Camden Complaint Map Causes….Complaints

It seems the issue with the “interactive map of the city allowing anyone to post anonymous concerns” is that it’s not being updated, leaving resident to feel their concerns are not being addressed. Hopeworks ‘N Camden designed the map at the direction of the Camden District Council Collaborative Boards.

So far, 1,092 concerns have been filed. As of Friday, the average acknowledgment for an abandoned home was 200.5 days. Graffiti isn’t far behind at 184.5 days. The site lists 378 reports—more than one in three issues—as outdated.

The issue seems to be interoperability, though the local paper doesn’t use that term.

The problem has been software, city officials said. The city uses an internal program to monitor constituent complaints called Contact Camden. As complaints from the Web site are filed, each must be transferred into the system individually. In order to respond to both types of concerns, the city is considering updating the map to integrate it with the other software.

Alas the person working on connecting the systems was let go due to budget issues. I have to agree with Rev. Jeff Putthoff, a DCCB member and executive director of Hopeworks, who points out the map is more than a luxury, but rather shoes transparency of government. Meetings are planned to try to update the process and thus the map.

Suggestions to Online News Map Producers

Dear Charlotte Observer,

Today I found, via a search, your map of the homicides in Charlotte in 2008. I applaud the use of interactive map in news coverage.

I was a bit “lost” when contemplating this map because there was:

- no article to which it was linked
- no legend
- no link for information on the map itself (who made it, why, source information, etc.)

With some effort, I did find the article in the Sunday edition that linked to the map. It was sadly about the first homicide of 2009. The article did reference the map, but alas didn’t provide any further information.

I did find, quite by accident that clicking the “view larger map” took me to the MyMaps source of this smaller map. There I found a descriptive legend (what the blue and yellow teardrops meant and what pushpins meant) and more about the source information.

My suggestions:

- If a map is on a stand-alone page, consider adding a “stories that link to this map” list. Remember many readers will come to this map from outside the paper thus have “no context.”
- Perhaps rename the “view larger map” link to state that more information is available there, too. That link might made more prominent, too.
- Include a legend if at all possible with the embedded map.

Thanks for your time.

Adena

Obama’s Infrastructure Investment Statements Fueling ADSK Stock Surge?

Back on December 6th, President-elect Barack Obama made a statement that to help "jump start" the economy and stem job losses that he would make an investment in infrastructure. Some have called it an "Eisenhower-like" project similar to the development of the interstate highway system in the 1950’s under then president Dwight Eisenhower for the construction of new roads, repair of aging bridges and making public buildings more energy efficient. Bloomberg News reported on December 8th that the total stimulus package might be in the range of $500 to $700 billion.

These statements sent shares of construction manufacturers and engineering firms up solidly. The impact has been felt in the geospatial technology sector as well. Since early December, Autodesk’s (ADSK) stock as risen from around $16 per share to nearly $21 per share as of yesterday’s close or about 30%.

Podcast: Four New Year’s Geotechnology Challenges

With the new year five days old and economic challenges expected for every sector we explore four big challenges and opportunities for those in geospatial technology. We explore four of them: (1) how U.S. investment in infrastructure may propel geotechnologies, (2) marketing of geotechnologies in tough times (3) the growth/contraction of location-based services, and (4) the renewed interest in “openness.”

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