IOZIP
The Prague Environmental Information System;
Information for City Authorities and the Public
Jaroslav Solc
Institute of Municipal Informatics of the City of Prague,
Zatecka str. 2, 120 00 Prague 2, Czech Republic
E-mail: jsolc@imip.monet.cz
SUMMARY
Prague, like other large cities, has its own environmental problems and requires necessary background information. One of the most important activities in this field is the development of the Prague Environmental Information System (in short IOZIP). The system is managed by the Institute of Municipal Informatics of the City of Prague (IMIP). It was developed more than ten years ago, and since then has passed through several conceptual, technical and organisational changes, however the basic objectives are still valid. Its purpose is to collect environmental data from different sources, to process the data in digital form, and to produce summarised output information for the City Authorities, experts and the public. The system covers a number of problematic issues such as air, water, soil, landscape, noise etc. Modern telematic technologies like GIS and the Internet are also being used for data processing. The resulting information is available either in digital or printed form (CD-ROM, Internet, yearbooks, atlas etc.).
INTRODUCTION
The Institute of Municipal Informatics of the City of Prague (IMIP) is an institution supported from the municipal budget of Prague and is responsible for activities aimed at supporting the development of the city's information systems (such as the development of a municipal computer network, electronic mail services, municipal WWW server administration, compilation of digital maps, administration and management of selected city data). One area the Institute has been focusing on is the environment, namely through the Prague Environmental Information System and other related activities.
The origins of the System date back to the mid-1980s, when the environment field was earmarked to be one of the thematic registers covered by the Municipal Information System Project. At that time "IOZIP" (derived form the Czech "Informacni system o zivotnim prostredi v Praze") was launched with the monitoring of selected environmental elements and supplementary data collection. During its existence, the system has undergone some organisational and technological changes. Since 1994, it has been operated and administered by IMIP. IMIP also launches and coordinates additional activities related to the processing of information on the environment in cooperation with Environmental Department of the Municipal Authority of the City of Prague.
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE IOZIP SYSTEM
- The Prague Environmental Information System (IOZIP) covers a range of complex different activities related to the collecting and processing of data on selected environmental components within the City of Prague.
- The purpose of the System is to:
- Collect, sort and process data, acquired by various organisations and institutions;
- Ensure regular measurement of environmental factors for which no other monitoring sources exist;
- Evaluate and summarise the data and produce output information;
- Provide outputs from the System to municipal authorities and other users.
- The System is managed by the Institute of Municipal Informatics of the City of Prague, both in material and financial terms, and in relation to other environmental activities;
- IOZIP does not replace other specialised data collection and processing systems, e.g. air pollution monitoring, waste management etc., but relies on selected data acquired from other systems;
- The central IOZIP database runs on a network server under the FoxPro software system. Preparations for its conversion onto a higher-level relational database (Oracle platform) and establishing direct links to GIS are currently underway;
- The central database content consists of results of measurements of environmental components in the following main "problem areas;" air, water, soil, surface and greenery, noise;
- During the last three years, thematic environmental maps have been generated and administered in GIS format as part of the IOZIP System;
- Information is disseminated in both digital and printed form (e.g. from database applications and GIS formats, yearbooks, atlases and maps). Selected data is also available on the Internet and on CD-ROM;
- Yearbooks and other publications are produced based on data extracted from the central database, sets of map layers, the results of other projects, and data requested from experts.
THE IOZIP DATABASE
The IOZIP database currently comprises four principal components which mainly reflect the organisational aspects of data administration.
The Central Database
The initial phase of the System's development included a central database, regularly updated since the 1980s, and divided into problem areas and problem sub-areas of air, soil, surface and greenery, and noise (see Table 1 below). This reflects the nature and manner of data acquisition. The data is either collected from other organisations and institutions that operate state-financed data acquisition projects (such as the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, National Public Health Institute, Public Health Office of the City of Prague, Water Management Research Institute etc.), or acquired under contract to IMIP (e.g. PÚDIS, Prague Sewage and Water Management Company, SALIX, Czech Union of Nature Conservation etc.).
