New Jersey State Atlas: Making the Inaccessible Accessible
We are well aware that the internet streamlines our lives on a daily basis. Whether it’s looking for a movie on Moviefone, scouring for hard to find items on Craigslist, sharing pictures with family and friends on Flickr, or checking out restaurant recommendations on Yelp, our lives are more informed, accessible, and most of all, organized.
Most of us, however, are not seeking publicly “available” data, and that’s good, considering that the generally status quo public sector lags far behind the innovative private sector.
The reason is simple.
Government will always exist, whether or not it is online, thanks to the taxpayers, while private enterprise needs constant injections of capital to survive. Especially in perilous economic times, innovation is key, and those who refuse to adapt, create, and implement are surely at an enormous disadvantage and subject to failure.
Since a government entity can generally ride the coffer train, there is no true incentive to challenge the status quo and innovate, and I think that is exceedingly clear as you travel around the internet and compare public and private sector websites.
At a time when technology is not only accessible, cheap (if not free), and most importantly, ubiquitous and commonly understood by the masses, our government should be open, readily share information to keep us informed, and embrace interactivity.
In an April post on The New Wave Planner about the online efforts of LaSalle, IL, I wrote:
Sadly, government has not embraced this emerging technology on a widespread basis, resulting in a deepening disconnect between the entity and its constituents, and frustrating interested parties whom have become accustomed to information on demand in their lives.
Up until May 2009, the “deepening disconnect” had not plagued LaSalle, thanks to the efforts of past City Engineer Pam Broviak (Ms. Broviak was not reappointed in the wake of a new political administration that did not share her vision; as such, the city’s social media outreach efforts have been greatly diminished), nor has it impacted San Francisco, an extremely wired government, which now allows its residents to report maintenance concerns via Twitter. They’re both symbols of the Government 2.0 (aka “Gov 2.0”) movement.
Gov 2.0, as I wrote in the LaSalle post, is “an evolving model to improve transparency, communication, and efficient and practical delivery methods between government and citizens.”
The movement is strong and building, but it’s still in its infancy, and government receptiveness is still relatively scarce.
In New Jersey, Gov 2.0 has gotten some traction in recent years. Many planning professionals are familiar with Monmouth County’s Tax Records search (which covers all 21 New Jersey counties), the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s iMap, and the various maps and data available from the Office of Smart Growth.
All three resources are critical to maximizing work efficiency and are thus invaluable to planners. Just a few years ago, planners had to spend valuable time in municipal buildings just to acquire simple information. Now, a lot of standard information is publicly accessible via the internet.
But beyond social media outreach and publishing general information and data, what becomes of the data (some common, some esoteric) that is rarely found on government websites, or is available in a raw or an unsearchable format?
This remains a problem, but in New Jersey, John Reiser is in the process of unlocking the government data vault and sharing the bounty with us in a multimedia, mashup format.
To a planner, this is pure gold.
Mr. Reiser operates New Jersey State Atlas, which is, according to the site, “an interactive website featuring multiple web maps” with a simple, straightforward mission:
Within New Jersey, there’s a massive amount of data that is inaccessible to many people. One of the goals of this website is to make that data accessible.
Mr. Reiser, a GIS specialist and instructor at Rowan University, has identified a problem (inaccessible data), devised a solution (mapping and other data outputs), and implemented the solution (created a publicly accessible website).
I recently discussed NJ State Atlas with Mr. Reiser, who as a mapper, a seasoned navigator of the statewide data sea, and a web publisher is excited about the future of easily accessible data delivery to the masses.
TNWP: Please give us an overview of NJ State Atlas.
JR: NJ State Atlas is web-based interactive atlas of New Jersey. The focus of the atlas is to make geographic data throughout the state accessible.
TNWP: Why did you create NJ State Atlas?
JR: Several of the maps on the site were developed out of my own frustrations with publicly available GIS data. At all levels, government has been a source and repository of massive amounts of information. Freedom-of-information acts have helped make that information easier to access, and the internet has reduced the cost of distribution; however, just making data available is not enough.
Data must also be accessible to members of the public. GIS specialists have no qualms about downloading a shapefile and taking a look; however, a local resident wanting to know more about his or her town may not be able to make sense out of a shapefile. The State Plan maps and the Journey to Work diagrams are a direct result of my desire to make difficult data understandable.
