Sean McGinnis | Azavea Journal

" Unlike a traditional GIS that displays information from a top-down perspective, Pictometry's map information is displayed from an angled view, or oblique perspective..."

Pictometry is a leading provider of geo-referenced aerial, oblique image libraries, and related software. If you are already using their imagery or are planning to, we are happy to announce that we are now participating in Pictometry‘s Demonstration program. The Demonstration program has provided us with Pictometry’s web software development kit (SDK) which will allow us to incorporate Pictometry’s imagery into new applications. So next time you work with us and if you are already using Pictometry, let us know … we might be able to get their imagery into your application.

Pictometry offers users oblique views of features, viewed from any
direction. The above example includes three views of the Philadelphia
Museum of Art.

Unlike a traditional GIS that displays information from a top-down perspective, Pictometry’s map information is displayed from both orthogonal and oblique angles, creating a more natural three-dimensional view enabling users to see land features and structures clearly, and in their entirety. You may have already seen examples of Pictometry if you have used the ‘Bird’s Eye’ view in Microsoft’s Live Maps.

The oblique images provide a unique perspective on features, and that perspective is extended even further in the application by enabling users to view features from different directions. There is more to do than just to look at the images, there are tools to perform normal GIS functions like pan, measure lengths, and zoom in and out. More advanced tools enable you to measure height, determine the bearing of a line, and calculate areas.

"The list of possibilities is endless ... that's why we're excited to do what we do!"

We were recently pleased to learn that ESRI and TechSoup have teamed up to provide low-cost GIS software and training to non-profit organizations. Through the program, non-profits and libraries can purchase an ArcView license, an eight-module online training course, and two GIS text books for $175 (the normal price for a license of ESRI’s ArcView is $1,500).

There are very few restrictions in getting the software:

Organizations are only allowed one license request within a fiscal year (July 1 to June 30)
You must be a 501(c)(3) designated organization
Libraries that are not 501(c)(3) designated must be listed in the Institute of Museum and Library Services database
Organizations must be willing to provide information to ESRI in order to create case studies or write testimonials about the donation program and how it helped your organization

It will probably come as no surprise to you to learn that we, here at Azavea, think that GIS is a pretty powerful tool. Low cost access to GIS software offers nonprofits tremendous potential for all types of applications, ranging from mapping project locations to complex analysis for targeting new service areas. Our commitment to assisting non-profit and academic organizations has led us to work on some unbelievavbly interesting and intellectually stimulating projects. We believe that GIS can assist organizations make more informed business decisions and improve business practices, such as mapping the location of service recipients to better understand coverage areas (MANNA), promoting economic development through maps highlighting recent and planned development activity (Avenue of the Arts), creating economic potential maps showing the buying power of a target community (Social Compact), or analyzing the geographic distributions of supporters to identify potential gaps and untapped markets for future outreach efforts (Wilma Theater). The list of possibilities is endless … that’s why we’re excited to do what we do!

We see this new offering from TechSoup and ESRI as an exciting opportunity for terrific organizations to access new tools that can enhance their capacities and help them achieve their missions.