Author Archives: sam.weargis@gmail.com

10 Questions: Larry Spraker

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My guess the name Larry Spraker doesn’t need much of an introduction across the New York State and New England GIS landscape.   His work and contributions since the late 1980s to the geospatial community are many and have included efforts from academia, government, and for many years the private sector.  As well as a ton of volunteer work with GIS user groups and the like. It has been an privilege crossing paths with him in so many ways over the years.  

So depending on the time of day, I recommend grabbing your favorite beverage, pull up a chair and continue reading.  There’s a lot here.  And after you are done, close your eyes and envision Mr. Spraker in another time or comos. Or, as the immortal Rod Sterling would say on the Twilight Zone “Another Dimension”.  Under the bright lights, behind the desk, and waving his hands fevorishly.  Yup, that’s him in his new gig – performing his best Chris Berman “Swami Sez” imitation as he hosts the 6PM ESPN SportsCenter broadcast.

Enjoy.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  Let’s start from the beginning.   The Albany-area boy goes to SUNY Albany for undergraduate and then on to Indiana State for graduate work.  How and when did geography become your educational and professional focus? 

Spraker:  I originally went to UAlbany as a Communications major with aspirations to be a sportswriter. After realizing that was a tough gig that didn’t pay particularly well (at least back in the early 80’s), someone recommended Computer Science. After a few courses, I really liked programming, but hated the high-end math courses such as Calculus and Differential Equations. A minor in Computer Science didn’t require the math courses, so I went to my advisor and asked “What would be a good major with a Computer Science minor?”. He listed a number of majors that included Physics, Math, and the last one he mentioned was Geography. I had already taken 6 credits in Geography as electives, so I asked for more details and somehow this guy had a fair bit of knowledge in this area and explained just enough of cartography, GIS and remote sensing to pique my interest. I registered for Intro to Cartography and Intro to Remote Sensing the next semester and fell in love with the both courses, and quickly found my new major. I focused primarily in Remote Sensing as an undergrad, and my professor, Floyd Henderson, really encouraged me to go graduate school. At the time Indiana State University was a leading remote sensing program, having the first remote terminals into the mainframe computers at Purdue which was the state of the art for image processing software. Floyd knew the professors at ISU, wrote me a recommendation and helped me get a Research Assistantship, so I packed up my car with everything I owned and drove to Terre Haute, Indiana for 2 years and finished my Masters. Although I focused a lot on Remote Sensing, I got exposed to a lot of GIS as well, and by the end of grad school had really got the GIS bug.

As an aside, after I graduated from ISU and came back to the Capital District, Floyd called me and asked me if I would teach his Intro to Remote Sensing and Aerial Photo Interpretation classes while he was away on sabbatical that year. So I returned to SUNY Albany as an adjunct professor and taught his classes that year. When Floyd returned, I stayed on as an adjunct faculty member and transitioned to developing and teaching several GIS courses. I really enjoyed working with the students and ended up teaching at SUNY Albany for 17 years.

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Game Time: Mapping Moose in New York State

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Introduction

A rare treat in eastern upstate New York, mostly in the Adirondacks, although sometimes in the Taconic Highlands along the Massachusetts and Vermont borders and within the Catskills, is to see moose in the wild.  Moose (Alces alces) are the largest member of the deer family (Cervidae) and the largest land mammal in New York State. Having been absent from the Empire State since the 1860s, the species began to reenter the state on a continuous basis in the 1980s.   While re-establishment of the moose population in New York has been viewed and supported as a positive sign of a healthier, more complete natural ecosystem,  it does not come without a range of potential problems associated with their return and the need for proactive management and monitoring by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) wildlife biologists and researchers.

So in 2020 it should come as no surprise that wildlife biologists in New York State – and around the world – are using geospatial technologies to support their work.  In addition to estimating moose population size, New York’s wildlife biologists and scientists also focus on improving moose survival and reproductive rates and to assess their diet and health.  Assisting the DEC’s work towards researching moose habitat and resource requirements is David W. Kramer, Research Scientist, in the Division of Fish and Wildlife.  The toolkit which augments his moose research includes a mixture of GPS, remote sensing imagery, a variety of GIS data layers, and  both ESRI and “R” software.  R being a free, open source software package for statistical computing and graphics commonly used in the research community.

Population Counts and Observations

To date, Mr. Kramer and colleagues have been observing the locations of 26 moose which were collared with either a  Lotek or Telonics GPS unit which can store data “on board” the collar that can then be retrieved by getting the collar back or by getting close enough to the moose to download the data to a receiver. “Uplink” collars can store data on the collar as a backup, but also send daily data uploads via satellite and are then stored online.  Moose are captured (to put the collar on) by a crew which “net-gun” the animal from a helicopter. For their research, DEC staff focuses on female moose (cows) for two reasons:  (1) wanting to track of how many offspring each cow has; the collars facilitate the “following” of the females in the summer to count calves, and (2) male moose (bulls) go through physiological and body changes during the same period that do not make the collaring of males practical or even unsafe.  Data associated with the collars are important in analyzing survival and calving success as well as the geography associated with habitat selection.

