Mapping Extension Community and Economic Projects and News using Open Source Tools
- 1. Mapping Extension Community and Economic Projects and News using Open Source Tools Bailey Hanson, GIS Specialist Christopher J Seeger, Associate Professor Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Communities and Economic Development
- 2. Presentation Overview This presentation previews how ISU Extension to Communities and Economic Development is utilizing open-source interactive mapping tools to visualize the location of outreach projects and corresponding news articles. The tool provides an interactive search for articles by location or keywords making it a valuable resource for staff and administrators.
- 3. Presentation Outline • Introduction of ISUEO CED and Geospatial Technology Program • Geospatial information to map • Open Source • Web Mapping Technologies • Data Formats • Demo Example • Challenges • Future Plans
- 4. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Our core purpose is to engage citizens through research- based educational programs. Extend the resources of Iowa State University across the state. Educational Areas – 4-H Youth Development – Agriculture and Natural Resources – Community and Economic Development (CED) – Human Sciences – County Extension
- 5. ISUEO CED Geospatial Technology Program The Iowa State University Geospatial Technology Program partners with Extension to Communities and Economic Development to offer GIS training and support to the public and ISU staff, students and faculty as well as a provide a variety of online resources and consult on a variety of geospatial projects. http://www.extension.iastate.edu/communities/gis
- 6. Geospatial Information for Mapping Application • Projects and trainings being reported in out online reporting system – Locations of trainings and projects • Community Matters newsletter articles with links to article – Locations of article news • CED Staff – Locations of staff
- 7. Reporting System • Reporting impacts - Administrative, legislative and USDA purposes – Some of this would be good information for the public to see as well as our staff, not only administrative staff • Each unit at ISU is responsible for managing their own reporting system – Unique needs for each unit • Extension IT did not have the capacity (time) to build the reporting system – used outside vendor • Redevelopment of reporting system and creation of an API to pull reported information
- 8. Reporting System Search User Interface
- 9. Reporting System Search User Interface • Search results gives us table of information – static results not easy to quantify or analyze • Lacks interactivity and visualization
- 10. Community Matters A quarterly publication for Iowa leaders from Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development. Database of all news articles including article and location information along with a URL to the article.
- 11. CED Staff Locations • Database of CED Staff with contact information, area of expertise, and location • http://www.extension.iast ate.edu/communities/ca mpus-faculty-and-staff – List of CED Staff members
- 12. Need for a Tool • Have multiple sources of information all a with geospatial component • Need a tool to capture that information and present it in an visual and interactive way • The merging of this data in a mapping application will be useful to ISUEO staff and the general public – Identification of areas ISU CED resources are being utilized or under utilized – Identify locations of specific programs (search functionality) – Identify a specialist near you – Identify projects/programming in/near your community
- 13. Open-Source Technology • A development model that promotes a universal access via free license to a product’s design and redistribution of that design, including subsequent improvements to it by anyone. – Customizable – Free – No licensing issues – No max map views
- 14. Leaflet • A modern open-source JavaScript Library for developing mobile-friendly interactive maps.
- 15. Leaflet • Layer control – Tile layers – WMS layers – GeoJSON layers – Markers and vector layers • Customizable popups • Customizable icons • Built for mobile • Point clustering • Lightweight – Add-ons (Github) – Esri-leaflet
- 16. Why Not Google Maps or ESRI’s ArcGIS Online? • Google Maps API – Limits on map views and requests – Limited to Google Maps for basemap tiles • Iowa State University has a educational license for the ArcGIS software suite. – Covers education and research – Outreach projects might not always have an educational or research component
- 17. JSON • JavaScript Object Notation, a human-readable and compact solution to representing a complex data structure and facilitates data-interchange between systems. • Array of objects with name/value pairs
- 18. GeoJSON • A JSON data format structure for geographic data • Points • Lines • Polygons • Feature Collections
- 19. Data • Database of field staff • Database of Community Matters news articles • Reporting system API • GeoJSON – Iowa Counties – Iowa Cities – ISU Extension Regions
- 20. DEMO • Example of data layers added to a Leaflet map
- 21. Issues • In testing, we discovered that when there are multiple features being mapped to the same location, the markers are layered overtop of each other making only the top marker or feature clickable. • When converting shapefile or excel tables to GeoJSON we have to alter the GeoJSON to have multiple properties for one location rather than one property and location for each feature.
- 22. Future Plans for Project • Search bar • Side bar • Export of data • Point Clustering • Layers with population and demographic information • Query layers – By location – By date or time frame – By program
- 23. Bootleaf.js • User Interface for Leaflet maps • Hosted on GitHub
- 25. • Leaflet MarkerCluster add-on • Hosted on GitHub
- 26. Example • CED staff works on Latino small business development in a community – Information about the work, impacts and location are entered into the reporting system – Go to the mapping application – information is automatically pulled from the reporting system to the map through the API – Are programs happening in areas where there is a large Latino population? – Can the reported impacts actually be identified? – Is there population increase or decrease in poverty level since programs were implemented? – Are specialized staff in the right location?
Editor's Notes
- #21: http://129.186.142.145/bailey/LeafletISUCED.html