| <-- | 5. NATION OF HAWAI`I | CONTENTS | 7. PUBLIC ACCESS | --> |
In this section, we describe our most significant conversations regarding, and insights into, GIS use in the larger context of Hawai`i. We relate relevant findings from our conversations with the offices of several government officials: the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Office of State Planning, the Office of Environmental Quality Control, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the City of Honolulu Department of Land Utilization.
Through interviews with key State officials, we learned about the nature and function of the State GIS and the City and County of Honolulu GIS. These interviews were illuminating and challenged our preconceptions, demanding that we hold several perspectives simultaneously: from the Nation's point of view, we were speaking with representatives of an illegal occupying entity; from some of the critical literature's point of view, we were venturing into the realm of the forces of surveillance and social control.
First, a description of a typical journey to Honolulu could be helpful to give a sense of how we got to most of our interviews. From Pu'uhonua o Waimanalo, we walked past papaya and banana groves, forest, and intermittent houses, about one and one half miles to the main road. From there we caught a bus which traveled ten minutes North into Kailua, then up the spectacular Pali mountains, through a tunnel and down into Honolulu. It would usually take a total of about two hours to get into Honolulu, and then we would often walk or take another bus to get to our interview location. We traveled into this, Hawai`i's capital and main urban center, thirty to forty times to meet with government officials, private consultants, environmental activists, and other significant individuals, to do University research, and to meet with Bumpy. We would also often catch rides into the city with John, who originally picked us up from the airport. The interviews which follow were made usually in about one-hour segments, with a tape recorder present.
Our interviews with Ken Schmidt of the Honolulu City and County GIS Department gave us a first-hand look at "the most comprehensive digital information of any island in the world" (Schmidt, personal communication). Schmidt works with an $800,000 budget, ARC/INFO software, and with the active support of the mayor and city council, helped build this GIS since 1990. He suggested that his primary strategy for creating and implementing the current GIS has been to ensure its support of basic municipalities, thereby rendering it indispensable, and able to be expanded for other purposes and functions. We discuss his vision and description of the system below.
Schmidt claims that the Honolulu Land Information System (HOLIS), substantially reduces the time necessary to answer many common citizen questions. By having basic information readily available at the touch of a button, people who would once have had to come down to an office to personally spend an hour or more with an expert assistant looking up documents and maps, can now, get the same information, often by phone, in as little as five minutes. For example, a citizen could call in and find out if her house was located on a flood plain, the zoning status of adjacent properties, or location and quality of local wells. Schmidt also claimed that with respect to subdivisions of land, before HOLIS they had a backlog of 500 subdivision permits dating back to the 1960s, whereas now they are up to date, with the help of their GIS. Schmidt said that this system significantly increases the efficiency and value of many public services. He also suggested that it had the potential of allowing government to be proactive in planning for wise development and natural resource conservation, though the typical government environment is one of retroactivity and not proactivity.
Schmidt gave us a short tour of the system. Our experience of viewing this GIS put us for just a few minutes in the City planner's seat, where we could see the City and County of Honolulu as it exists in digital form. We navigated the ARC/VIEW program over the multicolored base map of central Honolulu and then zoomed in to explore various parcels and boundaries in terms of ownership, land value, permits, where the sewers and telephone and power lines were located (you could also find out how big the diameter of the sewer was if you wanted), how wide the streets were etc. We were amazed at just how much information was represented within the different layers, and mused at how this indeed must be a planner's dream - not to have to root around for books, tables, graphs, charts, and maps, perhaps located all over the city, but to have the information readily accessible, all in one spatially referenced form.
HOLIS data layers include city potable water lines, parcel boundaries, city storm drain lines, city sewer mains and lateral lines, development plan areas, flood boundaries, police beats boundaries, political jurisdiction boundaries, neighborhood board boundaries, city zoning boundaries, topographic five foot contour lines, hydrography, major streets and highways, State land use/Conservation subdistricts, wetland inventory survey, mean annual rainfall line, and many others. (Department of Land Management, 1995)
We learned from Craig Tasaka that his position as head GIS coordinator for the State, located in the Office of State Planning (OSP) was created in 1987 by Governor Waihee, who had a planning background. Tasaka's job has been to coordinate the State's GIS databases, and to supply the Office of State Planning with a reliable supply of information.
