Goals, Challenges, and Capacity of Regional Data Portals in the United States: An Updated Understanding of Long-Standing Discussions

Abstract

Online participation in political processes has grown in advanced industrial societies like the United States (E. Anduiza, A. Gallego, and M. Cantijoch, “Online Political Participation in Spain: The Impact of Traditional and Internet Resources,” Journal of Information Technology & Politics 7: 4 (2010) 356–368). Experimentation and goal-setting have been done around integrating two-way communication into online GIS portals to advance online participation. Increasingly, web development information technology enables the development of these functions. However, the state of practice has not developed to support such activities. This paper relies on literature and a survey of US geoportals to provide an in-depth overview of the state of practice for such sites, including stated goals and challenges, current applications, and both technical and realized capabilities. This paper then discusses this state of practice through the lens of the development process of a new geoportal for the St Louis region. This discussion yields a response to issues raised in the literature and provides a framework for other groups that are considering development of similar sites.

Keywords:

• data portal
• GIS
• scenario planning
• planning
• open source
• PPGIS

Funding

This work was supported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development [MORIP0025-10].

Notes on Contributors

Joanna P. Ganning is an assistant professor in the department of city & metropolitan planning and the executive director of the Metropolitan Research Center at the University of Utah. Her research focuses quantitatively on place-based economic development, natural resources, and the interface between the two.

Sarah L. Coffin is an associate professor of urban planning and real estate development in the Center for Sustainability at Saint Louis University. Her current research focuses on the role that evidence plays in driving policy decisions and how science informs the policy debate around local industrial land use decisions.

Ben McCall holds a Master of Arts in urban planning and real estate development from Saint Louis University and works at America's Central Port as a planner.

Kathleen Carson is a doctoral candidate in the department of public policy studies at Saint Louis University. Her research focuses on environmental policy.

Notes

1. Please note that the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities is now the Office of Economic Resilience. For more information about the office and details regarding the federal program please see <http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/economic_resilience>.

2. While the physical data portal described here came into existence only two years ago, work on a regional data system and regional data sharing began several years earlier, leading to the formation of ARC. In early 2005, Saint Louis University sponsored a data conference to discuss the state of data systems and practices in the region. The National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (see <http://www.neighborhoodindicators.org/>) provided additional support, bringing speakers in from around the country who offered expertise on the state of the art in data democratization and community based regional data information systems.