| AIR |
| PPO 11 - Local air pollution along roads |
Data acquired by a mobile measurement unit with a measurement cycle of several days; including immissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, dust, lead, as well as complementary traffic and weather data |
| PPO 12 - Suspended particulate matter |
Data on dust and contents of major elements and heavy metals in aerosols |
| PPO 13 - Dust fallout |
Data on dust fallout, i.e. the solid fraction of atmospheric deposits, and major element contents |
| PPO 14 - Atmospheric deposition |
Precipation quantity and quality data - total rain/snowfall, pH, conductivity, anions, cations, and heavy metals |
| PPO 15 - Station measurements of regional atmospheric pollution |
Atmospheric pollution taken from the Air Quality Information System of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, including data from Prague automatic monitoring system sites |
| WATER |
| PPO 21 - Surface water |
Data acquired by monitoring the quantity and quality of water in streams - Vltava and Berounka Rivers, selected profiles on creeks |
| PPO 22 - Groundwater |
Monitoring of groundwater quality in selected springs and wells |
| SOIL |
| PPO 31 - Soil |
Soil composition and contamination data from selected sites - urban, roadsides, reclaimed land etc. |
| NOISE |
| PPO 81 - Traffic noise |
Traffic noise data, complemented by traffic and weather information |
| SURFACES AND GREENERY |
| PPO 41 - Surfaces and greenery |
Environmental characteristics of land lot surfaces, acquired by visual inspection |
Table 1. Review of Sub-areas of the central IOZIP database.
Independent Database Files
Database files resulting from other projects are also collected within IOZIP. This includes data on air pollution sources (REZZO - Registers of Air Pollution Emissions and Sources), used particularly for air quality model calculations (see Table 2 below).
| REZZO 1 |
Large stationary sources (capacity > 5 MW) and significant technologies - point sources |
| REZZO 2 |
Medium stationary sources (0.2 - 5 MW) and technologies - point sources |
| REZZO 3 |
Small stationary sources, local heating - airborne sources |
| REZZO 4 |
Mobile sources, traffic - linear sources |
Table 2. Data on air pollution sources.
Thematic maps (GIS)
Thematic maps are generated in GIS format (MapInfo, ArcView) as a part of the IOZIP system under the name GIS-ZIP, and include an application program for their presentation. The GIS layers present data selections and aggregations from the above mentioned two categories (see Table 3 below), and digitised map outputs produced as parts of projects run by other institutions (such as maps of the Institute of the City Development, Municipal Authorities of Prague etc.). The digital maps of IMIP's Geodesy Department serve as background for environmental maps.
| THEMATIC AREA - Topic |
Remark |
| AIR |
| Local atmospheric pollution along roads |
Sites and data from the PPO 11 database |
| Airborne dust particles |
Sites and data from the PPO 12 database |
| Dust fallout |
Sites and data from the PPO 13 database |
| Atmospheric deposition |
Sites and data from the PPO 14 database |
| Station measurements of regional atmospheric pollution |
Sites and data from the PPO 15 database |
| Prague climate quality classification |
Digitised maps contributed by ÚRM, ÈHMÚ |
| Note: ATEM layers are generated in the framework of an independent project (air pollution sources, reference points with results of model calculations and maps of air-pollution areas are incorporated into interlinked GIS-ATEM and GIS-ZIP applications) |
| WATER |
| Surface water |
Sites and data from the PPO 21 database |
| Groundwater |
Sites and data from the PPO 22 database |
| Streams - water management authorities |
Stream courses digitised from maps provided by PKVT |
| Hydrogeological risks |
Digitised map contributed by ÚRM |
| Springs and water-conveying channels |
Digitised data contributed by ÚRM and VÚV (new in 1997) |
| Sources of drinking and supply water |
Digitised data contributed by IKE (new in 1997) |
| SOIL |
| Soil |
Sites and data from the PPO 31 database |
| Radon-related risks |
Digitised map contributed by ÚRM |
| LANDSCAPE |
| Surfaces and greenery - cadastral areas |
Data from the PPO 41 database - review of the cadastral area |
| Biomonitoring |
Boundaries of areas under observation |
| Nature protection areas and their protective zones |
Accurate boundaries delineated by IMIP in cooperation with the Environmental Department of the Municipal Authority of the City of Prague (new in 1997) |
| Nature parks |
Boundaries taken over from URM |
| Vegetation maps |
Outputs of the "Health Condition of Parks and Greenery Assessment" project - IMIP, MHMP, Aquatest (new in 1997) |
| Landfills and historical pollution |
Digitised data of the Environmental Department of the Municipal Authority of the City of Prague |
