Data Archives - Maryland State Geographic Information Committee

Ready to Deliver: Ellicott City QL1 LIDAR

May 14, 2019

With the Howard County Executive releasing a flood mitigation plan for Ellicott City yesterday, the QL 1 LiDAR for the Ellicott City area is finally complete and ready to be distributed. The data were acquired in December 2018 with a minimum of 8 points/sq meter, and vertical RMSEz of 10cm, and a point spacing of no more than .35m for 42 square mile polygon including the entire watershed area draining to Ellicott City, and includes a segment of the Patapsco River…

Data Democratization and Open Data in Maryland

May 7, 2019

Patrick Callahan

Data

No Comments

Written by Cheryl Knott – Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance In 2019, open data portals are everywhere. At the federal level, with Data.gov, users can access over a quarter of a million datasets relating to everything from climate to public safety to everything in between. The Census Data website, set to replace American FactFinder on July 1, will allow users to access data from its American Community Survey and eventually the 2020 Census. In Maryland, MD iMap provides valuable GIS datasets…

LiDAR Acquisition Update: Ellicott City and Howard County

September 9, 2018

Stephanie George

Data, Elevation, News

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The USGS has fully funded the collection of LiDAR data for Ellicott City (42 sq mi, QL1) and Howard County (QL2). The Ellicott City acquisition is scheduled to be complete by December 31; Howard County acquisition by Fall 2019. Data will be collected at USGS specifications: Quality Level 1: 8 points/sq meter or more; NPS .35m or better; vertical resolution of 10cm in areas of clear or short vegetation. QL2: 2 points/sq meter, NPS .7m, same vertical resolution as QL1. …

Population Forecasts Now Available on BMC’s Open Data Site

June 21, 2018

Stephanie George

Data, Elevation, News

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For the first time Baltimore Metropolitan Council is making its small area population and employment forecasts available for free to the public through our BMC Regional GIS Data Center. This data will be available by Traffic Analysis Zone, a geography commonly used in transportation planning for travel demand modeling. The data will be available in formats friendly to GIS, Excel, and in a web service that can be used with interactive mapping applications. Over the last three decades, the Cooperative Forecasting…

The Baltimore Metropolitan Council Releases its New Regional GIS Data Center

October 9, 2017

MSGIC Blog

Data, News

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There is no doubt that digital data has become one of the most efficient resources for data-driven decision making for projects such as transportation management, neighborhood statistics, and even emergency preparedness research. Taking data collected over years, the Baltimore Metropolitan Council has decided to relocate it to a centralized portal. The Regional Geographical Information System Data Center contains information maintained by BMC for Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s County. The Data Center is a hub…

Looking back on the Getting Ready for Next Generation 911 education sessions

January 8, 2017

MSGIC Blog

Data, Events

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The MSGIC-sponsored URISA training sessions entitled ‘NG9-1-1 and the GIS Workflow’ were held on November 29th and 30th in Frederick and Crownsville, respectively. Both sessions were lively and very well attended. The Frederick session was attended by over 35 people and the Crownsville session was a full house. Sandi Martin organized the training sessions, which featured presenters Sandi Stroud (Michael Baker International), Peter Hannah (Baltimore City) and Lynda Warthen (Frederick County). These sessions were attended by a diverse group of…

ESRI now offering FREE TRAINING

September 14, 2016

MSGIC Blog

Data

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Whether you are completely new to GIS or you have been working with the software for years, ESRI is the place to go for ArcGIS training. ESRI offers training for all academic levels including new users, students, GIS managers, data editors, GIS analysts, map designers, GIS technical leads, GIS application developers, or anyone else interested in learning about GIS. The best news is that they now offer FREE TRAINING. You can sharpen your skills or learn a new skill altogether…

Pokémon Go, Ingress, and the New Evolution of Geographic Gaming

August 10, 2016

Alison Banks

Data, News

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As it often happens on a summer afternoon, you may find yourself going for a stroll in the park just to enjoy the scenery and sunshine. As you approach the fountain, you see a group of people standing around and looking down at their phones. Though they are in a tight group, none of them are communicating with each other. Chances are you’ve just found your local Pokémon Go players. The new app sensation is modeled after earlier versions of…

GIS Blunts Winter’s Threat in Maryland – County Tracks Snow Operations in Real Time

July 20, 2016

MSGIC Blog

Data, News

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If you’ve been following weather forecasts, this August is gearing up to be one of the warmest on record in Maryland. Though you may have some sunburn from your summer activities, (sunscreen is an everyday essential at this point) it’s best to appreciate summer before it’s gone. I for one would take beach traffic on my commute over dangerous icy roads any day. To remind you of cooler thoughts, here is an article about GIS being used to dispatch snow…

The National Address Database: It’s time to “Just do it!”

March 28, 2016

MSGIC Blog

Data, News

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The National Address Database (NAD) represents a single database containing address information for every residential and non-residential structure and interior unit, and optimally, for every point of ingress to real property. Providing accurate address data in a centralized open data portal will benefit nearly every aspect of government service, consistently improve the delivery of services, and spur innovation in the public and private sectors. Advanced technologies make the NAD possible today. The necessity for an open NAD is real and…