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Geospatial Business Spotlight: Bergmann (GIS Services and Solutions)

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Company Name:               Bergmann (GIS Services and Solutions)

Location:                               Rochester, NY

Website:                                bergmannpc.com

Employees:                        400+

Established:                      1980

Bergmann is a full service, multi-disciplinary design firm employing a wide range of professionals and practitioners in the geospatial  industry.  The company represents four decades of a culture built on the work of client-focused experts. Its core business segments include Transportation Systems, Civil Works, Building Design, Land Development, Community Planning & Design, and Program Services.  Within these areas, Bergmann’s rich portfolio of work features everything from restoration of historical landmarks, to the comprehensive bridge and highway design, to waterfront master planning.  Specific client geospatial support services include:

  • Client Consulting: enterprise strategy, system planning & GIS coordination.
  • Implementation & Support: architecture design, system configuration & optimization & technical support.
  • Software Development: software extensions (ArcGIS & Geocortex), custom solutions (web/mobile/desktop) & system integration.
  • Data Services: database design, data development, and management & data migration.

The Bergmann GIS Services team is a nationally recognized leader in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  Project Managers, GIS developers, GIS analysts, and 3D Design Specialists offer clients advanced and unique technical skillsets to solve complex information challenges. The company focuses on building strong, collaborative partnerships with clients to create applications, data, and workflows which bring efficiencies and value.

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The Definitive Map for New York State Media Arts

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New Online Application Shows Locations and Services for Organizations and Artists Across the State

Image from Heidi Neilson’s Southern Florida Beachball Antenna Archive (2017)

While the Empire State geospatial community is accustomed to seeing terms such as Google Maps JavaScript API, GeoJSON, and HTML as part of the conversation in building online mapping applications for government and business, we increasingly see the use of these same online mapping development tools in the nonprofit sector as well.  One such example is the newly updated New York Media Arts Map which is a project of of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Electronic Media and Film program, managed by Wave Farm.  Though Wave Farm is more commonly recognized as an arts organization dedicated to transmission arts with FM and online radio stations, it is their regrant partnership through NYSCA which ultimately led to its stewardship of the online Media Arts Map. Serving in this capacity, Wave Farm assists in administering and distributing grant funds, ranging from $500 to $10,000, to dozens of New York State individual artists and organizations – all of which are included in the Map.

The Map

At its core, the Map is an extensive online catalogue of Media Artists, whose interdisciplinary work includes a wide range of fields including visual art, film, computer graphics, data visualization, sculpture, architecture, music, photography – even drones – and much more. The Map lists organizations which are recent grantees of the NYSCA Electronic Media and Film program (EMF) and the Media Arts Assistance Fund (MAAF).  In all, there are 198 organizations and 69 artists included in the Map.  First launched in 2009 and originally hosted by Rhizome, the 2014 update is the work of Peter Berry who is a developer affiliated with Supercosm, a Seattle, WA based firm which focuses on work with nonprofits.  In addition to the software components already mentioned, Peter’s work on the back end of the map includes the use of open source pieces CakePHP and Apache bundled with MySQL.

In addition to providing location information on organizations and artists included on the map, pull down menus along the top tool bar include additional statewide media arts information on meetings and workshops, partnership reports, and information on funding opportunities.

The Search box offers a wide range of options to filter the organization/artist database. Search queries provide a description of the types of work, services, and types of media arts offered as well as online contact information.

Intersection of Media Arts and Technology

It’s interesting to see, albeit even on some small level, how  the media arts world finds itself close to the geospatial space.  For example, take the work of  Harvestworks which supports the creation of art works achieved through the use of new and evolving technologies and provides an environment for experimentation with project consultants, technicians, instructors and innovative practitioners in all branches of the electronic arts.  A recent report by the organization entitled Common Ground provides “an overview of how and where transdisciplinary work is taking place in New York State, and makes recommendations to encourage further opportunities for artists that, when combined with environmental research, can aid engage the public, encourage environmental stewardship, and benefit communities”.

The report was published by the Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center and The New York City Urban Field Station which is a partnership of the U.S. Forest Service, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Natural Areas Conservancy. (The Field Station in NYC supports the Arts and Humanities Residency Program. Check out the Summer 2018 Moon Arrow project – a time lapse compilation of the Moon Arrow pointing to the moon on New York City shorelines).  Open data, building code and hackathons in the geospatial space of your interest?  Then take a look the work of the School for Poetic Computation.  And how about drones?  While the technology is evolving incredibly fast, there was the 2018 Art Omi, Wave Farm and eteam live performance of The Aerial Actor which focused on the rising use of drones in science and art.  Actual drones were used as both carriers of messages and actors in the performance.  “The Map is a vital resource identifying art and technology projects and activity throughout New York State supported by NYSCA Electronic Media & Film”, says Galen Joseph-Hunter, Executive Director, Wave Farm. “It is also a useful tool for showing a geographic picture of how support is distributed throughout the state.”

Summary

So stop for a minute, grab a cup of coffee and put down the pen, I mean your mouse, and take a deep drive into the New York Media Arts Map site.  See what’s in your region, maybe even your neighborhood.  Support the statewide media arts community.  Cool stuff – all from the traditional artistic settings to the avant garde and experimental.  And sometimes, just a one-off from the geospatial space we work in.

Enjoy.

Contact:

Galen Joseph-Hunter
Executive Director
Wave Farm
Radio: WGXC 90.7-FM, Transmission Arts, Grants
518-622-2598
galen@wavefarm.org

The Art of Geospatial Collaboration: Allegany State Park Interactive Viewer

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Cattaraugus County and Allegany State Park Share Resources and Vision

While GIS as a shared service as part of Governor Cuomo’s County-Wide Shared Services Initiative (CWSSI) has yet to take hold in a broad context across local governments in the  Empire State,  the statewide GIS community does have a great example to highlight how local governments can collaborate with a state agency in sharing geospatial technology.  Case in point:   The Allegany State Park Interactive Map viewer.