TNWP: What are the most popular features on NJ State Atlas?
JR: The one map that usually receives the most traffic is the DOT webcam mashup. Real-time incident data and live highway cameras are overlaid on top of Google’s traffic data. The page is highly ranked for searches dealing with New Jersey traffic, but I’ve found that people tend to stay on the page and use the map. The State Plan maps and the USGS Topographic maps are usually second and third.
TNWP: Although your site is easily accessible for anyone, it is quite useful for planning professionals. Have planners been receptive to NJ State Atlas?
JR: Planners have been using the site. The journey to work map doesn’t seem to get many hits from search engines; much of it is direct referrals - people bookmarking the site and returning for information.
When I was still in NJ State Government, I would often hear that people were using the NJ State Atlas map over the official locator. The HMFA locator still uses ArcIMS and is intolerably slow. I hope planners will continue to use the site, and if there’s anything I can add to it that would help them do their work more efficiently, I’d love to know.
TNWP: What are some of the challenges you have faced in the creation of the site, and what type of challenges do you anticipate in the future?
JR: Well, the first challenge is that it’s done entirely in my spare time. I’d love to do more with the site, but usually I’m bound by time constraints. The other major challenge is that its run entirely on shared-hosting. Most other web mapping applications are hosted on dedicated servers. Most software out there expects the user has access to the entire server.
I’d love to do much more with the site, but it’s an uphill battle just getting the software to run without root access. It’s really run on a shoestring budget.
TNWP: Speaking of the future, if you don’t mind sharing, what are your future plans for NJ State Atlas?
TNWP: Do you think govt will begin to embrace the type of technology you have used to create NJ State Atlas, or should we just except more private developers (like yourself) to innovate and create products that are useful to the public?
JR: The federal government is moving in that direction. There are a few interactive maps on whitehouse.gov and recovery.gov using both open source and ESRI web mapping technology to highlight some issue of national importance.
Speaking specifically to New Jersey, I hope that those that support government adoption of new ideas and technology push for that adoption - internally and externally.
State government is in sad shape. There is no ability to retain staff, and any concepts outside of the norm are not likely to be considered until after the election. In the absence of State Government being able to provide such services, I hope that other private developers throughout the State will continue to produce high-quality, interactive data applications that are free to use by the public.
TNWP: You have recently relocated from the New Brunswick area to South Jersey. I’m wondering, though, why you didn’t choose a location with top lottery winners, which your “Geography of Luck” feature provides.
JR: Well, you know, it is just random chance. I was greatly surprised that the instant win lottery winners tend to cluster around the urban areas. Is it that you’re more likely to stop in a convenience store and play a scratch off in an urban area, or is there some unintentional bias?
Pitman has historically won more than Glassboro. I guess I’ll have to buy tickets over there. They’re luckier.
TNWP: Where do you work, and how do you spend your free time?
JR: I am currently the GIS Support Specialist for the Geography Department at Rowan University. I was previously a Planning/GIS Specialist at the Office of Smart Growth. I spend my free time riding my bike, playing games, and thinking about maps.
TNWP: You’re obviously well versed in all facets of GIS. Do you provide freelance consulting services?
JR: I do provide consulting services. If you’d like me to develop an interactive web map for you, feel free to contact me. (You can use john@njgeo.org or (856) 347-0047)
Thanks for your time, John.
Mr. Reiser is a prime example of someone who sees the value in making the inaccessible accessible. He is democratizing data.
Luckily, transparency in government has become a rallying cry, and a variety of data can be easily procured through government information requests and produced into a user friendly platform.
However, while we applaud Mr. Reiser’s efforts, our government bodies should be creating similar applications.
Is this likely? Probably not in the immediate future, but as Gov 2.0 evangelists continue to hammer their mission nails into our government agencies, accessibility improvements may arise.
Nevertheless, it appears that private industry will continue to trump governmental effort, and even though we may feel that public sector should deliver useful online products, as long as the innovations are being released, the source should not matter.
If the public sector refuses to innovate, we should rest assured that individuals like Mr. Reiser will continue to fill the void.
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