Institutional and Organizational Barriers to Effective Use of GIS by Community-Based Organizations‪.‬

INTRODUCTION Communities across the United States are undergoing rapid changes in land use, demographic, socioeconomic, and infrastructure conditions. Identification, visualization, monitoring, and evaluation of these changes and trends can be enhanced using geographic information systems (GIS) and online data and mapping technologies. GIS and related technologies can also be used to inform and assess land-(re)development projects and to develop comprehensive strategies in community redevelopment and affordable housing. Community-based organizations (CBOs), community development corporations (CDCs), neighborhood associations (NAs), and related coalitions (collectively referred to as community-based organizations in this paper), can take advantage of these technologies to mobilize assets that benefit communities (Greenstein 2006) and to (re)-create quality-of-life communities and regions.