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Tag: Economic development

Revitalizing Main Street: Tracking Community Opportunities with BOOMS Tracker

Posted on by Diane Trif

Main Street districts across America, once vibrant centers of community life and economic activity, have faced significant challenges over recent decades. Economic shifts, suburbanization, and changing retail landscapes have left many of these historic areas struggling with vacant buildings, underutilized spaces, and a decline in local businesses. The need to revitalize these districts is critical for preserving cultural heritage, fostering economic growth, and enhancing community resilience.

Picture of historic main street buildings.

Addressing Community Challenges with Main Street America

Main Street America, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting traditional commercial districts, has launched the Building Opportunities on Main Street (BOOMS) Tracker to address the issues these areas are now facing. This innovative property inventory tool helps local Main Street leaders collect and analyze data on housing units, businesses, and civic spaces within their districts. By identifying development opportunities in vacant buildings, lots, and upper floors, the BOOMS Tracker provides actionable insights to drive revitalization efforts.

How Does the BOOMS Tracker Work?

  • Mobile Access: Users access district-specific ArcGIS Hub pages on their mobile devices to begin data collection.
  • Detailed Surveys: By selecting a parcel on the map, users complete detailed surveys to capture property information.
  • Real-Time Analysis: Collected data is analyzed and visualized to reveal opportunities, with statistics calculated in real time.
  • Aggregated Insights: Information is aggregated at regional and national levels to support decision-making and policy changes.

Users Access the Survey123 through an Experience Builder App

Users access the ArcGIS Survey123 through an Experience Builder app embedded in an ArcGIS Hub Page

ArcGIS Dashboard visualizing survey results

Data collected is analyzed and visualized in ArcGIS Dashboards to support decision making

The Impact of the BOOMS Tracker

The BOOMS Tracker serves as a central repository for valuable information about the built environment in each district. Insights derived from this tool empower local leaders to make authoritative decisions on housing and land use, driving revitalization efforts. Furthermore, aggregated data at larger regional and national levels provides evidence to influence policy changes and attract more investment into existing buildings.

Blue Raster's Role in Supporting Main Street America

At Blue Raster, we are proud to support the Main Street America's initiative with our expertise in geospatial technology. Utilizing tools such as ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Hub Premium, ArcGIS Survey123, ArcGIS Experience Builder, ArcGIS Dashboards, and the ArcGIS API for Python, we have developed the BOOMS Tracker to help communities visualize and analyze their data effectively. Our work supporting Main Street America ensures that local leaders have the tools they need to revitalize their downtown areas and promote sustainable growth.

Although the full functionality of the BOOMs Tracker is only available to designated Local and Coordinating Programs within the Main Street network, the public can access the BOOMS Tracker home page to see high-level statistics and the collection progress leaderboard.  Visit the BOOMS Tracker and Main Street America for more information.

BOOMS Tracker Public Statistics

BOOMS Tracker Public Statistics

BOOMS Tracker Collection Progress Leaderboard

BOOMS Tracker Collection Progress Leaderboard

BOOMS Tracker Homepage

BOOMS Tracker Homepage

Learn More About Our Work

Discover how Blue Raster’s advanced geospatial solutions can support your projects. Contact us today to learn how our expertise can make a difference in your efforts to improve community resilience and economic vitality. Click here to learn more.

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Building Bridges to Progress: The Inter-American Development Bank’s HIT Platform for Infrastructure and Transport

Posted on by Chigo Ibeh

Across Latin America and the Caribbean, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) plays a pivotal role in financing sustainable, social, economic, and institutional development. With a mission to support transportation and infrastructure projects across South and Central America, the IDB collaborates with various partners to drive positive change in the region.

Blue Raster collaborated with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to develop the Hub de Integracion y Transporte (HIT) Platform, a groundbreaking initiative that serves as a regional infrastructure and transport hub, consolidating and presenting crucial information layers for effective planning and decision-making.

IDB HIT Platform

The HIT Platform offers an innovative solution by providing a comprehensive platform that combines key information related to infrastructure, logistics, value chains, projects, climate change, Covid impacts, and development perspectives. This platform acts as a powerful planning tool and an invaluable information repository, catering to the needs of government officials, Mesoamerican stakeholders and IDB specialists. The HIT Project is divided into six modules, each utilizing the robust capabilities of the ArcGIS Online suite of solutions and incorporating custom-developed features to address specific requirements. Recognizing the linguistic diversity of the region, all modules of the HIT Platform were developed in Spanish. The HIT Platform encompasses a series of interactive web applications and dashboards developed with ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Dashboards.

IDB HIT Platform IDB HIT Platform

The HIT Platform offers a personalized user experience by incorporating customized list and pop-up elements. These interactive components allow users to access specific information related to infrastructure, logistics, and value chains conveniently. By tailoring the user interface to meet specific requirements, the platform enhances usability and efficiency. To enable intuitive data visualization, the HIT platform project utilizes data-driven symbology, a feature within ArcGIS, to dynamically represent information based on various attributes. ArcGIS Arcade expressions, a flexible scripting language within ArcGIS, are employed extensively throughout the HIT project to ensure accurate and consistent data cleaning and formatting. By leveraging Arcade expressions, the platform achieves seamless integration and harmonization of diverse datasets, enhancing data quality and reliability.

Through its effective utilization of ArcGIS Online and its suite of applications and customization options, the HIT Platform sets a benchmark for effective planning and information management in the region, fostering positive change and driving sustainable growth.

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