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Tracy McKee
Charleston, South Carolina Mayor John Tecklenburg has hired Tracy McKee, the city’s former geographic information systems director, as the city’s first chief innovation officer.
McKee was hired for the new role in November after serving an eight-month stint as Baltimore’s chief data officer. She told StateScoop the decision to leave Baltimore, where she reported to Chief Information Officer Frank Johnson, was a difficult one.
“However, I think when the mayor contacted me, it just sounded like a really great opportunity to come back home and do something really exciting and fun in what I feel is like my hometown,” McKee said.
From 1999 through January 2018, McKee oversaw Charleston’s GIS division within the Department of Technology, developing tools to monitor tourism, flooding and zoning within the city, among other initiatives.
McKee left Charleston to help Baltimore develop a citywide strategy to optimize its use of data and analytics last February, but she said the role of chief innovation officer is something she and Tecklenburg had discussed as a future possibility before her departure.
Read full story at State Scoop…
first published week of: 01/07/2019
The City Council Tuesday renewed an agreement between the university and city for the school’s Geographic Information Center to continue providing Geographic Information System support services.
I am embarrassed I did not know about this. Now it is another tool that will help me a lot. Councilman Clay Paker
GIS is a mapping web application that allows easy access to planning information. Users can find information on land parcels throughout the city. All data from the county assessor’s office such as the number of a parcel, its size and the contact information of the property’s owner is available. Residents can check whether their property is in a flooding area or in danger during fire season.
“I am embarrassed I did not know about this,” Councilman Clay Paker said. “Now it is another tool that will help me a lot.”
The deal between Chico State and Red Bluff is for a year and not to exceed $12,000. This is the third year the city has renewed its contract for the GIS system.
Read full story at Daily News…
first published week of: 06/10/2019
The annual total output value of China's geographic information industry reached 595.7 billion yuan (86.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, an increase of 15 percent year on year, authorities said at the ongoing 2019 China Geomatics Industry Conference held in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai.
The country's geoinformation industry has largely closed in on the industry's global leaders with a continuously expanding industrial scale, improving industrial structure and enhancing innovation ability, said Cheng Liwei, chief engineer of the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Read full story at Ecns.cn…
first published week of: 07/29/2019
The subject of maps and geographic information systems may not seem exciting, but most people would be surprised by the role it plays in the continued growth in Athens and Limestone County [Alabama].
At Monday's Athens City Council meeting, GIS coordinator Micah Cochran spoke to the council about the need for updated data, which is captured via airplane. That data is then used to create maps, most of which are available to the public on the city's website.
The interactive maps are broken down in several categories. Cochran said the data is used for a number of reasons, including for utility and industrial projects.
“This photography is used every day of the year,” he told the council. “Surveyors and engineers can purchase data for private projects.”
Cochran said if there are questions that arise about zoning, he can also use the maps to quickly determine how a tract is zoned.
“We can see, in the event of an alcohol application, how far away it is from parks or day cares,” he said.
Cochran said it can also be used to determine if someone has modified property without a permit.
Athens Gas Department Manager Steve Carter said his department uses the maps every day for service location requests.
Read full story at The News Courier…
first published week of: 12/16/2019
“Your City at Work” Dashboard Improves Transparency and Accountability for City Projects
Esri announced that the City of Arlington, Texas, has released a new performance measurement dashboard on its city website. The new Esri technology-powered dashboard, called “Your City at Work,” is an accessible, dynamic tool that allows residents to see their tax dollars at work.
“The city’s new website has many features to provide a better customer service experience for our residents, businesses, and visitors,” said Jay Warren, director of Communication and Legislative Affairs for the City of Arlington. “The website features ‘Your City at Work,’ a visually appealing, intuitive, and informative dashboard provided by Esri.”
In years past, the City of Arlington had maintained a quarterly spreadsheet of performance measurements, but this data proved difficult for residents to access and digest. The new “Your City at Work” dashboard was created to make this data easy for users to find and understand.
“This platform has enabled Arlington to bring to life its standard scorecard to provide residents [with] a continually updated view of the value they are getting for their taxes,” said Warren. The dashboard features readily available information on the city’s goals and status regarding potholes filled, recyclables collected, 911 calls answered, and more.
“Since the dashboard feature already exists in our product offering, cities like Arlington have the ability to create a performance measurement dashboard without using staff hours to build one from scratch or buying a service specifically to get access to it as a feature,” said Richard Leadbeater, Esri’s state government industry manager. “This saves cities time and money, and that’s important to taxpayers.”
first published week of: 07/08/2019
On the surface, New York City’s infrastructure gleams brightly. Investor dollars are flowing, with many megaprojects completed, underway or planned.
New York State is investing $100 billion in an expanded convention center, revitalized bridge connections and a transformation of LaGuardia Airport. Private projects are raising the skyline, reviving old neighborhoods and creating new ones like the recently opened Hudson Yards. All of this development depends on optimal functioning of the underground infrastructure—not only the subway system, but also the tangle of gas, electric, water and steam lines on which the city depends.
Unfortunately, there is no combined data set showing location and condition of all utility infrastructure. Lack of awareness drives up the cost of capital infrastructure projects. (In the case of Super Storm Sandy in 2012, for instance, New York City could have reduced its $19 billion repair bill if only it had better data capture, sharing and analysis.) Lack of awareness prolongs emergency recovery. And, in the worst cases, it proves fatal when volatile components trigger catastrophe such as a water main break causing a gas main explosion.
Read full story at Crain's New York Business…
first published week of: 11/11/2019