Maps are an essential tool for community planning, and used effectively, they can both improve delivery of civic services and contribute to local economic growth. In this video, we highlight two mapping applications created for smart city planners:
LocaleIQ, which feeds GIS data into an interactive, visual interface and enables community planners to add information about services and amenities to see what drives citizen and tourist interest; and
An underground infrastructure mapping application, which provides visual information on subsurface pipes, electric lines, and more.
Both LocaleIQ and the underground infrastructure mapping application were selected for subaward funding from the National Science Foundation through the US Ignite Smart Gigabit Communities (SGC) program. The team behind the underground mapping solution also received NSF funding through an EAGER grant (Award Abstract #1640687) and a collaborative research grant (Award Abstract #1647095).
Notable Quotes
“We provide the tools so that we take that data out of the GIS department and put it into the hands of the stakeholders. The park planners can actually append and add the data that’s important to their consumers, and then make it searchable and discoverable and get the feedback on how users are interacting with it.” -Tom Landers, LocaleIQ
“We’re using geophysical sensors to look into the ground either with radar or acoustic waves, and then we have a computer digest that and then project it as a vision system so it is just like x-ray vision… [If] you want to revitalize a neighborhood, subsurface infrastructure is an unseen, but very important part of whether it’s economically viable to come back in with new development.
“US Ignite has been extremely valuable for us in terms of making the contacts and the links with the various utilities, not just in Vermont where we’re located, but elsewhere across the country.” -Dryver Huston, University of Vermont