Located in Cattaraugus County in western New York abutting the Pennsylvania state line and  north of the Allegheny National Forest, Allegany State Park was created in 1921 and encompasses nearly 64,800 acres.   A major western New York State tourist attraction – the park averages  1.5 million annually – the park offers a wide range of four-reason recreation activities and lies within the Alleghany Highlands Forests ecoregion.   The idea of a joint effort between  Cattaraugus County and Allegany State Park online map viewer idea goes back as far as 2010 as part of a discussion between Daniel T.  Martonis, who at the time was GIS Manager for the County and Tom Livak who was then Director of Economic Development, Planning & Tourism.

The initial viewer was more emergency services focused with the collection of infrastructure data and intended for use by park staff only – nothing external.  Most of the data was collected by Dan and Tom, including Chris Holewinski – the current Cattaraugus GIS Manager – using various Trimble GPS units as well as utilizing old engineering maps.  The trio even brought out metal detectors to pick up the locations of pipes.   At the time, Dan was building web mapping applications with ArcIMS that Dan mentions was not “people friendly” and was ultimately discontinued by ESRI.  Along the way, though, both Dan and Tom knew they were beginning to frame a web mapping product which would be of great value to both the County and ASP.  ArcGIS Online began to emerge as a more functional and adaptable web mapping platform providing additional opportunities for the two government programs to build upon what had been started.

The ASP viewer represents the ongoing collaboration between Cattaraugus County and Allegany State Park. It provides easy to use access to a facility, environmental, and cultural data including historic aerial photography.

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Geospatial Business Spotlight: CARTO

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Company Name:                   CARTO

Location:                               New York, New York​​​​​

Website:                               www.carto.com

Employees:                          143

Established:                         2009

Founded by Javier de la Torre, CARTO is a diverse and expanding company which includes data scientists, geospatial analysts, cartographers, software developers and engineers, visualization experts, and web designers focusing on Location Intelligence.  Most recently in May 2019, CARTO expanded its worldwide professional service portfolio offerings by acquiring Geographica.

Providing ready to use software tools for data scientists and application developers, CARTO’s client focus is on turning location data into business outcomes, and is built around the following workflow:

  • Data Ingestion & Management
  • Data Enrichment
  • Analysis
  • Solutions & Visualization
  • Integration

Software & Capabilities

Complex analysis, filtering, and visualization are integrated in real time reducing time-to-insight.  Users can integrate CARTO’s API’s and geocoding services to complement other apps and business applications and can be integrated with custom proprietary analytical models.  CARTO can be used as an engine to visualize a wide range of data services.

CARTO is scalable and offers a Software as a Service  (SaaS) deployment model to push new features instantly allowing users to “grow as you go.” Being enterprise-ready also means making on-premise and private clouds architecture solutions available to clients.  CARTO also offers a mobile platform.

Sample Products and Applications

On October 16, 2019, CARTO hosted the 2019 Spatial Data Science Conference (SDSC) at Columbia University which I covered and reported on in a previous blog post.  Typically GeoSpatial Business Spotlight focuses on three or four applications from the firm being highlighted.  However, since SDSC was a day-long series of entirely CARTO-based applications, the conference website provides a better and more thorough overview on how CARTO is applied in business, academia, government, and nonprofit organizations.  Choose from presentations by Uber, Facebook, University of Chicago, American Securities, Salesforce Maps, and MIT among others.  In Empire State, CARTO supports numerous programs in the metropolitan New York City area in both business and government.

Contributions to the Profession 

As part of CARTO’s long-standing commitment to FOSS, Open Source, Open Data, and Open Science, the company has collaborated with many organizations providing access to next generation geospatial technology, data, and models. Most recently (October 2019), CARTO’s Javier de la Torre  joined the Urban Computing Foundation (UCF) Technical Advisory Committee which is a neutral forum for accelerating geospatial open source and community development.  The UCF operates under the umbrella of The Linux Foundation.  In July 2019, Geospatial Media and Communications included Javier de la Torre as part of the Location Analytics & Business Intelligence (LA & BI) Advisory Board.  Additional

CARTO is an open source software built on PostGIS and PostgreSQL which was first released in Beta at FOSS4G in September 2011 and officially released at Where2.0 in April 2012.  The CARTO software solution uses JavaScript extensively in front end web applications, back end Node.js based APIs, and for client libraries.

Overall, CARTO’s platform consists of the following primary components:

The CARTO platform enables users to access and manage vast amounts of data while at the same time providing numerous processes to discover, filter, and integrate local and Big Data libraries.  Geo-enabling large datasets provides a means to visualize and better understand large and complex datasets. CARTO enriches user location data with versatile, relevant datasets, such as demographics and census, and advanced algorithms, drawn from CARTO’s own Data Observatory and offered as Data as a Service (DaaS).

CARTO uses widget-driven dashboards, an array of maps, and unified workflows so that non-GIS and non-mapping users/staff can bring the power of location into the organization’s decision making.

The CARTO software user interface provides both user-friendly mapping and dashboard visuals which can be customized to user needs and experience.

Complex analysis, filtering, and visualization are integrated in real time reducing time-to-insight.  Users can integrate CARTO’s API’s and geocoding services to complement other apps and business applications and can be integrated with custom proprietary analytical models.  CARTO can be used as an engine to visualize a wide range of data services.

CARTO is scalable and offers a Software as a Service  (SaaS) deployment model to push new features instantly allowing users to “grow as you go.” Being enterprise-ready also means making on-premise and private clouds architecture solutions available to clients.  CARTO also offers a mobile platform.