Data layers in the State GIS range from elevation contours, place names, roads and other transportation data, land use, land ownership, well data, bodysurfing sites, bird habitat, hydrography, average rainfall, average sunshine, vegetation, wetlands, utility information, to lava flow hazard zones, and park lands, among others. (State of Hawai`i, 1995)
Eric Kumari of the Department of Land and Natural Resources's (DLNR) Historic Preservation Division, is in charge of facilitating the development of a database of archaeological sights on the Hawaiian islands. So far the database has 2500 archaeological sites and 300 excavations on Oahu alone. Kumari emphasized that GIS could be a tool for understanding the past. The DNLR database has as its purpose the understanding and preservation of the records and artifacts of the historic and prehistoric Hawaiian civilization, Kumari told us. Figure 6.1 gives an example of how GIS can be used to create a computerized map based on a compilation of historic data.
All new excavations check in through his office for the appropriate permits. Kumari said that the database has thus far been very useful for both researchers and developers. GIS is well suited for this information, because not only can you visually see the location and distribution of sites, but for any site you can call up relevant information like the exact location, nature of the site, name of researchers, title of reports, etc. Another major use is for pre-development site studies, to ascertain what archaeological history is present.
Schmidt's candid discussion of the often short-sighted, infighting-filled, uncertain budgetary culture of state and local government was illuminating for us, as it reminded us that there may not be a monolithic, power-hungry entity called "the government," but that there are far-sighted people and policies, and there are short-sighted people and policies which determine intragovernmental dynamics and potential for long-term success and failure. Schmidt's (1995) paper entitled "Establishing GIS Functionality in the Operations of Local Government" is also useful in exploring these issues, and the challenges of promoting a new way of doing things to slow-moving, territorial bureaucracies. Still, Schmidt felt that the days of corrupt, centralized government were over in Hawai`i, and while the system was far from perfect, things were moving in the right direction.
Schmidt's role, he felt, was to establish the fundamental usefulness of the City's GIS, consistently improving its quality and range of practical services. Schmidt maintained that in an environment continually subject to the whims of elected officials and budgetary fluctuations, it is essential to be smart about the introduction of an expensive information technology which competes with other, previously implemented information technologies/information systems. He argued that this approach of alliance-building and practicality is what distinguishes the success and usefulness of HOLIS from the State system, which has much less support, and much less impact.
Today, under a new governor, not only has Tasaka's staff been cut from eight to three, but the whole Office has suffered cuts from 40 to 20 in one year, due to State budget cuts and different priorities. Tasaka was clearly demoralized about the current situation, and alluded to the fact that his job and the overall OSP may have much less than unlimited potential. "GIS has unlimited potential," he said, and discussed his high hopes for the potential of GIS to assist long-term (sustainable) planning. However, these hopes were clearly just that, as under a new governor (who was not a planner by profession), the long-term Hawai`i State plan has languished and been ignored, and at the writing of this thesis, the GIS equipment and personnel at the Office of State Planning may very well soon be subsumed by the Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED).
Learning this was, for us, yet another instance of witnessing the division, pain, and lack of cohesion at the government level, characterized by policy development with little comprehensive long-term planning. This man was visibly distressed at the unfolding situation, and felt that the State was losing an opportunity to make the best use of this powerful tool. Tasaka was not bitter or resentful toward anyone that we could see, just regretful that the State was going through tough times and having to make difficult decisions, including the potential of cutting his job and department.
