2017 URISA GIS Salary Survey and the GISP
The 2017 URISA GIS Salary Survey is now available. Some highlights of the survey and an executive summary that you can download are available to everyone on the URISA website.
Data quality at King County GIS – Part 2
Data quality at King County GIS includes processes and tools for validation of the contents of the Spatial Data Warehouse. Multiple linked automated and manual steps help ensure good internal consistency and an anomaly-free environment, both for file-system and database objects.
A virtual view of what’s new in Seattle
Seattle, the county seat for King County and the largest city in the state of Washington, has seen great growth in the past 15 years in the construction of new buildings and infrastructure. During this same 15-year span, here in the King County GIS Center we have added two sets of vintage “lidar” data for the county to our GIS data library.
Impressive first impressions
I am not a geographer and until I started working with the KCGIS Center team, my idea of GIS was just “maps and stuff.” When it comes to mapping, I was more of a Google Maps guy to get me from point A to point B…that’s it! Working with KCGIS has shown me that GIS is so much more than just maps and stuff…
Redistricting, elections, and gerrymandering
Perhaps, like me, you remember the term “gerrymander” from history class. A gerrymandered electoral district is one whose boundaries are defined—often with unusually shaped geographic extents—to intentionally favor one political party over another. While the term sounds silly, gerrymanders are serious business that can and do affect every aspect of our society.
NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement builds GIS capability with KCGIS training
The KCGIS Center often develops custom GIS training for clients who have specific data, analysis, mapping, and reporting requirements. Earlier this year we were contacted by representatives of the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement about the feasibility of providing custom GIS training for staff from various NOAA offices across the U.S.
New KCGIS Center-created map features Trailhead City—Issaquah, Washington
Lying at the foot of Cougar, Squak, and Tiger mountains, the City of Issaquah is uniquely situated as a natural starting point for exploring the Issaquah Alps via hundreds of miles of trails that are accessible from numerous trailheads in and near the city. Issaquah recently published a new citywide-plus trails map created by the King County GIS Center Client Services group…
What you should know (and do) about the Geospatial Data Act of 2017
The Geospatial Data Act of 2017, S. 1253, does many things that have long been supported by the GIS community. But there is one section of the bill that has generated opposition within portions of the GIS community.
King County GIS Open Data – Ready for business!
King County continues its commitment to making GIS data available to the public. This post introduces the release of the new King County GIS Open Data site. Our new site is hosted on Esri’s ArcGIS Online Open Data platform and initially provides access to more than 100 datasets, in fifteen thematic categories, for inspection, analysis, and download.
Washington GIS leaders establish a new group
On May 16, at the Washington GIS Conference in Tacoma, Josh Greenburg, President of the Washington Chapter of URISA, convened a daylong Washington Government GIS Leaders Workshop to bring together GIS managers and leaders.
GIS & You 