Contact:

Florence Broderick
VP Marketing
flo@carto.com
4475-686-89402

 

Geography as a Factor in Accessing Educational and Human Services

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Focus on SUNY Campuses and NYS Correctional Facilities

In recent years I had a close college friend incarcerated in the New York State prison system and during this time I became interested in rehabilitation and re-entry programs offered to inmates.  Particularly in context of encouraging and helping my friend to focus on a path which would lead him to a better space, a new beginning, and away from the dark past.  My friend Bob (not his real name) actually became a shining example of what is possible in context of educational degrees and technical skills that are offered by the state as part of in-prison and reentry programs.  The intent of both which are to help incarcerated individuals to a successful transition to personal and community life after being released.  Bob became a minister while in prison and then was able to finish up his undergraduate degree and earn a Masters in social work from the City University of New York (CUNY) after his release.  Unfortunately these personal educational accomplishments did not change the trajectory of his life as what ultimately followed after prison were years of living in transitional housing and homeless shelters.  Never really able to rid himself of the many demons within that had haunted him most of his adult life.  Bob died of a heroin overdose four years ago.

Not long after one of my last correspondences with Bob’s family, I came across Mapping the Landscape of Higher Education in New York State Prisons (February 2019) published by the Prisoner Reentry Institute (PRI) at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.    It’s a noteworthy report with plenty of content and includes an interesting reference which discusses the availability of educational opportunities for inmates which can depend, in part, on the geographic proximity between the locations of State University of New York (SUNY/CUNY) institutions and the statewide network of correctional facilities as administered by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS).  While I was able to establish communication with staff at the PRI, I had hoped to establish more in-depth discussions with staff at the two state departments (SUNY and DOCCS) to further build the story of the campus-prison relationship.   It is unfortunate that I did not as there is evidence of mapping products/software in the departments based on graphics in the report which includes a SUNY published interactive online viewer.  These products illustrate the issue of geography as a potential factor in the delivery of educational services to the statewide inmate population.

Current Correctional Facilities Landscape

Per the image below, New York State maintains 52 correctional facilities in seven administrative regions across the state with approximately 46,000 individual under custody and another 35,855 parolees under supervision.

This map is better rendered by downloading the original PDF from DOCCS. Four of the seven administrative regions are in the metro NYC area.

There are now 15 college programs involving over 30 institutions of higher education operating in 25 DOCCS facilities. The report looks into the two systems – higher education and corrections – that are seemingly distinct, yet come together to provide access to college education for incarcerated people. It looks at the challenges, including geography, in meshing these two systems and how both corrections and college staff can work to overcome problems.

Good News Bad News

While the good news is there is generally good geographic proximity between SUNY (including the New York City CUNY system) campuses and statewide correction facilities – particularly in southeastern NYS, there is considerable variation in the operation of college-in-prison programs, including different types of administrative and financial structures, faculty, and pathways to higher education post-incarceration.  A detailed description of educational and academic opportunities for inmates is made available on this DOCCS webpage.   Of the participating colleges, roughly two-thirds are private institutions and one-third belong to the public sector.  Just over half of the maximum and medium security prisons in New York – 25 facilities – host some form of face-to-face college programming. Of the 54 DOCCS facilities, ten out of 16 male maximum security facilities and 12 out of 27 male medium security prisons house college programs. All three of the female prisons – two medium and one maximum – house college programs. The prisons with college education programs are shown in figure below (a clearer version of the map is found on page 27 of the report) and itemized in the following table.

Most of the in-prison college programs are in southeastern New York State with less in the northern and western part of the state. A somewhat clearer version of this image can be downloaded from the report.

Most prisons with college programs are clustered in the Hudson Valley near the New York metropolitan area. The prisons without college programs tend to be further from New York City, likely a function of the fact that incarcerated people in downstate prisons (Bedford Hills and Sing Sing) were leaders in working with community groups and colleges from New York City and its immediate environment, as well as the ability of the colleges and non-profit organizations to generate funding and support for such programs. Moreover, the political environment of these communities was and remains more supportive of college-in-prison programs.

The PRI report (Include report name here) highlights how geography can play towards the delivery of educational services in the statewide correctional system albeit there are many other factors in play.  Matt Bond, staff at PRI, reported that currently only about 3% of the 46,000 individuals incarcerated in Empire State prisons are able to take college classes. Geography certainly presents challenges to offering college classes in prisons, but there are numerous other challenges, including:

  • Difficulty getting materials approved to bring into prisons,
  • The lack of technology (particularly internet access) in prisons,
  • Other demands on students’ time (such as working in order to purchase essential items from the prison commissary),
  • The fact that incarcerated students can be transferred from one facility to another, which interferes with their educational progress,
  • The need for sustained funding to maintain and expand college in prison programs,

This interactive SUNY published viewer shows the locations of both SUNY/CUNY campuses and NYS Correctional facilities. Rather than clicking the Miles from Correctional Facility box (which makes the make very busy at large scales) simply click on a correctional facility to see the distance to the closest SUNY campus.

Even though both of the institutions in this scenario are state governed and administered, each are largely fixed/physically located assets which dictates how much the delivery of educational opportunities can change albeit there are increasingly more options of offering educational programs remotely.  However, technology and internet capacity inside prisons available to inmates continues to be an issue.

But the fact remains today there are thousands of current inmates in the NYS correctional system in 2019 – male and female – who do not have access to the educational opportunities where geography does matter on some level.  The PRI report did not provide a specific overview or comparison on the quantity/quality of educational programs in the 5, 10, 15, and 20 mile buffers around each of the correctional facilities which would have spoke more specifically to the geographic issue.

