Building a Smarter Community: GIS for State and Local Government

By Christopher Thomas

Provide open data, balance decisions and initiatives, and create equitable policies.

Smart communities don’t wait for someone to deem them smart; they take action. State and local governments worldwide have taken that first step using geographic information system (GIS) technology. Applying GIS to planning and urban design, public works operations, and racial equity and social justice has helped meet citizens’ needs and improve government operations. And with advancements in smart technology, location intelligence for state and local governments is not just for GIS specialists.

More informed, data-driven decisions lead to improved outcomes that can be shared and replicated in other communities, helping citizens and government collaborate for the common good. Building a Smarter Community: GIS for State and Local Government shows how government leaders in cities, counties, and states have applied GIS for improved planning, operations, and civic inclusion.

In this collection of case studies and guidance to get started, learn how GIS:

• Helped planners visualize affordable housing patterns in Honolulu, Hawaii
• Radically changed stormwater management practices in Salinas County, California
• Improved easy access to city data, initiatives, and services in Coral Gables, Florida
• Supported minority-owned business during the COVID pandemic in San Rafael, California

Web apps, GIS hubs and dashboards, and other GIS solutions help state and local governments develop a deeper understanding of the communities they serve within a real-world context. Sections on getting started with GIS provide helpful ideas, strategies, tools, and actions and a collection of online resources to jump-start your use of GIS for state and local government.

Discover how GIS and location intelligence support state and local government decisions and citizen participation in Building a Smarter Community.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Esri Press
• Release date: May 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781589486850

Book preview

Cover of Building A Smarter Community: GIS for State and Local Government, part of the Applying GIS series. Edited by Christopher Thomas and Keith Mann.Title page for Building A Smarter Community: GIS for State and Local Government, part of the Applying GIS series. Edited by Christopher Thomas and Keith Mann. Published by Esri Press in Redlands, California.

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e-ISBN: 9781589486850

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On the cover: Photograph by Bianca Ackermann.

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Contents

Introduction vii

How to use this book xi

Part 1: Planning and urban design 1

Showing the community what is possible 3

Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Understanding the impacts of new development 5

Seattle, Washington

Using green infrastructure to fuel smarter growth 7

Richland County, South Carolina

Uncovering the visual patterns of affordable housing 14

Honolulu, Hawaii

Getting started with GIS 19

Part 2: Operational efficiency 27

Prioritizing repairs on roadways with GIS 30

District of Columbia, United States

Strengthening data collection workflows 35

City of Salinas, California

Modernizing wastewater management 40

Ontwa Township, Michigan

Improving operations with mobile GIS 43

City of Santa Barbara, California

Getting started with GIS 45

Part 3: Data-driven performance 53

Creating a single, shared source of information 55

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Improving financial transparency 57

City of Topeka, Kansas, Public Works Department

Increasing data value with location analytics 61

City of Sacramento, California

Meeting the needs of modern residents 66

City of Coral Gables, Florida

Getting started with GIS 72

Part 4: Civic inclusion 79

Reaching more people with accessible data 81

City of Johns Creek, Georgia

Creating an innovative, inclusive city 86

City of Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Supporting minority-owned businesses 91

City of San Rafael, California

Bringing equity and social justice into focus 95

King County, Washington

Getting started with GIS 101

Contributors 107

Introduction

Obeying the law, serving on a jury, and paying taxes are fundamental aspects of civic responsibility and community stability. However, the greater goal of making a community a better place to live requires citizens and governments to work together to affect change and address larger economic, environmental, and social issues. State and local governments form the front lines of improving the lives of residents by responding to community needs and requests, increasing access to social services, and introducing initiatives and programs that improve the infrastructure, safety, and health of communities within their jurisdictions.

In this book, the word community includes all the ways that people are combined within governmental jurisdictions, from small neighborhoods to regional areas (such as counties), to large jurisdictions (such as states and provinces). These communities are inherently entangled with each other through location. For example, a neighborhood exists within a city, which in turn is part of a county that is contained within a state. Governance—the processes that ensure accountability, openness, equity and inclusiveness, and participation—flows between communities.

With smart communities, the word smart refers to the use of technology, accurate and timely data, and scientific methods to solve problems. A smart community uses innovative approaches, including location intelligence, to collect and share information and drive good decision-making.

Smart communities don’t wait for someone to deem them smart; they take action. One of the most effective actions is to apply geographic information system (GIS) technology to planning and urban design, operations (such as public works), and social issues (such as racial equity and social justice). With GIS, state and local governments make more informed, data-driven decisions that lead to improved outcomes. These outcomes can be shared and replicated in other communities, helping citizens and governments work better together for the common good.

This book is organized in four parts.

Part 1: Planning and urban design

With GIS, city and regional planners and urban designers can create realistic alternatives for comparing different planning and design scenarios, including 2D and 3D visualizations that are more relatable to government officials, businesses, and residents. Planners can combine data about diversity, high density and mixed land uses, open space preservation, housing affordability, and economic viability into their analysis, maps, and presentations to the public.

Part 2: Operational efficiency

GIS makes daily operations—such as responding to citizen requests and tracking the progress of projects— more efficient by improving internal coordination between staff and managers. With GIS visualization and analysis tools, government agencies and departments can combine a wide range of technologies, such as connected sensors, drones, performance dashboards, satellite imagery, mobile devices, and web maps and apps.

Part 3: Data-driven performance

State and local governments use GIS to perform spatial analysis, track resources, and determine whether goals and objectives are