We just wanted to share a quick note with our blog readers about today’s launch of Walkshed.org.
Walkshed provides the public with the ability to define what walkability means to them. By generating a custom heatmap, they can explore Philadelphia and see what neighborhoods best match their factors. For example, one person might define walkability based on living close to a library, coffee shops, and a shopping center while another person might define it as being close to public transit, carshare locations and a grocery store. Thanks to DecisionTree, Walkshed enables each person to calculate the locations that best meet their weighted criteria and returns a map that reflects these scenarios “on the fly”.
We’re thrilled that you are finding the application of interest and sharing your feedback with us. Check it out at walkshed.org.
Our HunchLab team has been working on some new server-based kernel density routines that will generate density maps based on crime events. Many in the GIS world have taken to calling density maps like these “hot spot” maps or “heat” maps. But the recent map published by Transport for London is a little different – it literally shows which line segments have the highest temperature. The tunnels through which the subways run have been steadily warming for the last century, with temperatures now exceeding 32 degrees Celsius and no air conditioned cars. Some of them will get new air-conditioned cars in 2010, other lines with deep tunnels have no space for waste heat and are experimenting with alternative approaches to cooling the passengers. These are static maps, but I think we’ll all be carrying temperature, noise and other sensors built into our phones and tablets in a few years. That’s going to make for an avalanche of data, but some potentially fascinating applications.
The Washington Metro system has announced that it’s going to support data published in the Google Transit data format – an open, published format for posting schedules and stops. The Metro’s decision followed an online petition drive last fall. The drive was started by riders that were frustrated when talks between the Metro and Google to add the Metro data to Google Transit broke down. Google Transit has more than 115 agencies on the system now, but according to the Washington Post, the talks broke down over liability. The Metro will make the data available to anyone that agree to it’s terms.
So where is SEPTA in all this? They won’t agree to give Google their data, but the difference is that they won’t agree to give the data to the public either. Imagine how great iSEPTA or other, unimagined applications could be with structured data and locations published by SEPTA. And SEPTA has even more than most transit agencies – they’ve got GPS feeds on every bus!! Would you like to see it change? The list of board members and their address is online.
