ALLEGHENY ARMSTRONG BEAVER BUTLER FAYETTE GREENE INDIANA LAWRENCE PITTSBURGH WASHINGTON WESTMORELAND

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Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
ALLEGHENY ARMSTRONG BEAVER BUTLER FAYETTE
GREENE INDIANA LAWRENCE PITTSBURGH
WASHINGTON WESTMORELAND
Regional Geospatial Data Applications
Pennsylvania Geospatial Policy SymposiumOctober
4, 2007
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Southwestern Pennsylvania
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Geospatial
Pertaining to the geographic location and
characteristics of natural or constructed
features and boundaries on, above, or below the
earth's surface esp. referring to data that is
geographic and spatial in nature
Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English
In other words
If it is on the ground or has / had a location,
it can be mapped
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Things you can see
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Others you cannot
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Every Day Uses
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• Perhaps Unknowingly
• Provided your ZIP Code in a checkout line?
• Your Telephone Number?
• Completed a Census form?
• Filed a Tax Return?
• Found a Store?
• Rode a Bus?
• Tracked a Package?

All use Geospatial Data
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What is a Region?

• A continuous part of a surface
• A large indefinite area
• An area of interest
• A district without respect
• to boundaries or extent
• An area with natural or
• arbitrary boundaries
• An administrative division

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What is a Region?
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What is a Region?
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What is a Region?
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What is a Region?
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What is a Region?
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What is a Region?
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What is a Region?

• The SPC Region is
• 7,112 Square Miles
• 10 Counties
• 120 School Districts
• 549 Municipalities
• 29,000 Miles of Roads
• 11 Rivers
• 160 Golf Courses
• 114,000 Businesses
• 2.6 Million People

• The SPC Region
• Is Larger than 3 States
• Has more People than 17 States

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Geospatial Activities

• Transportation Plans
• Economic Development Plans
• Municipal Plans
• Demographic Analysis
• Environmental Analysis
• Traffic Modeling
• Regional Inventory

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SPC GIS Data Layers  Abandoned Mine Land - Coal
Mine Related Agricultural Security Areas
Airports Amusement Parks Animal Equivalency
Units Attractions Bedrock Geology of
Pennsylvania Bicycle/Pedestrian Network Boat Ramp
Locations Census Blocks, Block Groups,
Tracts Campgrounds Cemeteries Colleges /
Universities Congressional Districts County
Boundaries Crushed Stone
Operations Dam Locations DCNR Trails
Environmental Areas Fault Lines Fish Species
Occurrence Fisheries Impacted by Acid Mine Flood
Prone Areas Forests State Forest
Density Forest Type Game Lands Golf
Courses Ground Water Site Inventory Historic
Areas Sites Hospitals Hydrology Industrial
Parks Land Cover Major
Employers Manage
Longwall Panels Marina Locations
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SPC GIS Data Layers (cont.)  Municipal
Boundaries Oil and Gas Fields Oil and Gas
Wells Open Spaces Parks Park Ride Lots PA
Conservation Gap Fish Habitat Model Pittsburgh
Coal Seams Mining Place Names Public Water
Supply Wells Database Quality of Water
Database Railroads Railroad Crossings Rivers River
Terminals / Barge Companies Roads All Federal,
State, Local Sand and Gravel Operations School
Districts Schools Facilities
Sewer Service Areas Shopping Centers Slopes Soils
- Prime Agricultural STATSGO Soils
Database Surface Water Sampling Sites Traffic
Analysis Zones Traffic Signals Transit
Routes Upper Freeport Coal Seams Mining USGS
Quadrangles Warehouses Water Service Areas Water
Well Inventory Watersheds Wetlands Whitewater
rafting/kayaking streams ZIP Codes
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2035 Transportation Development Plan For
Southwestern Pennsylvania

• Geospatial Applications
• Demographic Analysis
• Regional Land Cover
• Regional Forecast
• Infrastructure Coding
• Impact Assessment
• Environmental Review
• Traffic Modeling
• Meeting Locations
• Scenario Planning

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2035 Transportation Development Plan For
Southwestern Pennsylvania

• Long Range Plan Highlights
• Multi-year Process
• 10 county-based Public Participation Panels
• 100 Regional Experts in 4 Work Groups
• 600 Regional Partners
• Regional Transportation Improvement Workshops
• Economic Development Workshops
• Scenario Planning Workshops
• Interactive Polling Web Surveys
• Mobile Planning Kiosks
• Regional Town Meeting Web Conference
• Simultaneous - 11 Locations, 300 in-house, 100
  online
• The Regions Vision Established, Investments
  Prioritized
• Adopted June 2007

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2035 Transportation Development Plan For
Southwestern Pennsylvania

