City Focus is a web-based interactive 2D and 3D GIS application to find the best place in a city to live as well as to pass shorter staying. The user can select among different criteria and decide their importance by assigning weights to each of them. The application provides thematic maps displaying insights on the places which better fit the user’s preferences. The resulting map is computed through map algebra by means of Web Coverage Processing Service WCPS provided by RASDAMAN Database Management System. Data visualization is mainly based on NASA Web WorldWind open-source virtual globe. The app exploits exclusively open data as well as Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) for its implementation by enabling continuous improvements while minimizing development costs.
City Focus is a work-in-progress application, winner of the MYGEOSS third call for innovative Apps, launched by the European Commission (http://digitalearthlab.jrc.ec.europa.eu/mygeoss/results3.cfm). The call focused on developing applications of European relevance able to provide users with quantitative or qualitative information on the changing environment, taking into account broad environmental or social themes across geographic scales, stressing the use of openly available or crowd-generated data in different domains addressing citizens’ needs (Raglia & Craglia, 2015). City Focus is a web-based interactive 2D and 3D GIS application to find the best place in a city to live, or to pass shorter staying. The user can select among different criteria and decide their importance by assigning weights to each of them. The application provides thematic maps displaying insights on the places which better fit the user’s preferences. The resulting map is computed through map algebra upon a cascade of pre-built raster maps. Users are guided in the requests through a predefined list of criteria including: air quality, precipitation, terrain morphology (e.g. slope, solar exposure, etc.), temperature, proximity to urban facilities (e.g. schools, transportations, sports fields, cultural attractions, healthcare centers, parking lots, shops, etc.), presence of public spaces, land use characteristics (e.g. commercial areas, residential areas, etc.), population density, traffic or internet connection.
Speakers: Carolina Arias Muñoz