GIS Day is November 14 - City reflects on how GIS helps serve our customers

The City ofColumbia recognizes the value and importance of geographic information systems (GIS) which enhances the lives of our customers by providing up to date data in accessible, visual, and interactive formats. 

In 2011, the City of Columbia unveiled "City View 1.0", an interactive, GIS centric map of our community. Using City View, anyone can use the internet to quickly locate services and find information such as what watershed a property is within; the council ward and the council representative; property zoning; where park land is located; and much, much more through an interactive map. 

City View also provides valuable visual and textual information to improve communications, operations, and workflows within city, county, and other government agencies so we can better serve you, our customer. 

City View 1.0 can be accessed atwww.GoColumbiaMo.com , then click the "Maps" icon. 

But we're not done. City staff in the Geospatial Information Services Office and the Information Technologies department are already working on City View 2.0, which will provide even more enhanced features and data sets.  Base maps showing roads, landmarks, natural features, zoning, and more already show a new look, better reflecting the environmental and cultural features of the Columbia Metro Area.   

Every day, GIS activities affect your daily life. City staff from Water and Light, Parks and Recreation, Fire, Police, Public Safety Joint Communications, Community Development, Public Works, Information Technologies, and Finance, daily use GIS to discover information, make decisions, and operate City systems and services.  On Thursday, November 14, we hope you will take a moment to recognize GIS professionals in our community who work to make our jobs and personal lives more productive and enjoyable by developing and enhancing GIS through data and maps.