Directions on State and Local Government

Defining Road Suffixes and other Government GIS News

Wed, 30 May 2012 06:36:11 -0500

Franklin County, MO has nailed down one part of its addressing scheme, the one related to "road name suffixes, descriptions and abbreviations. On the list are: alleys, avenues, boulevards, branches, circles, courts, coves, crossings, drives, forks, lanes, loops, paths, places, points, roads, runs, spurs, streets, terraces, trails, walks and ways While this sounds...

Visiting All the U.S. Counties for Fun

Wed, 30 May 2012 03:04:53 -0500

Reid Williamson, 64, has been to every county in the United States, 3,143 of them. While we and our peers are mapping these units, he’s been methodically visiting them starting at age 14, when he received an atlas as a gift.

Intermap and Blue Marble Announce Strategic Partnership

Tue, 29 May 2012 08:06:07 -0500

Intermap's leading-edge geospatial data now available to subscribers of Blue Marble's Global Mapper Software DENVER, May 29, 2012 - Intermap and Blue Marble Geographics, two of the world's leading providers of highly accurate geospatial data solutions, announced a strategic partnership today to integrate Intermap's NEXTMap(R) dataset with Blue...

Quote of the Week - 5/29/12

{blog_authors backspace="2"}Quote of the Week - 5/29/12, {/blog_authors} — Tue, 29 May 2012 06:00:47 -0500

"We have a GIS system, we have a waste water system, our water system, we have it also for solid waste. So it's just various things that just happens within public works on a day-to-day basis." - Lewiston, Idaho Public Works Director Chris Davies explaining how the city runs for elementary school children, quoted on KLW Tv.

Students Prep for Dam Failure and other Education GIS Tidbits

Thu, 24 May 2012 06:55:04 -0500

Students from Indian Hills Community College [Iowa] Geo-spatial Technology class worked with the Army Corps of Engineers at Red Rock. The group made six maps utilizing data from the Corps of Engineers, Mahaska County GIS Coordinator Brian Knudtson, along with data from the Iowa Geological Survey of the Iowa Dept of Natural Resources. The purpose of the maps was to...

Singapore Land Authority’s OneMap Offers Gov and NGOs Crowdsourcing Tools

Thu, 24 May 2012 06:45:27 -0500

In the U.S. we are still waiting to see how we might use Geoplatform.gov, but in Singapore the Land Authority (SLA) not only has its own OneMap, but now it has beta tools for government departments and non-governmental organizations to collect data via crowdsourcing via that map. One of the first users is a cat-focused organization which uses the map to have people map...

Esri UK Supports the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Beacons

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:59:49 -0500

Aylesbury, 22 May 2012: Esri UK, the country’s leading provider of geographic information systems (GIS) technology has launched an online, interactive map, to show the public the location of their nearest beacon being lit to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, on June 4th 2012. A network of over 4,100 beacons will be lit between...

Towards a Global Licensing Framework for Geospatial Data

Thu, 24 May 2012 03:11:30 -0500

Is it time for a global licensing framework for geospatial data? The GSDI Legal and Economic Working group thinks so and offered a presentation and a way forward at the GSDI 13 conference held in Quebec City in May. The effort aims to harmonize existing licensing without changing fundamental access policies and funding models and be compatible with the diferences in national legal...

The Trust for Public Land Unveils ParkScoreTM Rankings for 40 Largest U.S. Cities

Wed, 23 May 2012 07:22:54 -0500

San Francisco, Sacramento, Boston, and New York Earn Top Spots A groundbreaking park rating system developed by The Trust for Public Land ranks San Francisco, Sacramento, Boston and New York as the nation’s top city park systems. Indianapolis, Mesa (Arizona), Louisville, Charlotte and Fresno received the lowest ParkScores among the 40...

URISA’s Best Web GIS and other Open Source GIS News

Wed, 23 May 2012 06:00:14 -0500

A City of Cornwall employee has been recognized for his efforts in creating a unique on-line mapping site for the City. GIS Applications Specialist Denis Lalonde of the City of Cornwall (Ontario, CA) received the gold medal prize in the Best Web GIS category of the Best Geographic Information System Challenge Awards from the Ontario URISA chapter.. The awards are...