Recalling the City GIS, we could not help but feel that Ken Schmidt has made some useful points. Moving the GIS coordinating/State planning office out of the Governor's office is perhaps symbolic of a significant lack of vision - if budget cuts because of hard times are the excuse, then perhaps it is time to re-explore the importance of planning and sustainable economic policy - made possible in part by the comprehensive information coordinated and displayed by GIS. Sending the GIS coordinator position from the Office of State Planning to the Department of Business and Economic Development, (aside from the shift in priorities this move connotes), perhaps demonstrates again that direct GIS usefulness is important for survival. If the GIS environment is not proactive and prevents even the exploration of GIS' potential for proactivity and comprehensive planning and policy making, it is perhaps just a matter of time before the system gets axed, moved, or broken down for parts.
For his part, Eric Kumari at the DLNR wished for a larger staff, but was evidently grateful for the integrative tool that GIS has provided in the last several years to his department. With a background in archaeology, Kumari smiled when he suggested that when archaeology uses GIS, "you know everyone must be using it!"
Schmidt told us that one must lease the right to access the City and County's data layers from the Department of Land Utilization, that one may use the information for one year, cannot give it to anyone else or make any reproductions of it, and must pay a varied fee for each layer depending on data size and comprehensivity: the cost is approximately $35,000 for all the data layers of the City and County of Honolulu. Schmidt said that the cost of leasing this information, collected through taxpayer funds, was necessary to recoup the investment and maintenance of such a comprehensive database. He pointed out that it is quite valuable information to many interests, and that the public sector needs to ensure its own sustainability as well. When asked about the issue of public access, he maintained that he wanted to see public access terminals installed in which people could have free access to City and State data layers, and ultimately he hoped that the City and State would actually give away the data in some form to the public for their own use, but that for now, the decisions were made "on higher levels," and he had to follow them.
The State of Hawai`i not only has no vision of public information access, but it has no current policy: State data layers used by OSP and other departments, also collected with public funds, cannot be purchased at any price.
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In reflecting on our experiences with City/State officials, we are struck by two things: first, the extent to which these people were frustrated by their inability to utilize GIS more fully, for several socially beneficial purposes, and second, that GIS must be supported by shared vision and necessary long-term support for it to live up to its potential. In Hawai`i today, there seems to be little long term sustainable vision initiated from any level of government, except for ever-increasing tourism, golf courses, and hotels.
An essential issue we would like to reflect on is that of the creation and maintenance of information. Hardware and software are foundations of a full GIS, but without information, a GIS is of little value. However, in our research, we discovered the existence of a number of GIS initiatives by individuals at the grassroots level, as well as within the government itself. We will discuss several of these initiatives below: The Nature Conservancy's endangered species database, Gary Gill's Office of Environmental Quality Assessment CD, Andy Tomlinson's work with a prisoner data entry program, Will Freeman's public water quality GIS initiative, OHA's water resource assessment and comprehensive GIS initiative, and the Ahupua`a Action Alliance's proposed information trade suggest that there exist a myriad of pressing and significant issues in Hawai`i around what data there is?, who has access to it?, and what data is actually needed by different groups for different purposes? How should it be collected and coordinated? What drives the collection of State data? To what extent is the State's data constructed from the top down, and what are the effects of this? How does the current information influence or limit Hawai`i's social and policy debates?
We start with Will Freeman; one of the initiators of a public water quality GIS initiative. Freeman intends to redress what he considers to be a glaring omission in the State and City databases: the lack of systematic monitoring and public availability of water quality information. We spoke to Will several times about this initiative, and he emphasized that he was very dissatisfied with the types of information the State collected, and what he interprets as the deliberate withholding of that information. A 1995 draft of his GIS initiative proposal criticizes the difficulty of access to City and State information.
The State of Hawai`i and the City and County of Honolulu have the responsibility to make GIS and water quality data available to the general public. These are data that we have already paid for, are public record, and have no reason to be withheld as a matter of confidentiality. However, getting access to this digital data is easier said than done. The State and County are not yet freely available to the general public. These are data that we have already paid for, are public record, and have no reason to be withheld as a matter of confidentiality. However, getting access to this digital data is easier said than done. As (the City and State's data) are housed in various offices (County Office of General Planning, State Office of State Planning, USGS, SCS, etc.), access is more cumbersome still. (Freeman and Niederer 1995: 1, 10)
Freeman's initiative will be elaborated on in the next section.
