Designing a WebGIS System to Support Active Participation of Citizens in Land Use Planning

Abstract

The effectiveness of a land use planning (LUP) system depends largely on its transparency. In this context, the Vietnamese LUP system is often being criticized for the insignificant participation of the local community in developing and implementing land use plans. To cope with this problem, the authors have developed a LUP WebGIS system to provide a government-to-citizen communication channel and enhance active participation of the local community in LUP. Based on an open source platform (PostgreSQL/PostGIS, MapServer, pMapper, and Apache), the LUP WebGIS system allows the citizens to browse LUP and cadastral data, make and view feedbacks and proposals to LUP plans, exchange messages with governmental staff and other citizens, etc. The system was tested in Đông Anh District, Hanoi City and achieved positive results, though some modifications are required to better suit to the needs of the citizens.