PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
November 2017
733
BOOK
REVIEW
GIS for Critical Infrastructure Protection
Austin, Robert F., DiSera, David P., & Brooks,
Talbot J.
CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group: Boca Raton, FL. 2016.
Reference, 250pp., 16 Color & 57 B/W Illustrations. Hardcover.
$119.95. ISBN 978146659934
Reviewed by:
Scott L. Trapolino, GISP, Senior GIS
Analyst, Captain Eudora Fire Department, DeSoto
County, Mississippi.
GIS for Critical Infrastructure Protection
illustrates an in-
depth understanding of geospatial technologies, first respond-
er needs, and the importance placed on critical infrastructure
within the government and private sector. The authors explain
critical roles that individuals assume throughout an emergen-
cy response and how GIS maintains a vital role in nearly every
aspect of critical infrastructure management. The intended
audience would consist of First Responders, Government Offi-
cials, GIS Professionals, and Utility Managers in both private
and public sectors. This book contains ten chapters, and, with-
in each chapter, a distinct aspect of Critical Infrastructure
Protection (CIP) is brought to the forefront through insightful
case studies and real world solutions. The book can either be
read in its entirety or utilized as a reference to gain a better
understanding of outreaching components of CIP. Many of the
illustrations utilized in the text are presented again with color
in the book’s center to exhibit the ideas portrayed in reference
to the text. Since this book spans many professional fields, a
section of Acronyms and Abbreviations is found in the text for
ease of reference. Each chapter acts to create interconnections
by bridging gaps through commonalities across many profes-
sional fields that will be evident throughout the book and in
the concluding chapter.
Chapter 1 provides a foundation by constructing the major
themes, models, and players of Critical Infrastructure Protec-
tion in reference to GIS. Chapter 2 presents the basics of GIS
for readers with limited knowledge of geographic terminology
and processes. Chapter 3 presents government applications in-
ternationally while providing an insightful array of tools creat-
ed by the government that can be beneficial for CIP. Chapter 4
describes the industry timeline of GIS in CIP and how the Geo-
spatially Enabling Community Collaboration Program (GEC-
Co) was formed. Chapter 5 defines what critical infrastructure
is for local government and illustrates how local government
plays a crucial role in emergency response and initial data col-
lection and dissemination. Chapters 6 to 8 cover case studies
with lessons learned for the 2012 Republican National Conven-
tion in Tampa, Florida, GECCo Project in Minneapolis and St.
Paul, Minnesota, and hurricanes Katrina and Isaac on the Gulf
Coast. Chapter 9 describes hazard mitigation planning utiliz-
ing GIS methodology that can be replicated anywhere. The final
chapter concludes with a brief description of cyber security and
natural/man-made disasters while binding all of the concepts
throughout the book into a few key points.
Overall this book is well written and presented in a format
that can be utilized as a reference resource or straight read.
The authors’ presentation of the chapters allows for an un-
derstanding of the materials from varying professional fields,
from Emergency Managers to GIS Professionals. This book
provides additional value to the reader in the way that it uses
case studies that contain practical solutions that are linked to
real world implementation. These case studies serve as excel-
lent teaching tools for a variety of situations and each study
contains lessons learned that can be implemented in everyday
workflows to create a safer level of CIP.
GIS for Critical Infrastructure Protection
has accomplished
its objective by creating a compilation of case studies and
lessons learned in a way to allow professionals to assimilate
GIS, Emergency Management, and Critical Infrastructure.
This book is a great professional reference, but also has real
potential for Emergency Management and GIS Programs as
a graduate resource. In my opinion, this book shows how to
create collaboration in planning, data sharing, and foremost
communication between all professionals dealing with Critical
Infrastructure Protection.
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
Vol. 83, No. 11, November 2017, pp. 733–733.
0099-1112/17/733–733
© 2017 American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing
doi: 10.14358/PERS.83.10.733
