North River Geographic Systems Inc

Geospatial Problem Solving

addresses

Open Addresses

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I’m old. I think today I’ve talked about AMLs, watershed Analysis, digitizing tables, and now I’m going to cap that off with something completely different. I should just say I’m well seasoned instead of old.

I’m getting used to “open data”. You hear it more and more and as I complained in one of my last blog posts open is only great if you can find the data.

I’m never exactly sure what a “open data ecosystem” is or if I would know if I ran into it….BUT – the US Open Data Institute is putting up a bounty for US Addresses. Which makes me chuckle a bit – and not in a bad way. The data gets fed into the OpenAddresses Initiative which, had I been paying more attention, I believe spun out of addressing in OpenStreetMap. The address file is up to 500 something Mb (you can download it). Well this fixes the last problem of finding the data.

I’m not sure of the familiarity of the local government with GitHub. I’m working my way into it. I’m pretty sure if someone from a local Gov’t asked someone at OpenAddresses they would probably help aforementioned local gov’t format the data into an acceptable form. Given the work I did last year with addressing…I can’t imagine a coherent file of address data. BUT….if you look at the map it’s happening. If you notice the SE US is particularly bare. That should be fixed.

So – upload your addresses. Learn some json. Learn a little “Git off my lawn hub”. Contribute.

Geocoding Tool from the Census Bureau

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It was a bit of a running joke when I started the business. “How do you Geocode addresses?” and my usual answer was “I actually haven’t – I’ve never dealt with addresses”. Suddenly about 3 or 4 jobs later I had geocoded quite a bit and then last year I had the whole “learning about addresses” adventure in the islands.

So through email I got the following from a colleague:

The Census Bureau has released a new geocoding tool that allows users to find the census geographic areas that street addresses or address coordinates are located within.  The tool is available as an API and a web form.  In addition to a single address look-up, the tool also allows users to submit batches of up to 1,000 addresses at a time. The information in the geocoder comes from the Census Bureau’s MAF/TIGER database, which holds our geographic information used for censuses and surveys. The address ranges used in the geocoder are the same address ranges found in the TIGER/Line Shapefiles, which are derived from the Master Address File (MAF).

Additional information, including documentation, descriptions of the data in the geocoder, and FAQs are included on our geocoder website.    
Contact: geo.tiger@census.gov   |   (301) 763-1128

So this is kinda nice I think. A geocoder from the group I would expect a geocoder from. Most of my geocoding was against ArcGIS’s Geocoding Service and when it disappeared as a free service – well – I haven’t done any geocoding since.

For fun and giggles I did my old address and got this back:

Matched Address: 215 Jarnigan Ave, CHATTANOOGA, TN, 37405
Coordinates:X: -85.30156 Y: 35.062725
Tiger Line Id: 59307418 Side: L
Address Components: 

From Address: 203
To Address: 299
PreQualifier: 
PreDirection: 
PreType: 
Street Name: Jarnigan
SuffixType: Ave
SuffixDirection: 
SuffixQualifier: 
City: CHATTANOOGA
State: TN
Zip: 37405

So – I await the Happy hacking of tools and scripting…..I’m halfway tempted now to pretend I could write a QGIS Plugin or an arctoolbox model!

 

 

Fulcrum to the Rescue: Field Data Collection Made Easy in the U.S. Virgin Islands

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I recently wrote a guest blog entry for Fulcrum app and figured I would add the link to it here. Enjoy!

Update – 12.05.13: Applied Geographics (AppGeo) has released their MapGeo of the USVI SAI pilot project. You can view the interactive web map containing the addresses for the pilot study areas on all three islands here: http://www.mapgeo.com/USVI/

Screenshot of MapGeo for the USVI SAI pilot project in Mon Bijou, St. Croix.

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Fulcrum to the Rescue: Field Data Collection Made Easy in the U.S. Virgin Islands

15 October 2013 by Carol Kraemer

 

Earlier this year, Applied Geographics (AppGeo) and Spatial Focus embarked on a 3 month pilot phase of an address reference system project on St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas – the three main islands of the U.S. Virgin Island Territory – for the Office of Lieutenant Governor Gregory R. Francis. 1500 of roughly 120,000 addresses covering the three islands were assigned during the pilot phase. The field crew was faced with having to develop procedures that would support a small local team who had limited experience with GIS technology and even more limited access to communication technology. This part of the story took place during the latter part of the pilot project (late May-June 2013), in the second and third pilot study areas in Cruz Bay, St. John and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. The Fulcrum app was incorporated into the field data collection process making it possible to develop, deploy, implement and maintain mobile applications quickly and easily. Read more on the Fulcrum Blog…