The Geography Factor in other Human Services

While the PRI report did not make reference to any significant “gaps” in the delivery of educational opportunities to inmates, the “gap” issue is becoming more of an issue (or reference) in context of delivering other important public services across the state.  Such “gaps” are now being referred to as “deserts”.  In New York State, it is not difficult to search for recent references to deserts in the areas of  child care, maternity and mental health care, food deserts, and the struggles of rural hospitals disappearing across the U.S. landscape.  Significant geographic rural areas of the Empire State  are increasingly losing access to essential human services to which the reasons are many.

This image is a subset from the larger statewide map published in the article Mapping America’s Child Care Deserts. According to the report California and New York have the largest percentage of people living in child care deserts.

Geospatial technologies can play a central role in helping solve geography issues associated with growing number of health and human service delivery “deserts”.  Route GIS-based optimization programs based population centers, road networks, geocoding, and other dependencies. Furthermore, identifying potential temporary or “pop-up” service center locations in areas of greatest need which constantly changing over time.  A more mobile service delivery framework which can be leaner and more efficient.  Avoiding the need to higher cost fixed and permanent facilities.

There is much that can be done to advance access to a wide range health and human services including educational options for those incarcerated in New York State correctional facilities.  We are fortunate there is a strong geospatial technology foundation across the Empire State to build out these opportunities.

Spatial Data Science Conference 2019

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I had the opportunity to attend the 2019 Spatial Data Science Conference (SDSC) at Columbia University on October 16th.  Hosted by NYC-based Carto, the event was attended by over 500 people from government, nonprofits, industry and business, and academia.  The day-long conference was highlighted by a variety of presentations and lightning talks from data scientists and program managers representing organizations from around the world including Uber, Airbnb, Datarobot, Waze, Instacart, MIT, Sidewalk Labs, Two Sigma, and Facebook among others.  All of the presenters use Carto’s Software as a Service (SaaS) platform which provides GIS functionality, web mapping, and spatial data science tools.

Data Science

Founded in 2017, SDSC  brings together organizations who are pushing the boundaries of spatial data modelling – ranging from large enterprise, to cities and government, as well as thought leaders from academic institutions.  Shown through the use of geospatial applications and organizational project initiatives, there was no doubt the common denominator and focus of those attending:  Data. It was definitely worth the trip.  SDSC is similar, but a very different kind of a “geospatial conference” for those of us who have spent a career running in traditional government geospatial circles.  Attendees and presenters are largely a completely different make-up from those normally attending the annual New York State GIS conferences.  (Of the 500+ preconference registrants, nearly 55% were from the private sector).   The day’s event included high quality presentations on the latest in modelling techniques, data science and analytics, visualization practices, and new data streams.  This later issue an increasingly important and interesting one across the statewide geospatial community as the day’s conversation clearly illustrated both the growing number of online geospatial data sources  (for example, numerous references were made to U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey) and related data access tools.  Speakers noted both the importance and benefits of open data portals though not without the caveat that it was not uncommon to have to clean and often normalize the data prior to using in applications.  Numerous references to popular sites such as GitHub, Leaflet, OpenStreetMap, and Elastic (which presented at the event) were made with regard to supporting the open source ecosystem.

Mudit Srivastav from Australia-based Origin Energy, presented on the use of spatial data to support the increase sales of residential roof top solar panels. Note the many types of data the company is using to better define growth areas.

Data for the Social Good

Another common theme throughout the day was the use of geospatial data for the social good.  Interesting to hear the point being made not only from nonprofits and academia, but from the private sector as well.  Way far away from the normal Albany GIS crowd, Stuart Lynn made a presentation focusing on how Two Sigma, an investment management firm located in New York City, provides spatial analysis support through the company’s Data Clinic program to nonprofits, academic institutions, and government organizations.  Their focus:  Enabling and promoting social impact through data driven predictive models while funding breakthrough research, education and a wide range of charities and foundations.    The image below identifies some of their recent projects.  Great stuff and I’m already planning on a more in-depth article with Stuart in the future.

Enabling Social Impact Organizations with Spatial Analysis Techniques

Stuart’s talk, as well as others during the day, made reference to the  The Data for Good movement which was a social media movement first started by DataKind to highlight how data science could be used to help address a range of humanitarian issues. DataKind is a collaborative network of organizations that work together with data scientists to leverage the science of data for social impact.  DataKind’s afternoon presentation “Spatial Data Science for Social Good:  Improving Access to Dignified Sanitation in Haiti” was excellent.  The video for this session and all of the day’s presentations are now available online at the Spatial Data Science Conference website.

Arguably, the demand for “data scientists” will increasingly intersect and expand in government geospatial programs in areas such as the health and human services, climate change, public safety, sustainability and resiliency,  and social and environmental justice to name only a few.   As the universe of geospatial data continues to expand and be integrated with both new artificial intelligence (AI) and machine reading technologies, as well as combined with the availability of more powerful GIS software, it is easy to see where the demand for data scientists focusing on locational and predictive analytics is headed.

I asked Javier de la Torre, Carto founder and SDSC organizer, what his impressions were of the day’s presentations and content.  He replied:

“First, moving the data discussion from WHERE to Why. Time to move to analyzing data using maps opposed to just seeing data in maps.  Second, the rise of the Spatial Data Scientist and/or where advance GIS is emerging as a new platform. And third, identifying the need for better data marketplaces which provides interactive solutions resulting in increased performance to users”

Links to the 2017 and 2018 presentations are also available on the SDSC website.

Mobility for All Abilities Hackathon

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While I personally did not attend the September 21st Mobility for All Abilities Hackathon at the  Brooklyn Army Terminal, I had originally intended to put together a short summary article to post on the day’s events and activities after gathering information from BetaNYC staff.  But instead, check out BetaNYC’s own detailed summary here – its quite good.

