Case Studies

Solution Building on the momentum of the City's GIS Strategic Plan, which led to the establishment of an Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) with Esri Canada, the City embraced GIS technology to help address these needs and challenges. A project team comprised of Parks & Rec staff, GIS analysts, the City's IT department and a third-party GIS consultant adopted Esri Web GIS technology to create a new information management and collaboration workflow. The project team designed a new geodatabase, leveraging pre-formatted foundation layers and operational information from Esri Canada's Canadian Municipal Data Model (CMDM). The project team populated the database with existing park data gathered from paper maps and other City records. Parks & Rec staff retrieved missing information using Collector for ArcGIS installed on mobile devices. Collected data was seamlessly integrated into the geodatabase and deployed into a comprehensive, multi-layer map called the "Internal GIS Parks Viewer" using ArcGIS for Desktop. The detailed, interactive map was then published and shared within the organization. The City ensured this field data collection workflow adhered to its IT infrastructure security policies by using ArcGIS Web Adapter through ArcGIS Server. In May 2015, the City's GIS team created a new tree inventory collection workflow by configuring an app using Web AppBuilder for ArcGIS. Deployed through ArcGIS Online on lightweight, consumer-grade tablets, the app was deployed to four, full-time forestry staff members to collect and share tree data. Benefits By implementing a modern Web GIS framework, the project team has successfully increased the frequency and accuracy of updates to the City's parks and open space inventory. The improved system allows managers in the office to view and assess park asset conditions in real-time, empowering them to make decisions more quickly based on up-to-date information. The CMDM saved time and money by giving the project team a starting point for a comprehensive geodatabase. For example, the CMDM provided a relationship diagram that allowed the project team to efficiently perform a data needs assessment. Further savings are being realized thanks to the City's participation in Esri Canada's Community Map of Canada Program. The orthographic imagery basemap service that's used in the Internal GIS Parks Viewer is hosted by Esri in the cloud, which frees up the City's IT infrastructure. Because the City has limited staff resources at their disposal, this ensures the information in the basemap is current and accurate. The new tree inventory collection workflow has improved productivity for forestry staff nine-fold. Between early-May and mid-September of 2015, staff inventoried 16,874 trees, averaging 180 trees per day. The workflow's improved data accuracy allows tree consultants to find trees more quickly and view updates captured by city staff right away. This has expedited assessments and accelerated the completion of the tree inventory. Building Better Parks & Tree Inventories with Web GIS | Esri Canada 2 The City of Guelph's Internal Parks Viewer contains hundreds of features derived from a geodatabase configured using the Canadian Municipal Data Model (CMDM). "In addition to the improved efficiency that our tree inventory app delivers, the accuracy of the data now being collected is far superior, which allows tree consultants to find inventoried trees more quickly." Mike Bartholomew Business Systems Analyst Analyst – GIS, Information Technology City of Guelph

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