GIS IS DEAD - LONG LIVE GIS

Changes in technology-especially advances in object-oriented programmi ng systems and widespread digital connectivity via the World Wide Web- are fundamentally restructuring the way planners will interact with co mputers, and with the data and models that reside on those computers. I examine significant trends in remote CIS, emerging standards for the specification of spatial objects, spatial data libraries, object-orie nted programming, and internet-based programming languages such as Jav a. These trends point to a Future when the next paradigm for GIS will be planning support systems with embedded spatial data and process mod els, enabling stakeholders in the planning process to focus more on th e ''what'' and the ''why'' rather than the ''how'' of GIS-based models .