The event coincided with the 2019 National Day of Civic Hacking and was co-hosted by by BetaNYC and MakerSpace NYC which partnered with  NYC Department of Transportation, NYC Mayor’s Office of People with Disabilities, NYC Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics, and other organizations to setup eight challenges for a day-long map-a-thon and civic hacking to improve mobility equity in New York City.  Incredible results!

New York City Council Member Brad Lander provided opening remarks at the Mobility for All Abilities Hackathon. Photograph by Charlie Hartwell / CC BY

I’ve written about BetaNYC before and they have presented at the Westchester GIS User Group meeting in the past. They fill a much needed and recognized space in metro NYC towards facilitating these types of technology/geospatial events which can serve as a model for similar civic focused programs across the state.

For more information on their programs and activities, visit the BetaNYC website.

 

10 Questions / Preguntas: Daniel Munoz

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Daniel Munoz, GIS Manager, Orange County GIS Division, has been an integral part of the Orange County GIS program for over twenty years and involved in geospatial initiatives in municipalities across the county as well.  Somewhat atypical of how other county programs across the Empire State originally evolved, Daniel led implementation of the countywide effort from its beginning from inside the Orange County Water Authority and later on overseeing development into key enterprise programs in the areas of Real Property Tax Services and Emergency Services.  With Spanish being his native language, I also asked Daniel to offer any thoughts/ideas on how to expand and provide geospatial tools to the growing Spanish speaking populations across the Empire State. In further supporting this issue, this eSpatiallyNewYork post is published in both Spanish and English.

Daniel Muñoz, Gerente del SIG, Condado de Orange División de SIG, ha sido una parte integral del programa SIG del Condado de Orange por más de veinte años y también ha participado en iniciativas geoespaciales en los municipios del condado. Un poco diferente de cómo evolucionaron estos programas en otros condados en el Empire State, Daniel dirigió la implementación de los esfuerzos del condado desde el inicio en el Departamento de Agua del Condado de Orange y luego supervisó el desarrollo de programas claves en las áreas de Servicios de Impuestos de Bienes Inmuebles y Servicios de Emergencia. Como el español es su lengua materna, también le pedí a Daniel que ofreciera conceptos / ideas sobre cómo expandir y proporcionar herramientas geoespaciales a las crecientes poblaciones de habla hispana a través del Empire State. Para respaldar aún más esta situación, esta publicación de eSpatiallyNewYork es disponible tanto en español como en inglés.

1.  eSpatiallyNewYork: Let’s start from the beginning.  Where are you originally from and when/how did you end up in Orange County government?

Munoz:  Here is the short story! I’m originally from Mexico City where I earned my Professional Engineer (P.E.) stripes.   I graduated as an industrial engineer from the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico City and initially worked as computer system analyst for an international kitchen appliance company. I was fine with reading English and working with computers programing languages, but struggled with conversational English.  Since I had friends in the city,   I decided to move to Boston, Massachusetts to learn English.  While there I met a woman from Orange County which I married and ultimately moved to Orange County.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  Empecemos por el principio.  De donde eres originalmente y cuando o como terminaste en el gobierno del Condado de Orange?

Munoz: Esta es la historia corta! Soy originario de la Ciudad de México donde obtuve mi titulo de Ingeniero.   Me gradué de Ingeniero Industrial  de la Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana de la Ciudad de México inicialmente trabaje de Analista de Sistemas de Computación para una compañía internacional de electrodomésticos de cocina.  No tenia problemas leyendo ingles y trabajando con lenguajes de programación de computadoras, pero me costaba trabajo el inglés conversacional. Decidí mudarme a Boston, Massachusetts para aprender inglés ya que tenia amigos en esa ciudad. Allí conocí a una mujer del Condado de Orange con la que me casé y finalmente me mudé al Condado de Orange.

2.  eSpatiallyNewYork: What were your earliest Orange County GIS efforts?

Munoz:  I started with the Orange County Water Authority (OCWA) which is a “cousin” of county government.  My title then was digital systems analyst, which in hindsight, was “being in  the right place at the right time”. When I moved here, Orange County had not developed an E-911 system, but OCWA had started gathering  various databases and integrated computer mapping technology to create a county wide Geographic Information System.  Which ultimately led to  OCWA starting  to  serve a significant  supporting role in developing the new computerized E-911 system.  It was during this time I developed my own passion for GIS technology.   Since then I have learned about and worked in the fields of emergency management, planning, tax mapping, public works, and many other areas of county government.  We are providing and integrating data for all services!

eSpatiallyNewYork: ¿Cuáles fueron tus primeros esfuerzos de SIG en el Condado de Orange?

Munoz:  Comencé trabajando para Orange County Water Authority (OCWA) la cual es un agencia del gobierno del Condado de Orange.  Mi título entonces era analista de sistemas digitales, en retrospectiva, fue “estar en el lugar correcto en el momento adecuado”. Cuando me mude aquí, El Condado de Orange no había desarrollado el Sistema E-911, OCWA había comenzado a recopilar varias bases de datos y tecnología integrada de mapeo por computadora para crear un Sistema de Información Geográfica para todo el condado.  Lo que finalmente llevó a que OCWA comenzara a desempeñar un importante papel de apoyo en el desarrollo del nuevo sistema computarizado E-911. Fue durante este tiempo que desarrollé mi propia pasión por la tecnología SIG. Desde entonces, he aprendido y trabajado en los campos de gestión de emergencias, planificación, asignación de impuestos, obras públicas y muchas otras áreas del gobierno del condado. ¡Estamos proporcionando e integrando datos para todos tipo de servicios!

