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Problem
How to provide access to parcel data to as many
users as possible (without needing to make all
the users experts in GIS)?
Solution
Develop
web-enabled GIS applications that allow users
located anywhere to query, display, and analyze
tax parcel data in combination with other key
data layers.
Background
This is the approach AGIS took for two local government
clients - The County of Ulster and the Town of
Queensbury, New York. AGIS proposed Internet/intranet
deployment as a way of providing staff (and the
public) with easy-to-use GIS tools for mapping
and analysis. For each client, AGIS developed
distinct "parcel viewing" web applications.
There were three
main benefits to AGIS' Internet/intranet approach.
One was accessibility. Users in multiple departments,
and even the public as was the case of Ulster
County, could use the parcel viewer if they had
Internet access. The second was ease-of-use. In
the case of Queensbury, AGIS designed specific
functions (modules) for specific users. This meant
that the application was geared to the skill level
of the user as is not often the case with desktop
GIS software. To perform even the most basic functions,
users did
not need to under go extensive training to use
the web applications. Finally, each government
could provide GIS to a large volume of users at
the lowest cost per seat possible. With Internet
GIS, the addition of more users actually brings
down the cost of the system rather than increasing
it as is the case with desktop deployment.
The applications
were developed in ArcIMS 3.1 for server side deployment
using Microsoft ASP. AGIS customized the interface
to match each of the client's established web
site's look & feel using Macromedia web authoring
tools - Dreamweaver and Fireworks.
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The
Ulster County Parcel Map Viewer
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In addition to
standard GIS operations such as zoom/pan and feature
identification, the applications were designed
a set of pre-formatted query operations. Different
function keys provided users with the means to
select tax parcels based on single or multiple
criteria (address, parcel identifier, land use,
etc.) without the need for structuring a compound
query themselves.
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Example
of customized features and advantages
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Specialized tools
gave users the ability to buffer around a selected
parcel in order to select all parcels within a
specified distance. The resulting set of records
could then be viewed and downloaded to the user's
PC as an ASCII file (for use in mail merges).
Users could also generate a printed map complete
with a legend, user specified title, north arrow
and scalebar.
In addition to
the development of the custom application, Applied
GIS hosted the Ulster County application and spatial
data. After a year, AGIS assisted county staff
with the installation of ArcIMS and the migration
of the application to their own systems.
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