DATA | INTERFACE | COMPUTATION

All digital projects need data and a means to manipulate that data. GIS as both a hard- and soft-ware interface has many, many proprietary formats and new interfaces can even be developed independently using existing software tools.

The biggest difference between spatial applications is the manner in which data, software, and hardware are organized. Some for-profit groups keep everything in a big, expensive, but powerful and consistently supported package. Other projects piggyback on either proprietary data or software; suplementing it with components from the public domain. Still other projects utilize both data and software publicly available from large providers/ aggregators and adapt them to specific purposes.

The fragmented nature of contemporary GIS tools and cultures present either serious obstacles or rich oppoprtunities to integrate a comprehensive sense of natural relationships into our developing technology. These case studies are intended to outline the development and distribution of geo-locational mapping technology online. They are not exhaustive critiques of particular projects of methods.

CaseyTrees shows us what focus and funding can bring to visualizing nature in online mapping tools. It is built upon ESRI's ArcIMS system and Microsoft's SQL server by CMAP - NYPIRG's Community Mapping Assistance Project. This is just the start of the cooperation involved in this project.

The tree inventory was collected by volunteers and is now used by the Urban Forestry Administration. The National Park Service is also involved mapping trees in the "monumental core" of Washington D.C. Pollution effects were derived using the USDA Forest Service UFORE model. An interesting report on the vision and operatino of the project can be found here.

CaseyTrees treats nature (trees specifically) as an asset to urban spaces. It attempts a quantifable analysis for private and civic development considerations. It also engages the community in the state of their urban forest and enables people to become both passively and actively aware of the variety and health of urban trees.

This kind of project is essential in developing an integrated sense of nature in online tools. As it becomes more well known, it may become integrated into civic and educational operations on many levels. It touches both the hearts and pocketbooks of local citizens. The USGS and the folks at geodata.gov could learn a lot from CaseyTrees.

academic research, scientific research, agriculture, architecture, real-estate development, education, planning, sports & recreation, insurance, healthcare, social justice, etc.

long-term upkeep of data relies on volunteers though data is being used by federal agencies.