Google Renames Google Earth Engine, Offers Free License to Non-Profits

Wed, 23 May 2012 06:00:00 -0500

We learned of the name change to Google Maps Engine at the Location Intelligence Conference, but I guess it was not the right venue to announce free licenses for non-profits. We didn’t think “Earth Builder” reflected the true capabilities of the product or vision that we have for easily accessible geospatial data. So, today we're renaming Google Earth Builder to be...

Presentations Can Make Great Sessions, But so Can Good Questions! #LI12

Tue, 22 May 2012 13:42:37 -0500

I've been moderating sessions today at the Location Intelligence Conference. I'm very pleased all my speakers have stayed within their time; it makes my life so much easier. It also means we have time for a good number of questions. The session on Embedded Geospatial Capabilities in Enterprise Computing and BI Solutions included presentations on how the FCC implemented its...

Alberta Improves Land Inventory with DigitalGlobe Imagery

Tue, 22 May 2012 08:33:24 -0500

CALGARY � May 22, 2012 � An up-to-date land inventory is required for effective conservation and land-use planning. While there are numerous commercial data providers of aerial photography and remotely-sensed imagery, not all provide comprehensive geographic coverage due to the significant costs of conducting aerial surveys and imagery collection....

Virginia DOT chooses TomTom historical traffic data for I-95/I-64 corridor project

Mon, 21 May 2012 13:49:12 -0500

ITS Americas Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, May 21, 2012 – TomTom today announces a partnership with the Virginia Department of Transportation (DOT). In an effort to assess the traffic situation in the I-95/I-64 overlap corridor, the Virginia DOT leveraged the TomTom historical traffic product, Custom Origin Destination. TomTom's unique data...

Project Report for GISCorps: Geocoding Locations of NGOs in Sierra Leone

Mon, 21 May 2012 03:45:33 -0500

Non-government organization (NGO) activity in developing countries is difficult to track due to limited infrastructure. URISA’s GISCorps, which coordinates short-term, volunteer-based GIS services to underprivileged communities, was asked to assist the Craig Bellamy Foundation in creating an interactive map showing the locations of international and national NGO offices and their...

Bike Score Rates (and Maps) Bikeability

Mon, 21 May 2012 03:44:07 -0500

Bike Score is the biking equivalent to Walk Score; it’s a measure of the bikeability of cities.

GITA Cancels Oil and Gas Conference; Board Examining Future of Organization

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:30:35 -0500

The GITA website explains that its Oil and Gas Pipeline Conference, set for Oct 22-24 in Houston, has been cancelled. This would have been the 21st iteration of the event. The website text goes on to note the status of the organization is unclear: The GITA Board of Directors is meeting in the near future to discuss what the future holds for the association. More...

Iran to Sue Google over Naming of Water Body on Google Maps

Thu, 17 May 2012 06:34:59 -0500

The concern is that the search company dropped the name Persian Gulf from the latest iteration of the online mapping system, Google Maps. Threats of legal action and serious damages have been made by Iranian officials if the name is not added back to the map. While Iranians prefer the term Persain Gulf, much of the region prefers Arabian Gulf. Currently, the water body...

Esri Canada to Bring Together Public-Private Collaboration for Canadian Geospatial Data Exchange

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:01:12 -0500

GeoFoundation Exchange will Provide Organizations across Canada with an Open Platform for Efficiently Exchanging Geographic Data to Build a National Web Basemap QUÉBEC CITY, Global Geospatial Conference, May 16, 2012 � Esri Canada today announced that the company has been selected by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to lead the GeoFoundation...

Michigan’s Center for Geospatial Medicine Gets Diabetes Grant and other Health GIS News

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:00:31 -0500

The University of Michigan's Center for Geospatial Medicine will use a $9.8 million federal grant to study Type 2 diabetes in four under-served counties in North Carolina, Mississippi and West Virginia. It focuses on those enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. "This will allow researchers to visualize complex relationships among...