Georgia URISA Luncheon: October 2013

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When
TUESDAY
October 8, 2013
From 11:30am to 1:30pm

Where
Cobb County Safety Village
1220 Al Bishop Drive
Marietta, Georgia 30008

Presentation

Abu Dhabi, the Virgin Islands and You: The case for documenting address reference systems

Both Abu Dhabi and the US Virgin Islands are going through the process of creating new addressing systems. Each effort requires inventing rules for address assignment, rules that form address numbers into patterns that make sense for the people using them. The process of making those rules provide valuable illustrations for those of us working with addresses here in the US.

The set of rules for assigning addresses in a given place is called an Address Reference System (ARS). Documenting the ARS for any given location is an essential part of a sound addressing program. Lessons learned from places creating new rules provide a template for documenting your ARS. That documentation can help the addressing program live beyond the current staff, providing consistency over the long term.

This presentation will explore issues surrounding ARS creation in Abu Dhabi and the US Virgin Islands, and how those rule sets are documented using the FGDC Addressing Standard.

Presenter:

Sara Yurman, GISP

Spatial Focus

Stay Blessed

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I’ve been back for almost two weeks now. I get closer to putting this house on the market. I also have been doing a lot of sitting and thinking. I often joke I wished this job was all about GIS. It’s not – taxes, accounting, bookkeeping, and coordination seem to rule the day. Then there are the times I’m glad it’s not.

It became quite the running joke to me. I had people calling me going “Man – if I was in the Caribbean I’d be drinking rum and chasing everything in a skirt”. The phone would ring and that line would get repeated as Pit Bulls tried to leap the fence, a resident would start having a melt down at getting a new address, or all communication would just end with some random electron failure. I would fill my Nalgene bottle for the 50th time and head back out with a backpack full of door hangers. Yeah – drinking rum and chasing women. In the middle of the what can only be described as the worst experience ever in the islands  I got the following:

“You are blessed Randy”

I would turn to Charles and say “no – not blessed – just working”

This whole story started at St Ursula’s Community Center with a hot $2.00 meal prepared for whoever couldn’t pay. I’m fascinated by that one point in time where life takes a bit of a detour.

Charles was one of the myriad number of people I had the chance to meet while working down in the USVI. He came from the University to work with us. St John was a five day tour that turned into a two week slog. Charles was from Dominica (way south of where we were located) – he had made stops in Jamaica, St Thomas, New York, and then back to St Thomas. He works at Kmart and for the University. He has a new wife and a small baby named Abigail. I struck up some crazy conversations with Charles. Conversations turned into friendship. There’s only so much you can say about GIS and addresses – but Life on the other hand…..

“Randy you are living like a cowboy – clothes are piled in the floor and computers are everywhere”

“Charles….this is how I normally live”. 

“Randy – you need a wife!”

“No – no I don’t. Had one. I traded her for a cat.” 

“You need to move down here – we need mapping people here in the islands. You come down here and buy a boat and we will go to Tortola”

“I’ve got a canoe – I don’t think I can handle anything bigger than that”.

Conversations ranged from his life to my life back to his new baby back to my lack of kids back to his multitude of jobs then back to NRGS.

“Addresses are going to revolutionize the islands Randy – do you understand what you are doing?”

“Oh I understand.  Saying you are at 42 Contante Point Road and have someone show up at that spot is quite the revolution”

Charles became the ambassador – someone would get upset Charles started the conversation with them. A Rastafarian has a melt down – Charles calms him. A lady we talk to sings in a band – he has her belting out a song in two minutes. He would leave them with a handshake and say “Stay blessed”.

“Randy – look – it’s nopal – we can eat this”

“Randy – have you ever eaten a goat – there are no bad parts on a goat”

“Randy – if you stew the iguana it is easier to eat”.

“Randy – never leave the house without a machete”.

By the end of day I was looking forward to seeing Charles more than I was anything else. Conversations ran the circuit of women, religion, addresses, work, and food.

Almost the last night on the island had a cookout. Bread Fruit, Roots, Nopal juice, and Plantains provided by Charles.

IMG_20130629_184458

“Randy – both of you need to come back – you and Carol – come live in the islands”.

Of course I’ll be back – I’ve got to buy a boat and me and you sail to Tortola and work.