California Celebrates GIS Day, Prepares to Launch Geoportal

Scott Gregory, California’s geographic information officer, held a Google Hangout presentation Wednesday on the state’s plans for a new Geoportal and other initiatives that will enable the public to more readily access California GIS information held by federal, state tribal, city and county agencies. Gregory said that 85 percent of all public-sector data has a geographic component, and while the state has compiled much of the state’s geo data, it has not been easily accessible to those who need it.

"GIS is the single most transformative technology that government can engage in," said Gregory, who explained that GIS provides a visual location-based view of data that helps expose trends and patterns not otherwise available. "We want to take data and provide information from that data," Gregory said.

Wayne Hanson

Full Story: http://www.govtech.com/geospatial/California-Celebrates-GIS-Day-Prepares-to-Launch-GeoPortal.html