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Obama’s promise for open government

February 12, 2009 / / 0 Comments

I’m excited about Obama’s memorandum he wrote in his first week of office, on January 21st, 2009. In it, he calls for federal agencies to stop looking for legal ways to say no to requests for data, or in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.

He will help usher in a new American government, where “[a]ll agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure.” 

And the agencies shouldn’t be so passive about the distribution of their data. President Barack Obama continues with:

“…agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public. They should not wait for specific requests from the public. All agencies should use modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their Government. Disclosure should be timely.”

The United States Government is probably the world’s largest collector and holder of data. It probably stores more data and information than the internet (minus what the government publishes there). I hope I can expect an onslaught of data, but it must be accessible in multiple formats and in ways we can use. Saving spreadsheets is NOT distributing data. That’s protecting it and trying to make it harder to manipulate. It means providing raw access to tables and databases, providing APIs for custom queries, and XML feeds for simple and broad presentation.

Perhaps we’ll need a White House Office of Data to coordinate with agencies about the formats and presentation and distribution methods they choose or will choose.

I’m glad Obama’s transition team took the advice from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on this one – they fight for, among many things, the rights of the internet and information and how access to both should be equalized and open. Read the EFF’s news article about this about-face from George Bush’s archaic information policies.

To Obama: When you create that office, please consult the geniuses at EveryBlock for the Office’s “Public Consumption” division. They know how to package data for quick and informative understanding.

Over-landscaped Asian parks

February 11, 2009 / / 0 Comments

BLDGBLOG’s post about “over-landscaped” parks in South Korea makes me think of my favorite “natural” space in Chicago, Ping Tom Park in Chinatown on the south branch of the Chicago River at 18th St.

The article discusses Korean photographer Hosang Park’s new photography work featuring these tight, semi-open spaces typically installed at high-rise apartment buildings.

The article talks about how the park’s amenities and features are so crammed together that the park is more a symbol of what a park can be. I was hoping Nicola or Park would address if there’s an inherent cultural style found in the park. That is, are they really over-landscaped, or do they resemble other artistic designs of East Asia.

Would we say that Korean Hangul characters are “over drawn” or have too many lines crammed into one character?

The Ping Tom Park in Chinatown has many similarities to the small parks featured in the blog post: They both have a strictly designed layout, as opposed to the free flowing shape and boundaries of American forest preserves; each features a pagoda; there is a lot of hardscaping using various materials of many colors to form the walkways.

A perception I take away from the article, Ping Tom Park, and the photos of the parks in Korea, is that the open space and green or grassy areas are available purely to watch and respect, but not to step on.

It seems the author’s opinion, which may be the same as the photographer’s, but that’s not clear, is that these parks are so perfect and manicured that we can’t appreciate them as much as more “natural” looking recreational spaces. However, the photographer, Park, unconsciously speaks to its benefits and why they continue to be constructed: “the trees, paths, and water features, no matter how artificial, push up property prices by providing an implicit guarantee of ‘the environmental benefits of a place where they belong.’ ”

I also wrote about two other Chicago parks, Jackson and Millenium, in November 2007.

Converting shapefiles and KML files

February 10, 2009 / / 79 Comments

Google Earth Pro is a slightly more advanced version than the free edition of the popular satellite imagery application (okay, it does way more, but many people just use that feature). One major additional feature it includes is the ability to import GIS shapefiles and display their features on top of the imagery, including terrain. It’s useful to have your data as KML (Keyhole Markup Language) because KML (or KMZ) is easier to share and Google Earth standard edition is free. But then again, it’s useful to have your KML files as shapefiles because proper GIS software is more powerful at analyzing data. Also, someone might ask you for your data in shapefile format (but they could easily follow these instructions).

