O
to	O
describe	O
the	O
shift	O
to	O
specifically	O
user-generated	O
forms	O
of	O
knowledge	O
creation	O
,	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
routinely	O
invoked	O
in	O
both	O
the	O
public	B-Application
participatory	I-Application
GIS	I-Application
and	O
environmental	O
governance	O
literature	O
at	O
large	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
perhaps	O
the	O
most	O
obvious	O
example	O
of	O
web-based	O
mapping	O
software	O
(	O
a	O
more	O
"	O
citizen-friendly	O
"	O
form	O
of	O
GIS	B-Application
)	O
and	O
environmental	O
governance	O
discourses	O
colliding	O
head	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
example	O
of	O
citizen	O
science	O
and	O
GIS	B-Application
in	O
action	O
is	O
taken	O
from	O
inside	O
the	O
academy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
and	O
citizen	O
science	O
go	O
hand-in-hand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
a	O
local	O
level	O
,	O
GIS	B-Application
has	O
been	O
frequently	O
used	O
to	O
engage	O
stakeholders	O
in	O
the	O
planning	O
of	O
environmentally	O
"	O
bad	O
"	O
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
has	O
thus	O
found	O
itself	O
deployed	O
alongside	O
broader	O
cost-benefit	O
analysis	O
(	O
CBA	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
multi-criteria	O
decision	O
analysis	O
(	O
MCDA	O
)	O
approaches	O
to	O
socio-political	O
conflict	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
provides	O
an	O
important	O
angle	O
to	O
the	O
EJ	O
movement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Maantay	O
and	O
Maroko	O
believe	O
that	O
GIS	B-Application
can	O
have	O
an	O
important	O
role	O
in	O
these	O
"	O
risk-framed	O
"	O
understandings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
using	O
a	O
different	O
GIS	B-Application
method	O
,	O
Maantay	O
and	O
Maroko	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
better	O
represent	O
the	O
impact	O
of	O
such	O
flood	O
events	O
on	O
minority	O
populations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
has	O
also	O
had	O
a	O
role	O
in	O
formulating	O
new	O
urban	O
landscapes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
CAD/CAM	O
technologies	O
are	O
often	O
used	O
to	O
assist	O
in	O
the	O
visualization	O
,	O
construction	O
,	O
and	O
delivery	O
of	O
certain	O
engineering	O
features	O
,	O
GIS	B-Application
helps	O
to	O
realize	O
distinctly	O
spatial	O
components	O
of	O
the	O
city	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Environmental	O
narratives	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
carbon-free	O
"	O
and	O
sustainable	O
future	O
favour	O
those	O
in	O
the	O
GIS	B-Application
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
is	O
being	O
employed	O
to	O
plan	O
,	O
facilitate	O
and	O
test	O
a	O
plethora	O
of	O
environmental	O
phenomena	O
and	O
technological	O
processes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
dedicated	O
GIS	B-Application
team	O
is	O
responsible	O
for	O
"	O
managing	O
the	O
overall	O
spatial	O
information	O
needs	O
"	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
,	O
starting	O
with	O
the	O
drawing	O
of	O
a	O
common	O
base	O
map	O
with	O
which	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
city	O
's	O
infrastructure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
particular	O
,	O
GIS	B-Application
is	O
being	O
used	O
to	O
visualize	O
,	O
analyse	O
and	O
model	O
land-use	O
in	O
the	O
city	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
CH2M	O
Hill	O
's	O
Site	O
Control	O
and	O
GIS	B-Application
Manager	O
for	O
the	O
Masdar	O
project	O
confirms	O
;	O
"	O
never	O
have	O
so	O
many	O
environmental	O
facilities	O
come	O
together	O
in	O
one	O
place	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
is	O
the	O
central	O
tool	O
with	O
which	O
to	O
imagine	O
–	O
in	O
a	O
digital	O
environment	O
–	O