3.  eSpatiallyNewYork: Do you remember the version of ARC/INFO you got started with and what ESRI products are you using today?

Munoz:  Oh boy.  I do and this really dates  me!   My GIS experience didn’t start with ARC/INFO, I started with ArcView 1.0 with option to update to 1.0a.  I still have the box almost intact with the 5¼” installation floppy disks (picture below). We did most of the work with ArcCAD an ESRI plugin for AutoCAD. My first interaction with ARC/INFO was at Version 7. Nowadays we try to keep up to date as much as possible but avoiding the “bleeding edge”. We are in the process of moving our full enterprise GIS to V 10.6.1. I use the full ArcGIS suite including  ArcServer and  ArcMap with the following extensions:  Network Analyst, Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst.   I have tried ArcGIS Pro but still has some issues.  As far as the web environment, I created all of our websites with the old ESRI flash builder and have started to update them with Web AppBuilder.

Like many others across the state, Daniel got his start with desktop ArcView software.  Still an ESRI favorite to seasoned GIS professionals.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  ¿Recuerdas la versión de ARC/INFO con la cual comenzaste y que productos de ESRI usasactualmente?

Munoz:  Ay Caramba! Recuerdo bien y revela cuanto tiempo ha pasado! Mi experiencia en SIG no comenzó con ARC/INFO, comencé con ArcView 1.0 con la opción de actualizar a 1.0a. Todavía tengo la caja casi intacta con los discos de instalación de 5¼ ” (imagen abajo). La mayor parte del trabajo fue echo con ArcCAD una extensión de ESRI para AutoCAD. Mi introducción con ARC/INFO fue en la versión 7.0. Hoy en día tratamos de mantenernos actualizados tanto como sea posible, pero evitamos estar a la “vanguardia”. Estamos en el proceso de actualizar nuestro completo SIG a la versión 10.6.1. Uso el paquete completo de ArcGIS, incluyendo ArcServer y ArcMap con las siguientes extensiones: Network Analyst, Spatial Analyst y 3D Analyst. He tratado ArcGIS Pro pero todavía tiene algunos problemas. Entorno de la web, construí  todas nuestras paginas de web con la antigua tecnología de flash pero ya comencé a actualizarlos con la tecnología de Web AppBuilder.

4.  eSpatiallyNewYork: You left GIS  for a while to take another position in County Information Technology –  but then came back to GIS.  Tell us about that.

Munoz:  For me,  GIS & IT always go hand to hand.  While working  for the County,  I always found myself splitting my work projects between GIS & IT.  At the beginning of my career in order to build a better GIS program I had to build a better IT infrastructure.   During this time, I obtained a Windows & Network professional certification. Having this expanded  IT background gave me the opportunity to move to an IT Director position which at the time was a good professional advancement for me.   Two years ago, the County decided to upgrade the County’s  GIS and I was asked  to be part of the team to interview  candidates and  proposals. Going through this process reminded me how much I enjoyed geospatial technology so I made the decision to move back to managing the Orange County GIS program.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  Dejaste el SIG por un tiempo para tomar otra posición en el departamento de Información Tecnología del Condado – pero luego regresaste al SIG. Platícanos a cerca de esto.

Munoz:  Para mí, el SIG & la IT siempre van de la mano. Mientras trabajaba para el Condado, siempre me encontraba dividiendo mi tiempo y proyectos de trabajo entre SIG y IT. Al comienzo de mi carrera, para construir un mejor sistema de SIG tuve que construir una mejor infraestructura de IT. Durante este tiempo, obtuve una certificación profesional de Windows y Redes. Teniendo esta experiencia ampliada en IT me dio la oportunidad de cambiarme a un puesto de director de IT, lo que en ese momento fue un buen avance profesional para mí. Hace dos años, el Condado decidió actualizar el SIG del Condado y me pidieron que formara parte del equipo para entrevistar a los candidatos y sus propuestas. Ser parte de este proceso me recordó lo mucho que disfrutaba la tecnología geoespacial, así que tomé la decisión de regresar a dirigir el SIG del Condado de Orange.

5.  eSpatiallyNewYork: So which areas of County government are the biggest users of geospatial technology?

Munoz:  Definitely Emergency Services!   They have three divisions working  24×7 using and creating data everyday.  Second would be the Planning Department and following very close the Department of Public Works.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  Entonces, ¿Qué áreas del gobierno del Condado tiene los mayores usuarios de tecnología geoespacial?

Munoz:  Definitivamente el departamento de Servicios de Emergencia! Este departamento tiene tres divisiones que  trabajan 24×7 usando y creando datos todos los días. Segundo sería el Departamento de Planificación y siguiéndolo muy de cerca el Departamento de Obras Públicas.

6.  eSpatiallyNewYork:  The County still offers hardcopy maps, shapefiles, and other products for download.  How has this changed, if at all, over the years?

Munoz:  It seems that technology is always driving the associated GIS changes.  The GIS offices are quieter these days as the phones don’t ring as much.  We use to answer the phone constantly to take requests, return calls to inform the caller their  request had been completed.  Today, our online automated GIS request website has taken care of many of these issues.   Individuals can create accounts, make  mapping or data requests, and be notified when the request has been fulfilled with instructions on how to obtain the request.  The website also has an area for data downloads and can notify registered users when County data layers have been updated by our staff.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  El Condado todavía ofrece mapas impresos, shapefiles y otros productos para descargar. ¿Cómo ha cambiado esto, si es que ha cambiado, con los años?