• Regional Land Cover Inventory
• Region-wide
• Aerial Photo Based
• Supplemented with Satellite
• Facilitated with custom
• GIS Tools Applications

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2035 Transportation Development Plan For
Southwestern Pennsylvania

• Regional Land Cover Inventory
• Based on USGS Standard
• Planner Review
• Not Land Use!
• Input to Forecast Scenarios

• Other Uses Since Completion
• 40 Municipal Plans
• Watershed Studies
• Greenway Plans
• Transp. Corridor Plans

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Orthophotograph
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Land Cover
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Steep Slopes 25
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Flood Prone Areas
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Wetlands
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Parks Game Lands
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Cemeteries
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(No Transcript)
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2035 Transportation Development Plan For
Southwestern Pennsylvania

• Regional Forecast Ingredients
• Developed / Undeveloped
• Land Cover
• Demographic Data
• Workplace Employment
• Regional Travel Patterns
• Regional Access

• Regional Forecast Outputs
• 2005 2035 Forecast Years
• Population Housing Units
• Jobs Manufacturing
• Retail
• Services
• Other

Businesses
Transit Use
Traffic Volumes
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What Are Scenarios?
Scenario Planning

• Show alternative futures illustrated by maps,
  graphics and text, projecting future conditions
  based on changes in conditions.
• Scenarios are stories about the future.
• Scenarios cannot be unerringly predictive.
• Scenarios help people understand the forces of
  change and the collective choices they have.

David Soule Center for Urban Regional
Policy Northeastern University
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Scenario Planning
Planning Processes Using Criterion Planners INDEX
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Regional Policy Statements
Scenario Planning
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• Based on
• Extensive public input
• Planning Partners Workshops
• Technical analysis
• Review of plans and strategies at the state,
  regional and local levels

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Policy StatementsRegional Places
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• Revitalization and redevelopment of the regions
  existing communities is a priority.
• Investment in infrastructure improvements will be
  coordinated and targeted at the corridor level to
  optimize the impact of the investment.
• The region will focus on the identification and
  development of industrial sites with special
  attention given to well situated brownfield
  locations.
• The region will place a priority on establishing
  diverse development by type and location.

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Policy StatementsRegional Activities
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• The region will place a priority on business
  development with a focus on existing business
  retention and expansion.
• The region will support initiatives designed to
  improve both the quality and quantity of the
  regions workforce to meet emerging industry
  demands.
• The region will support identified strategic
  industry clusters.
• The region will place a priority on programs and
  services to attract and retain a diverse
  population with a particular focus on young
  adults and immigrants.
• The region will proactively support the emerging
  role of colleges and universities in economic
  development.
• The region will preserve, promote and develop the
  tourism and hospitality industries by
  capitalizing on historic, cultural, recreational
  and ecological assets.
• The region will preserve and develop its
  agricultural industry.

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Policy StatementsRegional Connections
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• Maintenance of the existing transportation system
  will be a regional priority.
• Transportation and development choices will
  reflect a priority on multimodal and intermodal
  networks for both people and goods.
• The regions transportation system will be
  actively managed and operated to allow the system
  to function at its full potential.
• The expansion and enhancement of infrastructure
  to accommodate regional growth will be a
  priority.
• The regions transit system will connect people
  with resources throughout the entire region.
• The entire region will have access to broadband
  communications infrastructure.
• Safety and security of the transportation system
  will be a regional priority.
• The regional transportation system will be
  designed to protect and enhance public health and
  the environment.

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Policy Statement Matrix
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Scenario Planning

• After review of most common planning scenarios,
  the Work Groups offered six Sketch Scenarios
  for consideration by the Regional Partners
• Center, cluster, or satellite
• Compact
• Dispersed / fringe
• Corridor
• Infill or redevelopment
• Transit oriented

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Scenario Planning

• Regional Partners Fine-tuned the Scenarios
• Location of development
• Density of development
• Mix of development
• Primary transportation elements
• Associated the Regional Policy Statements to each
  Scenario via the Policy Matrix
• Important
• Scenarios show How not How Much

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Scenario Components
Primary Development Density
Primary Development Mix
Primary Transportation Elements
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Example
Compact/Infill/Transit OrientedScenario
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Scenario Components
Compact / Infill / Transit Oriented Scenario
Primary Development Density
Primary Development Mix
Primary Transportation Elements
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Primary Development Density
Compact/Infill/Transit
Job Center
Primary Development Mix
Primary Transportation Elements
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High density development Mix of uses Core
communities
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Infill and brownfield rehabilitation
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Open space preservation
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Pedestrian oriented Strong reliance on public
transportation
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Multimodal Existing transportation corridors
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Scenario Planning
Indicators for Performance How much land would
be developed? Where would land development take
place? What areas would be served by public sewer
and water? How much land would be left
undeveloped? Where would people live? How dense
is the housing? Where would people work? How
many jobs could you get to by using transit? What
areas have transit? How many people would have
access to transit? How many people would use
automobiles? How much congestion would there
be? Would people have longer or shorter
trips? How many people would walk? How long
would people spend traveling?
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Scenario Planning

