Contribute > apps > CivicApps Data Previewer

by maxogden | Last updated 12 years 49 weeks ago
Category: 
Economic Development

A web application to preview any of the public geo data on CivicApps from your web browser. You can choose a dataset and view that data on a map. Individual objects are clickable and can provide details (metadata).

Targeted demographic (who is the app intended for?): 
Application developers and community planners/policy makers.
Who and what will be impacted by the app, and how?: 
Those who aren't GIS experts but still want to understand the value of the CivicApps data and be able brainstorm more ideas for applications.
What is the specific need that is addressed by the app?: 
The inability of regular citizens to interact with government formatted GIS data.
Anticipated usage of the app (by whom, under what circumstances, etc)?: 
Interested developers can use the preview tool to at a glance see the CivicApps data in detail. It also helps to answer questions about the extent of the data and lowers the barrier of entry for the idea forming process for applications.
How is information presented, that's not presented elsewhere; how is it unique?: 
It is made available in a web browser. The City releases it's data in a format called a Shapefile, which is only readable using expensive GIS software. I've spent the last 6 or so months working on converting the city's data into a format that doesn't require expensive software to look at.
What are a few of the primary strengths of the design?: 
The 'go to address' box lets anyone jump around town to areas of interest. The preview tool is also very dense and packed with information.
Application Direct Link: 
Preview CivicApps data in your browser
Repository: 
geobrowser on github
Webpage: 
PDX API
License: 
MIT license
Discussion
noneck :: November 6, 2010 - 5:27pm

This is a great app! Keep it coming!

alicec :: October 31, 2011 - 8:12am

I haven't tried this browser app out yet, but it sounds amazing! I will definitely be trying it out in the next few days. One thing I will definitely be looking for will be to see how quickly the app accesses the database to produce a preview. I feel like there will be a lot of information available for this, and therefore an abundance of information on the database. Is there anything that helps access this information on the database quicker (StoredIQ, for example)?

bneedham :: June 5, 2013 - 12:24pm

The links seem to be dead. Following them takes me to a site that seems unrelated to this app.