Good data management requires options. Options mean your data won’t be locked into a proprietary format. Data want to be free! Read on for ways to convert your KML and shapefile data:

Converting KML files to shapefiles

Like Google Earth Pro, Quantum GIS (QGIS) can convert KML or KMZ to shapefile, and best of all – it doesn’t cost $400 per year (it’s free!). QGIS is a cross-platform application meaning it will run on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

Use QGIS to convert a KML or KMZ file to shapefile:

  1. Click on Layer > Add Vector Layer
  2. Find your KML or KMZ file.
  3. Right-click your new layer and click “Save as shapefile.”

Zonums provides online conversion tools. Or, use ArcGIS and this plugin to convert KML files to shapefiles.

Converting shapefiles to KML files

The freeware Shp2kml 2.o (Windows only) from Zonums will convert shapefiles to KML files. Want some free, interesting data to try it out? Check my ever expanding repository.

ESRI’s ArcGIS can convert KML files to shapefiles using this plugin and then import the shapefile as a layer onto your map.

Creating KML files online

As I described in this post, BatchGecode will generate a KML file for you by inputting a list of addresses and names. Additionally, Google Earth (part of the rising Google GIS platform) creates KML files. Google’s My Maps feature also allows you to generate KML files (for sharing or download) by clicking and drawing points and lines on a map and inviting you to describe the features you create. Use this to get a map of your church congregation, or a map of people who voted for your candidate.

GeoCommons Finder lets you upload geodata in many formats, save it to your profile, and then download it into multiple formats. You can upload a shapefile (.shp) and its accompany files (shx, dbf, and prj), verify that it read your data correctly,

More choices for converting

Additional software with conversion capabilities:

  • MapWindow (another free software choice; Windows only) – An alternative to QuantumGIS and ArcGIS.
  • ExpertGPS (Windows only, not free) – Ideal for GPS device owners, or for researchers using GPS devices in projects. But it can convert the GPS and shapefile data into KML, shapefiles, or a spreadsheet, amongst other functions.
  • Zonums, creator of the standalone Shp2kml software converter, now offers many online tools for KML users, including one that reverses the conversion and exports shapefiles from KML files. I found the link on FreeGeographyTools.com.
  • OpenGeo Suite – Commercial software with non-profit licenses.
  • uDig – Free GIS software, but I haven’t had good experiences with it on my computers.

GeoCommunity has a good article, with screenshots, on how some of these programs work.

Need to work with General Transit Feed Spec (GTFS) data?

Finding geographic information about Chicago and elsewhere

February 10, 2009 / / 0 Comments

The City of Chicago’s GIS division of the Department of Information and Technology as well as the Zoning Department provide copious data on boundaries, crime, zoning, etc… And I’m not talking about a library of PDF files. You can’t analyze or manipulate or calculate using PDF – I’m talking about data sets, shapefiles, or aerial photographs.

You can start here on the GIS website.

 The Chicago Police produce the CLEARMAP website. And even the Bicycle Program throws down with bikeways and bike parking data. Check out Wicker Park’s Center for Neighborhood Technology and its urban data visualization websites, like their Housing and Transportation Affordability Index.

List sources for your city’s data in the comments. Milwaukee has its own Spatial Decision Support System called COMPASS. Here’s Maricopa County’s (Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe) ArcServer-based online GIS website.

Check to see if EveryBlock has started data mining your city. They began their news collection and repackaging efforts in Chicago, naturally 🙂 They are the first organization to find a new way to present Chicago’s bike rack installation info.

UPDATE: The community at OpenStreetMap has a huge list of datasets available for cities and places around the world.

Geocoding in Quantum GIS – QGIS

February 10, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Geocoding is the process of turning street addresses into geographic coordinates. You can geocode easily in QGIS using several methods.

If you just want to geocode and you don’t need to see the addresses plotted on a map in QGIS, then follow these instructions. If you don’t need to see them on a map nor do you need the geographic coordinates, then use BatchGeocode.

If you only need to geocode a single address and get its coordinates immediately, use geocoder.us.

An example geocoded address on the map using the “single address” method.