Munoz:  Parece que la tecnología siempre está impulsando los cambios asociados al SIG. Las oficinas de SIG son más silenciosas en estos días ya que los teléfonos no suenan tanto. Solíamos contestar el teléfono constantemente para recibir pedidos, devolver llamadas a nuestros usuarios para informarles que su pedido esta completo. Hoy en día, nuestro sitio de web tiene un sistema de pedidos automatizados y se ocupa de muchos de estos problemas. Las personas pueden crear cuentas, realizar pedidos de mapas o datos y recibir notificaciones automatizadas cuando el pedido se haya cumplido e instrucciones sobre cómo obtenerlo. El sitio web también tiene un área para descarga de datos y puede notificar a los usuarios registrados cuando nosotros actualizamos las bases de datos del Condado.

7.  eSpatiallyNewYork: Any integration with the AutoCAD environment?

Munoz:  Currently, a  small group of engineers from DPW and the tax mapping division are the only ones that still use AutoCAD.  Some years ago the tax mappers started to maintained the parcel boundaries from their tax maps in  an enterprise database with AutoCAD.  As  previously mentioned, our current  GIS upgrade project includes moving the full tax map maintenance program  to our ArcGIS environment.  Stay tuned!

eSpatiallyNewYork:  ¿Alguna integración con el programa de AutoCAD?

Munoz:  Actualmente, solo un pequeño grupo de ingenieros de el Departamento de Obras Públicas y la división de mapas de cadastro son los únicos que todavía utilizan AutoCAD. Hace algunos años, los mapas de cadastro se comenzaron a mantener a través de una base de datos con AutoCAD. Como se mencionó anteriormente, nuestro proyecto actual de actualización del SIG incluye mover el programa de mantenimiento de mapas de cadastro a nuestro sistema de ArcGIS. ¡Mantente al tanto!

8.  eSpatiallyNewYork:  As GIS Manager, what are your biggest challenges today?

Munoz:  I would have to say staffing.  Believe it or not in the last two years I have had to replace the GIS technician positions four times.  While each time each person has been  a competent young professional,  It seems to me the new generation of GIS technicians wants to keep moving on with the next opportunity for advancement.  As opposed to staying in one place for while and building a career in one place.   I find myself training people to see them gone within  6 – 12 months.   A huge challenge!

eSpatiallyNewYork:  Como Gerente de SIG, ¿cuáles son tus mayores desafíos hoy?

Munoz:  Tendría que decir que es el personal. Lo creas o no, en los últimos dos años he tenido que reemplazar las posición de técnico en SIG cuatro veces. Cada vez la persona ha sido un joven profesional competente, pero me parece que la nueva generación de técnicos en SIG siempre anda buscando la próxima oportunidad de avance. A diferencia de permanecer en un lugar por un tiempo y construir una carrera en ese lugar. Me encuentro entrenando personas para que desaparezcan en los próximos 6 – 12 meses. ¡Un gran reto!

9.  eSpatiallyNewYork: What’s the next big geospatial thing in Orange County?

Munoz:  The County is finalizing the Orange County Shared Services Property Tax Savings Plan.  One section in particular reads:

The County of Orange will offer geographic information services (GIS) to any and all of its 43 municipalities. This will include all cartography and geographic data services such as map development, maintenance and printing.

Coordinating and standardizing 43 municipalities will be our biggest project and will keeps us busy for a good while.  I’m hoping for staff continuity!

eSpatiallyNewYork:  ¿Cuál es la próxima gran cosa geoespacial en el Condado de Orange?

Munoz:  El Condado está finalizando el Plan de Servicios Compartidos de Ahorro de Impuestos de la Propiedad del Condado de Orange. Una sección en particular dice:

El Condado de Orange ofrecerá servicios de información geográfica (SIG) a todos y cada uno de sus 43 municipios. Esto incluirá todos los servicios de cartografía y servicio de datos geográficos, como el desarrollo de mapas, el mantenimiento y la impresión.

Coordinar y estandarizar 43 municipios será nuestro mayor proyecto y nos mantendrá ocupados por un buen rato. ¡Espero y el personal sea continuo entonces!

10.  eSpatiallyNewYork:  You are of Hispanic background.  Do you have any thoughts or ideas on how GIS technology could be extended to the regional Spanish speaking population?  Where and how would you start?

Munoz:  The beauty of GIS is that it can help everyone in so many ways.  But the challenge continues to be building applications which are relevant, accessible, and easy to use.  Research show that Hispanics are less likely to have an internet connection at home.  Hispanics are early technology adopters, and Hispanics are mobile-first community. These statements contradict each other a bit but it is because the Hispanic demographic is young. Based on this information I would focus available resources to build, design and post GIS apps in Spanish on mobile platforms (cell phones and tablets) where we know Hispanics are spending their time. These early adopters will spread the message among their social groups faster than any other method.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  Eres de origen hispano. ¿Qué piensas o que ideas tienes sobre cómo la tecnología de Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG) podría extenderse a la población regional de habla hispana? ¿Dónde y cómo empezarías?

Munoz:  Lo bonito del SIG es que ayuda a todos, pero debemos asegurarnos de distribuirlo a ellos. Las investigaciones demuestran que los Hispanos tienen la menor probabilidad de tener una conexión de internet en casa, los Hispanos adoptan la tecnología tempranamente y son una comunidad que usan los dispositivos móviles primero. Estas declaraciones se contradicen un poco, pero es debido a que la demografía hispana es joven. Basado en esta información yo pondría todos los recursos disponibles en crear, diseñar y publicar aplicaciones de SIG en plataformas móviles (teléfonos celulares y tabletas) donde sabemos que los Hispanos pasan la mayoría de su tiempo. Estos pioneros difundirán el mensaje atreves de sus redes sociales más rápido que cualquier otro método.