The City of Boston has been using GIS within individual departments to enhance both operational and analytical functions since the early 1990's. The Assessing Department was the initial creator of spatial `basemap' information (essential cadastral map information that all other location-based information can be referenced to such as parcel boundaries, centerlines and street annotation) in 1990 also.

Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) funded aerial photography and planimetric data such as street centerlines, sidewalks, building outlines. Other Departments have maintained valuable GIS data for their purposes. Census, landuse, zoning, asset management data have all been gathered and maintained by various Departments throughout the City of Boston. However, getting consolidated map information out to city employees and the public has been difficult. In an effort to resolve these types of issues, Boston's Management Information Systems (MIS) Department has taken on the responsibility of developing a centralized, citywide GIS.