In this Issue, January 2016
DRCOG Creates Regional Zoning Layer
Enhancing the OpenColorado Data Catalog
Your Article Goes Here!
Learn about DRVR at CAVEA
Mile High Data Day
DRCOG's Annual Data Request
Regional Planimetric Project Update
New Data Available in the Regional Data Catalog
Interesting Reading
DRCOG Creates Regional Zoning Layer
Article submitted by Ashley Summers, GISP, DRCOG information systems manager (303-480-6746, asummers@drcog.org).

DRCOG has been working on a regional zoning layer for many months and we're happy to report that we see a light at the end of the tunnel! Creating this layer is difficult because local zoning codes vary substantially across the region. Our goal is to create a regional classification in which local codes are nested.

Over the summer and fall of 2015, DRCOG worked with a consultant to mine data from all the available zoning codes in the region. We then crosswalked those codes to a regional code containing 17 categories and mapped the results using local spatial data. DRCOG then dissolved the data by the regional categories so local data at the parcel level is obscured.

This month local jurisdictions will get to preview the data before DRCOG makes it public in the spring via the Regional Data Catalog. A draft map is attached to illustrate the product.

DRCOG intends to create this regional dataset annually.
  
Enhancing the OpenColorado Data Catalog
Article submitted by Scott Primeau, president, OpenColorado (303-877-0009, scott.primeau@opencolorado.org)

Xentity Corporation recently reached out to OpenColorado to offer pro bono technical and development support for data.opencolorado.org. With data.opencolorado.org running on CKAN, OpenColorado represented a good opportunity for Xentity to build its expertise with the open-source data platform.

Xentity also supports the State of Colorado's open data platform, data.colorado.gov, by curating, publishing and maintaining data in support of Go Code Colorado.

Some of the recent improvements that Xentity has supported are:
  • Resolving data upload problems;
  • Building a backup and recovery process;
  • Restoring the data catalog test site; and
  • Upgrading the data catalog to CKAN version 2.3.1.
With these efforts, Xentity and OpenColorado are building needed infrastructure to upgrade and enhance the data catalog with the latest open data tools and capabilities.

For those who use the OpenColorado data catalog for publishing or accessing data, we invite you to review the test site at demo.opencolorado.org and provide feedback for improvement.

Enhancing the data catalog is one of OpenColorado's focus areas for building long-term stability for the organization and the data catalog. The pro bono support also allows OpenColorado to keep its costs low and continue making the data catalog free to use.

In previous years, OpenColorado was funded through corporate, government and nonprofit sponsorships. We would like to build a more sustainable funding model supported by OpenColorado's users.

We are seeking contributions from our data partners and others who use the data catalog. The OpenColorado data platform will remain free to use, and your contributions will help continue moving us forward.

OpenColorado's costs remain low, less than $200 per month, thanks to volunteer management and pro bono technical support. Even a small contribution will help.
Please contribute here.

  
Your Article Goes Here!

The Data Consortium newsletter is facilitated by DRCOG but is designed to be written by GIS professionals like you. This quarterly newsletter reaches more than 200 people and has a higher-than-average open rate. It's the perfect place to show off your projects, highlight your great work and contribute ideas to the GIS community in the Denver region.

The next newsletter goes out in April. To contribute, please contact Ashley Summers at 303-480-6746 or asummers@drcog.org by March.


Learn about DRVR at CAVEA
 
Save the date! DRCOG will host a workshop featuring our newest website addition - Denver Regional Visual Resources (DRVR). This site provides interactive graphics and dynamic visualizations that explain key regional topics including economics, demographics, transportation and aging. The workshop will focus on what information is available and how it can be used at the local level.

Read more here and join us on the morning of Feb. 17 at the Center for Advanced Visualization and Experiential Analysis (CAVEA) on the Metropolitan State University of Denver campus.

Due to space, participation is limited to 25 attendees, so register early. Laptops for exploring DRVR will be provided.

More information and a formal invitation will follow shortly  If you have questions or comments, please contact Ashley Summers at 303-480-6746 or asummers@drcog.org.


  
Mile High Data Day
Mile High Data Day graphic In today's open-data culture, we have the ability to use data to tell stories, collaborate across organizations and make data-informed decisions that have the power to improve lives.

The Piton Foundation's Data Initiative, Open Colorado, Denver Regional Council of Governments, University of Colorado Denver, and Mile High Connects invite you to learn how to combine these elements and use open data to drive social change at the first-annual Mile High Data Day Feb. 19 at the University of Colorado Denver.  Join the Denver metro region's data community as we share best practices and strengthen our region's data culture.

Mile High Data Day attendees will have the opportunity to:
  • Build relationships, share best practices and learn from experts.
  • Strengthen partnerships between social-change and data organizations.
  • Create a vision for a network focused on using data to support community change.
Mile High Data Day will include keynote speaker Steve Spiker, panels and interactive breakout sessions. Visit The Piton Foundation's website for more information or register online.

DRCOG's Annual Data Request
Article submitted by Ashley Summers, GISP, DRCOG information systems manager (303-480-6746, asummers@drcog.org).

Earlier this week, DRCOG reached out to local jurisdictions to ask for spatial data.
Our 2016 request consists of the following datasets:
  • Open space
  • Zoning
  • Bikes and Trails
  • County and Municipal Boundaries
  • Parcels
  • Buildings/Addresses
  • Districts and Authorities
  • Building Permits
  • Subdivisions → New this year!

Information on each of these items was provided in the request, including the specific attribution we need and why these layers are important to DRCOG.


Additionally, DRCOG serves as an intermediary data manager between local and state government. The State Office of Information Technology (OIT) is interested in additional datasets. Local jurisdictions may respond to them directly or they can use the DRCOG Data Portal as the means of responding to both DRCOG and state requests. For convenience, DRCOG staff will pass data of state interest along to OIT.


Please let us know if you didn't receive the official request and feel free to contact us with questions or concerns.
 


DRCOG's Regional Planimetric Project Update

Article submitted by Ashley Summers, GISP, DRCOG information systems manager (303-480-6746, asummers@drcog.org).


DRCOG's Regional Planimetric Project is moving along on schedule! The goal is to purchase detailed infrastructure information for more than 1,000 square miles of urbanized area in the Denver Metro Region. To date, four out of 11 areas have been completed and made available for public download on the Regional Data Catalog. Check out a map of the progress.


All datasets from the project are being put immediately in the public domain to foster innovative research and entrepreneurship in our communities. Already this data is being investigated for pedestrian-routing, building inventories, mobile apps to aid the visually impaired, impervious surface analysis, and sidewalk quality/availability studies.


Available datasets include: Building Roofprints, Trails, Ramps, Centerline Sidewalks, Pavement Lines, Pavement Polygons, Parking and (for a smaller geography) Polygon Sidewalks,  Driveways, Water Bodies, River Lines and River Polygons.


All data has been digitized from the 2014 Denver Regional Aerial Photography Project (DRAPP) imagery. This project is funded by DRCOG in partnership with 20-plus local and regional partners. 



New Data Available in the Regional Data Catalog
 


Planimetric Data
  
Interesting Reading

For more information on any of the topics mentioned in this newsletter or if you have an idea for an article, please contact DRCOG Information Systems Manager Ashley Summers at 303-480-6746 or asummers@drcog.org

Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is compiled from multiple sources and is intended for informational purposes only.  DRCOG assumes no responsibility or legal liability for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information in this newsletter.