ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications in local governments in Poland over the last 5 years. It also discusses the development of GIS in regional and local authorities has been driven by this duality. At the subregional level it is assumed that cadastral data as well as various information currently stored in 1:500 and 1:1000 paper maps will form the backbone of the system. Standardization includes various issues: adopting a set of rules to be used in the process of the creation of the system, imposing strict routines on how the system is being created and finally imposing decisions on the hardware and software used by various 'base units'. However we have our reservations this approach: The model of the creation of the GIS by the central governmental administration reflects the natural tendency to control everything that is happening at lower levels of administration.