Government of Canada’s Leadership in Geomatics Underlined at International Conference

Tue, 15 May 2012 08:03:40 -0500

QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC, May 14, 2012 - The Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources, today discussed Canada's leadership role in the field of geomatics at the 2012 Global Geospatial Conference in Quebec City. The field's influence of the geomatics sector is felt both nationally and internationally as its science is increasingly...

Free Software for Polling Location Maps and other Government GIS News

Tue, 15 May 2012 05:30:48 -0500

This is interesting: the map of polling places in Hammond, Indiana is (1) made by the Hammond Sanitary District GIS Department and (2) built on free software (Google Maps), something worthy of note in the local paper. - The Times of Northwest Indiana

USC and Directions Magazine Host GeoSpatial Webinar This Thursday on How to Create Enduring Spatial Skills That Lead to Job Opportunities

Tue, 15 May 2012 05:00:40 -0500

Directions Magazinewill present a webinar presentation entitled, “Create Enduring Spatial Skills That Lead to Job Opportunities.” This complimentary webinar will be offered on May 17th at 2 p.m. EDT and is ideal for anyone interested in assessing how their skill set stacks up against current and future industry needs, and/or anyone interested in...

Podcast: The Value of Geospatial Companies

Tue, 15 May 2012 03:25:09 -0500

How do you put a value on geospatial technology? Does it just come down to revenue and profits? Or intrinsically is it more because critical information is held within the bounds of certain technology formats?

Intergraph� Customer Wins ALGIM GIS Project of the Year Award for 2011 New Zealand Earthquake Response

Mon, 14 May 2012 17:37:02 -0500

Christchurch City Council Managing and Sharing Timely Imagery and Data HUNTSVILLE, Ala., May 8, 2012 — Intergraph® announces that Christchurch City Council (CCC) recently received the Association of Local Government Information Management (ALGIM) GIS Project of the Year Award. CCC received the award for implementing an innovative GIS solution in...

King County, WA partners with GeoComm for 9-1-1 PSAP consolidation feasibility study

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:16:07 -0500

St. Cloud, MN: The King County Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) Program Office and the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) Consolidation Steering Committee, which is comprised of local PSAP, police, fire, and emergency medical services representatives, have selected GeoComm Public Safety Consulting Services to provide a PSAP/9-1-1 dispatch center...

IHS Acquires XeDAR Corporation

{blog_authors backspace="2"}IHS Acquires XeDAR Corporation, {/blog_authors} — Sat, 12 May 2012 15:39:28 -0500

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., May 11, 2012 - IHS Inc., the leading global source of information and analytics, announced today that it has acquired XeDAR Corporation, a leading developer and provider of geospatial information products and services, for approximately $28 million, net of cash acquired. "XeDAR's proprietary geographic and land information...

Registration Now Open for the 2012 URISA/NENA Addressing Conference

Thu, 10 May 2012 19:09:26 -0500

May 10, 2012 - URISA and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) are pleased to announce that registration has opened for the 2012 Addressing Conference taking place August 6-9 at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. Early registration discounts are available until July 9 with added savings for URISA, NENA and NAPSG members. Exhibit...

U.S. House of Representatives Votes to Kill American Community Survey

Thu, 10 May 2012 13:14:12 -0500

Last night the U.S. House passed an amendment to the 2013 Dept of Commerce funding bill that would eliminate the Census' American Community Survey, ACS. We know of ACS as the replacement for the long form; it's survey sent to a limited number of households not every ten years, but annually, to get a picture of U.S. communities for government funding and other...

Do Children in the Backseat of Cars Have Less Complete Mental Maps of their Neighborhoods?

Thu, 10 May 2012 06:44:10 -0500

In a well-shared article from May 7, the Atlantic Cities explores the work of Bruce Appleyard, who studied children’s mental maps (cognitive mapping a la Kevin Lynch) of their neighborhoods. The unfortunate headline is “Kids Who Get Driven Everywhere Don't Know Where They're Going.” Sadly, that's not what the uncited research, from 2005, concludes....