Royce Jones is a main GIS consultant for the State and City government who shed light on the status of the City and State's data by pointing out that Oahu county is the only county with up to date information, and that all other counties (and islands) are 5-7 years behind in terms of completeness and usability. Jones addressed the issue of accessibility by pointing out that there was only one buyer of all the City/State layers last year - Bishop Estate, a wealthy trust/corporation active in many aspects of Hawaiian culture and politics.
One of the most dramatic indications of the lack of public information access was the comments and work of Gary Gill, Director of the Office of Environmental Quality Control. Gill oversees the review of Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), which he suggests create the basis for among "the most participatory forms of government yet invented." A second generation environmentalist and government employee, Gill passionately emphasized the importance of the free exchange of information for a functioning democracy. He said, "This (GIS) is the next major tool the public will have to really decentralize the planning process and decentralize the review process so the public themselves will become experts." However, he pointed out that the only lessee of City of Honolulu data layers this year is the Bishop Estate, which can afford the $35,000 one-year lease fee. As one example of the advantage this information provides in a political/land use struggle, he pointed out the use by Bishop Estate of the State GIS information in the creation of a contested development planning map near the Sandy Beach area on the southeast coast of Oahu.
In discussing the government, Gill stated, "...the State is not as coordinated as I would like them to be. And it won't get better soon because they got their GIS staff cut in half." It was clear that many departments were being hit hard by recent budget cuts, and Gill's was no exception. Nevertheless, he is proceeding earnestly with a very daring project, which he hopes will open the way for public GIS data access. We will explore our candid discussion with Gill over this project in the next section.
Andy Tomlinson, a geography student at University of Hawai`i who also works with the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, is currently involved with a very important potential development involving the input of GIS data for the State. As Tomlinson related it, an inmate approached him about the possibility of creating a program in Hawai`i to train inmates to enter and update State GIS data. The inmate had done research into a similar program in Texas which seemed to benefit all sides: the State got very cheap data entry; the prisoners got some wages and potentially marketable future skills; the prisons which in Hawai`i are a private corporation, would become "more economically sustainable;" the taxpayers would arguably get passed along these benefits in reduced State expenses and prisoners better prepared to integrate back into society.
In a meeting in late March, Tomlinson said that he was surprised to see the turnout of government officials and consultants who were interested in exploring the program further. In the months since then, the State has moved forward on this plan, and is preparing to implement it under the direction of Craig Tasaka at the Office of State Planning.
Tomlinson also commented on the impending removal of the Office of State Planning as an entity in the governor's office, and incorporation into the Department of Business and Economic Development. Calling it "horrible," Tomlinson suggested that it meant a still greater emphasis on developing the short-sighted, unsustainable infrastructure that brought Hawai`i to the distress characterized by the present day economy, ecology, and culture.
Jon Goss is a professor at the University of Hawai`i who has done significant recent research on the use of GIS by business and government for sophisticated marketing and surveillance purposes, in what are called Geodemographic Information Systems (GDIS). Goss communicated with us about the potential use in Hawai`i of prison labor for GIS data entry, suggesting that it "smacks of exploitation," and that the argument that it would confer "useful skills which they will be able to sell on the outside and so become productive members of society ... I think ... is a fairly cynical rationalization for a means to obtain cheap labor. It may be that my pessimism is unfounded and that it could work if the right people are involved, but I have serious doubts, and I do not believe that in this case the ends justify the means." (Goss, personal communication)
Ira Rohter (1992) is also a professor at the University of Hawai`i, and while we have not had the opportunity to speak with him personally yet, we have studied his seminal book on the creation of a sustainable Hawai`i, called Green Hawai`i. In this book Rohter gives an insightful analysis of the current order of power in Hawai`i, from an ecological perspective.
