Using GIS for Collaborative Land Use Compatibility Planning Near Airports

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Research Report 200: Using GIS for Collaborative Land Use Compatibility Planning Near Airports offers guidance for using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a collaboration tool to encourage compatible land use around airports.

The report is designed to help airport and community planners seeking to work together to protect existing and future airport development as well as maintain safety and improve quality of life for those living and working near airports.

The report includes a description of the perspectives, goals, responsibilities, and concerns of the federal government, airports, and local communities to ensure that each has a good understanding of the others’ missions and priorities. The report also examines potential benefits that GIS might have on fostering collaboration and offers guidance on initiating and maintaining collaboration, and for developing, sharing, and using data.

A key feature of the guidebook is examples of how GIS was used collaboratively to address various land use compatibility issues, including aircraft noise, obstructions, wildlife hazards, and solar glare. A set of appendices supplements the guide by summarizing the role of government, providing a brief history of FAA aeronautical surveys, case studies, and example data sharing agreements.

Presentation templates for stakeholder outreach on noise and obstruction, as well as a sample outreach flier on the value of GIS in airport planning, were produced as part of this project.