| Note: The Greenery Master Plan and Territorial System of Environmental Stability layers are produced within the framework of independent projects and will be included into the GIS-ZIP system after verification |
| NOISE |
| Traffic noise |
Sites and data from the PPO 81 database |
| Noise distribution map |
Noise levels on the front faces of residential houses, digitised data by IMIP, provided by PÚDIS, AKMEST (new in 1997: Prague 8 and Prague 2) |
| Automotive traffic noise map |
Noise levels along selected roads and streets, digitised data by IMIP |
| Air traffic noise |
Digitised maps of ÚRM, Techson |
| Anti-noise barriers |
Digitised maps of ÚRM, Dinprojekt |
Table 3: Review of thematic map layers in the GIS-ZIP system
Supporting Data Contributed for the Yearbook and other Publications
Sets of data collected for publishing purposes are presented, for example, in the Prague and its Environment Yearbook. In addition to all the data categories listed above and maintained in a digital form, written documentation from a number of institutions is also being collected and presented, such as annual reports or articles prepared specifically for the Yearbook. For the purpose of achieving a certain level of national and standardised environmental assessment allowing comparison of different regions and time periods, work has commenced on the development of an Environmental Statistical Database for the City of Prague.
In 1997, the transfer of data from IOZIP into the Oracle database environment began, with the installation of the necessary technology at IMIP. The project also includes the development of data management tools and output generation utilities in the Oracle environment, direct links to the GIS system, as well as the presentation of user outputs using Intranet/Internet (Web server) technology. Thus, the first steps toward data management standardisation in a standardized environment have been made, although the data has hitherto been produced and managed in various ways.
OTHER PROJECTS
Besides IOZIP, other municipal projects and activities undertaken by IMIP include:
- Digitisation of the Master Greenery Plan and the Territorial Environmental Stability System;
- Review of Boundaries of Small-area Nature Reserves and Sites;
- Noise Load Distribution Maps;
- Data on Air Pollution Sources (REZZO);
- ATEM - Air Quality Assessment Project;
- Monitoring of Toxic Organic Substances;
- PREMIS - Air Quality Information System.
Output data from these projects are incorporated into the IOZIP System, where possible, mainly as a part of the GIS-ZIP. Detailed information on these projects is regularly presented in the Yearbook.
USERS AND OUTPUTS
Data from IOZIP is provided to users in several standardised forms:
- Selected data from the central database and through user applications on PCs (SGU system, 1994);
- Data processed in the GIS environment and under user applications (GIS-ZIP system, 1997);
- Prague Environment Yearbook (in Czech since 1989 and in English since 1992);
- Other specialised publications - Surfaces and Greenery in Prague by Cadastral Units (1995), Air Pollution Sources in Prague (1997), Prague Environment - Trends and Statistics (1998);
- Set of standardised map sheets; Atlas of the Environment of Prague (1997, 1998), produced as output from GIS-ZIP in A3 format;
- New editions of maps in formats up to A0 (scale 1:10,000) containing environmental data (maps of natural protected areas, vegetation maps, noise maps, air pollution sources maps etc.);
- At the end of 1997, a set of eight publications was published on a CD-ROM under the name Prague Environment 1. The CD-ROM contains 6 yearbooks (4 Czech and 2 English), plus the Atlas of the Environment 1997, and a publication on nature protection areas in Prague;
- Yearbooks are also presented on the Internet under http://www.monet.cz
The primary data and PC applications are intended for the use of experts, namely members of environmental departments of the municipal and district authorities. Yearbooks, maps and other publications are available for public use (e.g. at the municipal map-shop at IMIP). Besides this, bespoke information (data selection, aggregation, maps etc.) can be collected and produced upon request.
Regular users of IOZIP's outputs are the municipal authorities and other institutions of the City of Prague (e.g. Institute for City Development, Public Health Office), organisations contributing data sources, state administration (The Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic), territorial planning architects and designers, experts for environmental assessment, students, and any Prague citizen interested in environmental information.
IOZIP plays an interesting service role not only for city decisionmakers, but for anyone looking for aggregated data on Prague's environment, or who needs better orientation with regard to Prague's environmental data.
REC * PROGRAMS * TELEMATICS * DETERMINE