Who makes the decisions in Hawai`i? Tourism is increasingly becoming owned by vastly powerful international conglomerates. Their intensifying control of Hawai`i's hotels, real estate, commercial properties, and housing has led to a high concentration of economic power in the hands of off-Island investors. But whether major economic decisions are made in executive offices located in Tokyo or Chicago, San Francisco or New York, matters little; in all instances, choices are made on the basis of making maximum profits for their corporations, not on the welfare of Hawai`i's citizens. The links between powerful trans-national hotel chains, banks, and airlines, and local real estate developers, construction companies, financial institutions, businesses, and local political leaders are significant and lucrative for all actors.Beneficiaries of growth - architects, contractors and engineers, bankers and financiers, developers and realtors, landowners, lawyers, hotel owners, labor unions - are major campaign contributors to sitting politicians. Even foreign-owned corporations directly contribute to officeholders. These funds give incumbents an enormous advantage over challengers. no wonder that in the 1990 election, none of the 12 Senate incumbents met defeat (five ran unopposed) and only three of 51 incumbent state House candidates lost (with 17 of them running unopposed). So the tourist industry and growth will continue to be promoted at all cost. (Rohter, 1992: 49-50)
That Hawaiian government is corrupt and controlled by the "Democratic machine" was argued to us by John Kelly, the husband of Marion Kelly, the well-known anthropologist and Great Mahele scholar at the University of Hawai`i. Kelly is the primary organizer and leader of one of the oldest and most successful environmental preservation groups in Hawai`i. Raised near Waikiki in the 1920's, Kelly has seen firsthand the development changes on Oahu, and being an avid surfer and fisherman, he organized local ocean enthusiasts into a powerful coalition that has stopped more than 3 billion dollars worth of development projects threatening valuable coastline, in three decades of activism. Having battled most State and City agencies, he has not only become knowledgeable about the intricacies of State power, but he has developed a reputation for getting things done, and being worthy of absolute confidence.
One night in the 1960's Kelly was awakened at 3:00 a.m. from sleep by a phone call from a woman asking to remain anonymous, who wanted to give Kelly something of potentially great importance to his work. Kelly met the woman in a secluded part of town, where he was given a rolled-up document. It turned out in the light of day, that Kelly had been given an in-house 1965 map of one of Hawai`i's largest contractor's proposed building projects! Spanning the whole city of Honolulu, Dillingham Corporation's projects were shaded blue, and many were years away while many were already underway, though not yet announced publicly. Kelly used this map to show people the extent of the construction going on in Honolulu, whether they knew about it all or not. Kelly told us that of all his collection of images and pictures, this particular map turned more people on to "Save our Surf" than any other. In saying this, Kelly drove home the power of a map to tell a story; to capture the imagination.
This story is relevant here for several reasons, but we will describe just one: secret maps have existed for millennia, but they always have a chance of being discovered at some point. However with GIS, private databases can exist unbeknownst to anyone but its creator / assembler and those with access privileges: no artifacts ever need be produced. This is demonstrated in Hawai`i in the case of Bishop Estate (one of the largest landowners in Hawai`i). The map it created for the "Sandy Beach conflict" in its "Environmental Impact Report" of its proposed development utilized information it had purchased from the City of Honolulu, though generally its GIS data is only implied in certain situations, but probably never fully revealed.
In the same way, Geodemographic Information Systems (GDIS) used by private firms and governments combine and manipulate vast datasets, creating information - consumer maps - for marketing so valuable that they are kept very private, and sold to corporations for "intelligent" focused marketing campaigns, said to be much superior to traditional marketing methods (Goss 1995a, 1995b). One of the intricacies of this research is that there is no guarantee that we will ever be aware of all the relevant GIS and GIS data in Hawai`i to study; for unlike maps, GIS can be totally discrete and surreptitious, accessible to only a select few. We can probably be sure that John Kelly is glad that the Dillingham construction map had not been computerized - who knows if it would ever have been printed, and then he would be minus a star organizing tool for two decades....
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