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The information need Where People Live was identified as one of
thirteen original priority business information needs of the MetroGIS community.
Click here to view the Business Object Framing Model Fragment for this
information need. Click here for further information about MetroGIS's Business
Information Needs initiative.
A partial solution to this information need was put into place with the solutions for
the Addresses and Parcel
Boundaries Information Needs, more specifically when their associated regional
street centerline and
parcels datasets became operational in 1998 and 2002, respectively. As
the solutions to these regional datasets evolved, it was concluded that the "many addresses to single parcel
relationship" issues should be the focus of the Where People Live Information Need because the solution would require
effort in addition to that needed to support the regional street centerline and parcel datasets.
The need for a collaborative solution to the many-to-one address relationships became
apparent in late 2003. At that time an "address data" connection was recognized between several previously unrelated
initiatives within and outside of MetroGIS. This realization led to proposing the formation of the Address Workgroup as
a component of MetroGIS's 2004 workplan. The Workgroup's focus will be to identify a collaborative solution to the
many-to-one address relationships that can be supported by all interests. The component initiatives were: 1) desired
enhancements to the address components of the regional parcel dataset, 2) desire to capture "business type" and related
information for the regional existing land use solution, 3) desire to analyze and map household and employment data at
a higher resolution than can be supported with traditional census data (e.g., the iBlockTM methodology developed by
Excensus LLC in conjunction with the North Metro I-35W Corridor Coalition), 4) the Ramsey County GIS User Group's
efforts to develop a county-wide, enterprise address database, and 5) the Metro 911 Board's desire for improved address
data and its efforts to integrate GIS technology into the day-to-day activities of the 27 Public Safety Answering
Points (PSAPs).
The new Address Workgroup was expected to be formed in January or February 2004 and begin meeting by March of
the same year. Its work will be coordinated with the second phase of the
Socioeconomic Characteristics of Areas Information Need,
also scheduled to begin in early 2004. Specifically, the Phase II Socioeconomic Workgroup will be charged with
investigating the iBlock methodology, as the Coordinating Committee has recognized it as a potential solution for the
Socioeconomic Information Need, in addition to the U.S. Census. That is, the "iBlock" methodology would be looked into
as an option to address priority information needs for which conventional sources of socioeconomic data are
insufficient, and for addressing instances of many-to-one address relationships for residential (several apartment
units or mobile homes located on a single tax parcel) and possibly for non-residential (several businesses in a mall or
office building located on a single tax parcel) occurrences.
The "iBlock" methodology was developed by John Carpenter, Principal with Excensus, LLC, in conjunction with
the North Metro I-35W Corridor Coalition's innovative work to effectively plan for and manage community development
activities for seven contiguous cities as if one political jurisdiction. Mr. Carpenter first shared the "iBlock"
concept with the MetroGIS Coordinating Community in January 1997. He and the Coalition were encouraged to continue
their work to evolve the concept and demonstrate its benefits through several "proofs of concept" with local government
organizations. Several successful "proofs of concept" were operational as of December 2003.
A central part of MetroGIS's work is to identify common information needs of GIS users in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Area and facilitate the policy and data specifications needed to address each of these common information needs.
An investigation to understand these common needs was conducted by MetroGIS from September 1996 to March 1997. The result of this study was the identification of thirteen priority common information needs of the MetroGIS community. Since that time, a priority function of MetroGIS has been to facilitate the development and/or assembly of regional datasets needed to address each of these common information needs.
Each information need is addressed through a replicable process. In general, the process begins by assembling a team of content experts and through a facilitated group process (Peer Review Forum), the team begins with the business object framing model fragment to identify dataset(s) required to meet the information need. In some cases, this process takes place in a forum of content experts and in other cases it is not such a formalized process because the dataset(s) that meet the information need are intuitively recognized.
Once the dataset(s) required to meet an information need is identified, a working group of content experts is created to:
- Refine the desired specifications identified at the Peer Review Forum,
- Identify desired data standards and guidelines,
- Identify desired roles and responsibilities for the custodian organization(s) - organizations responsible for data creation, maintenance, documentation, and distribution; and,
- Identify candidate custodial organizations that have a business need and appropriate expertise to carry out the desired roles and responsibilities.
The process is complete when the Policy Board has adopted, as policy for the MetroGIS community, parameters defined through the stated tasks. The parameters are posted on a Web page for each “MetroGIS endorsed regional dataset”. Once an endorsed dataset is operational, MetroGIS monitors user satisfaction to continually enhance it.
To learn more, please see the About Information Needs page and the pages for each endorsed regional dataset.
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