• Number of Scenarios
• How many is enough too many to properly
  evaluate?
• Too many scenarios make it challenging to assess
  a series of alternative courses - as a result
  the number of scenarios are often limited.
• Having just two scenarios can suggest that one
  scenario is good scenario and one is bad.
• Having three can lead to a Goldilocks
  compromisethis one is just right.
• ..consensus appears to emerge from the
  literature that four scenarios is about the right
  number not too many to confuse the choices, but
  enough to allow for divergent thinking and
  coherent story telling..

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Sketch Scenarios
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Scenario Planning
Achieving Consensus
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Draft Scenarios
Scenario Planning
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• Dispersed/Fringe
• Compact/Infill/Transit Oriented
• Corridor/Cluster
• Trend

• Work Groups helped to define the scenarios
• Partners chose to combine / remove some
• Partners chose the indicators to evaluate
• SPC staff moved forward with analysis

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Scenario Planning

• GIS Processing
• INDEX ArcGIS used
• Housing Density
• Population Density
• Adjacency to Transit Stops
• Proximity to Businesses
• Drive times to Interchanges
• Environmental Constraints
• Average Daily Traffic
• 68,000 Census Blocks
• 250,000 Land Cover polygons

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Scenario Planning

• Results of GIS Work
• 600,000 Polygons created and scored for each
  Scenario
• Over 100GB of geospatial data developed
• Indicator Scores calculated and applied across
  and against the Scenarios
• Data shipped to Work Groups for evaluation
• Maps posted to the Web
• Regional Town Meeting

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Scenario Results
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Limiting Conditions
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Scenario Results
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Limiting Conditions

• Game Lands
• State Forests
• Parks
• Cemeteries
• Flood Plains
• Steep Slopes

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Scenario Results
Scenario Thermometer
The scenario map depicts areas conducive to the
type of development consistent with the policy
statements and the scenario description.     Condu
civeness The more red an area is, the more
favorable the conditions are to the preferred
policy scenario.
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The Region
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Compact/Infill/Transit Scenario Oriented Scenario
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Indicator Scores for Compact / Infill / Transit
Scenario
Scenario Results
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Less
Greater

• Development Density
• Land Developed
• Households Close to Transit
• Households Close to Highway
• Regional Travel
• Cost for Basic Infrastructure

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Scenario Results
Other Scenarios
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The Region
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Trend Scenario
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The Region
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Dispersed/Fringe Scenario
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The Region
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Corridor/Cluster Scenario
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• Trend
• Dispersed/Fringe
• 3. Compact/Infill/Transit Oriented
• 4. Corridor/Cluster

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Indicator Scorecard
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Key Points to Remember
Scenario Planning

• An individual scenario doesnt tell the entire
  storyits important to consider the elements in
  each scenario and how they differ from one
  another.
• Scenarios show possible futures based on
  differing sets of strategies and policies.
• Scenarios can help you understand the potential
  impacts of various policy decisions.
• Scenarios show patterns of how growth and
  development could occur, not how much growth and
  development there will be.

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What was the Preferred Scenario?
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Draft Scenarios
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Trend
Dispersed Fringe
Compact/Infill/TOD
Corridor Cluster
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The Region
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Compact/Infill/Transit Scenario Oriented Scenario
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Corridor/Cluster Scenario
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The Preferred Scenario
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Scenario Results
Scenario results helped to prioritize the
investments in the Regions Long Range Plan

• Transportation
• Capital Maintenance - Bridge Roadway
  Preservation
• Capital Maintenance - Public Transit Operations,
  Preservation Maintenance
• New Capacity Bridges Roads
• New Capacity Transit
• Traffic Operations Safety
• Bicycle / Pedestrian Projects

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Scenario Planning
Scenario results helped to prioritize the
investments in the Regions Long Range Plan

• Economic Development
• Retain Expand Existing Business
• Support Identified Industry Sectors
• Identify Develop Brownfields
• Geographic Investing where Infrastructure Exists
• Revitalize Existing Communities
• Provide for Tomorrows Workforce

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Geospatial Impacts

• Data can and does cross all boundaries
• Quality regional data applies at the local
  level
• Power of Place it is always someones backyard
• Technology engages citizens
• Graphical methods convey the message
• Accurate information aids decision making

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Thank You W. Kirk Brethauer Information Systems
Director The Southwestern Pennsylvania
Commission
www.spcregion.org
www.projectregion.org