SITMUN is a project that is being developed thanks to the INTERREG III-B Community initiative. It is being integrated by seven principal members and thirteen contributor members from different regions of the SUDOE zone (southwest Europe)

Interreg III is a Community initiative with the main objective of stimulating inter-regional cooperation in the European Union. It is financed from FEDER funds. The Interreg III-B standard promotes transnational cooperation involving national, regional and local authorities, with the aim of improving integration in the European Union by means of the setting up of large groups of European regions.

The Southwest Europe Transnational Space is made up of the NUTS II regions of four member states:

Spain: the whole territory
Portugal: the whole territory
France: six regions (Aquitaine, Auvergne, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Midi-Pyrénées and Poitou-Charentes)
UK: Gibraltar

More information in SUDOE.

The idea of SITMUN arises out of the verification of the difficulty of implementation of SIG tools on a municipal level. The plan is to develop a centralized municipal SIT that, managed by supramunicipal bodies, will allow the provision of SIG functions to those town councils who need them but who do not have the means for correct implementation.

The main objective of SITUM thus consists in developing support instruments for territorial management of municipalities by means of digital cartography and SIG tools. More specifically it is hoped to:

· Improve the limitations of analogical maps
· Standardize the structure of digital cartography
· Ensure maintenance of digital cartography
· Promote the use of SIT as a territorial management and consultation tool
· To create a territorial network of administrations that use SIT

In order to achieve the objectives proposed, SITMUN will use the technology of map servers. This type of technology allows the tool to be managed and run by a supramunicipal body, with the idea of minimizing costs to the client body and maximizing the number of municipalities with SIG capacity for territorial administration.

PHASES OF THE PROJECT

For the correct development of the project, the following phases have been established:

1. A study on territorial information and fields of application
2. A study of the tool: analysis and design
3. Implementation of the tool
4. Implementation in the territory
5. Spreading information and communication of the project
6. Evaluation of the project

RESULTS OF SITMUN

It is hoped to achieve SITMUN with the implementation of a SIT by means of common map server technology that is easy to use and that includes the possibility of handling geographical information, responding to the needs set out in phase 2 of the project.

The principal members of the project carry out all the map server creation process, from the implementation of the necessary functions to the design and programming of the system.

SITMUN will be finalized on June 30th, 2005. By then it is hoped that the bases that guarantee continuity of the project results will be set up.

For further information on SITMUN, you can download the project description in the download area.