different	O
siting	O
scenarios	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
case	O
,	O
GIS	B-Application
is	O
seen	O
to	O
operate	O
as	O
a	O
decision-making	B-Application
tool	I-Application
;	O
informing	O
the	O
practitioners	O
who	O
work	O
on	O
the	O
Masdar	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
is	O
also	O
being	O
used	O
to	O
model	O
some	O
of	O
Masdar	O
's	O
key	O
infrastructural	O
features	O
directly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
is	O
capable	O
of	O
modelling	O
the	O
system	O
route	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
comprise	O
85	O
passenger	O
stations	O
and	O
approximately	O
1,700	O
automated	O
vehicles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
is	O
an	O
instrumental	O
tool	O
in	O
visualizing	O
such	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
smooth	O
,	O
functioning	O
PRTS	O
is	O
a	O
central	O
infrastructural	O
aspect	O
of	O
Masdar	O
's	O
grand	O
vision	O
,	O
and	O
engineering	O
companies	O
who	O
specialize	O
in	O
GIS	B-Application
technologies	O
have	O
helped	O
in	O
realizing	O
this	O
digitally-orchestrated	O
dream	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
if	O
the	O
rise	O
of	O
the	O
post-political	O
order	O
is	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
increasing	O
reliance	O
upon	O
"	O
technocratic	O
environmental	O
management	O
"	O
,	O
as	O
Swyngedouw	O
has	O
argued	O
,	O
then	O
GIS	B-Application
–	O
as	O
a	O
tool	O
for	O
neoliberal	O
environmental	O
governance	O
–	O
is	O
implicit	O
in	O
such	O
an	O
order	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
short	O
,	O
GIS	B-Application
works	O
as	O
a	O
tool	O
for	O
mediating	O
and	O
diffusing	O
socio-environmental	O
conflicts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
Elwood	O
laments	O
the	O
notionally	O
"	O
participatory	O
"	O
flag-waving	O
carried	O
out	O
by	O
those	O
involved	O
in	O
urban	O
GIS-based	O
projects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
she	O
says	O
,	O
"	O
the	O
skills	O
and	O
financial	O
and	O
temporal	O
costs	O
of	O
using	O
GIS	B-Application
effectively	O
bar	O
many	O
individuals	O
,	O
social	O
groups	O
and	O
organizations	O
from	O
participation	O
in	O
research	O
and	O
decision-making	O
where	O
it	O
is	O
used	O
"	O
,	O
denying	O
those	O
without	O
the	O
means	O
to	O
participate	O
,	O
from	O
participation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
does	O
not	O
necessarily	O
facilitate	O
involvement	O
for	O
all	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
GIS	B-Application
is	O
limited	O
in	O
its	O
ontological	O
scope	O
,	O
reducing	O
all	O
things	O
spatial	O
to	O
a	O
calculable	O
order	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
Leszczynski	O
contends	O
,	O
GIS	B-Application
operates	O
a	O
"	O
discourse	O
populated	O
by	O
discrete	O
objects	O
of	O
knowledge	O
"	O
;	O
differentiating	O
"	O
between	O
the	O
binary	O
of	O
truth	O
and	O
error	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
is	O
thus	O
a	O
central	O
polic-ing	O
tool	O
for	O
contemporary	O
socio-environmental	O
governance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
thus	O
excludes	O
that	O
which	O
cannot	O
be	O
"	O
structured	O
accordingly	O
"	O
,	O
excluding	O
epistemologies	O
that	O
do	O
not	O
neatly	O
fit	O
into	O
the	O
formal	O
computing	O
framework	O
;	O
a	O
formal	O
framework	O
synonymous	O
with	O
"	O
the	O
accountancy	O
calculus	O
of	O
risk	O
and	O
the	O
technologies	O
of	O
expert	O
administration	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
apparatus	O
of	O
choice	O
for	O
the	O
techno-enviro-managerialist	O
,	O
if	O
Ranciere	O
and	O
Swyngedouw	O
's	O
analyses	O
are	O
to	O
be	O
put	O
forward	O
,	O
and	O
Elwood	O
,	O
Crampton	O
and	O
Leszczynski	O
's	O
criticisms	O
are	O
to	O
be	O
accepted	O
,	O
is	O
GIS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
