Introducing AxisGIS: A New Interactive Map for Cambridge Open Data

Geography lies at the heart of Cambridge Open Data. From mapping traffic crash information to tree locations to exploring property value assessments, location-based data drives critical insights for the City. In November, the Cambridge Geographic Systems (GIS) Department unveiled AxisGIS, a powerful new interactive viewer designed to make this data more accessible and user-friendly. 

The Cambridge Open Data team caught up with Jeff Amero, the City’s GIS Manager to learn more:

What is AxisGIS and why is it important?
AxisGIS  is a new interactive Cambridge GIS map. This tool, which was designed and built by a New Hampshire company called CAI Technologies, is used by municipalities all over New England. Each client can customize the app to their community.

The Cambridge GIS website has always had some sort of citywide interactive map tool. AxisGIS allows users to get lots of information about a particular theme such as property information, and easily view another theme like zoning or utility information in the same area.

Who is AxisGIS designed for?
AxisGIS is designed for everyone—residents, city staff, and the broader public—who want to access Cambridge’s rich GIS data without needing specialized software. Unlike basic web maps that focus on a single theme, AxisGIS offers pre-configured data layers grouped into various categories. 

What else will AxisGIS allow users to do? 
This allows users to explore the city, query the GIS database, create custom maps, and easily perform a wide range of tasks.

How do I access this tool?
There are several ways to open and begin exploring AxisGIS. One method is starting from the main Axis GIS Web page where we have made shortcuts to several themes such as DPW, Zoning, Parking, etc. Another way to launch the tool is through the Assessor’s Property Database. Once a property is selected, there is a link ‘GIS Map of this Property’ which will bring up the selected parcel in the tool. Lastly, users can get to AxisGIS through our address lookup page, myCambridge after an address is entered into the search.

What are the different types of data that are used in this tool?
The tool is built around the Assessors' tax parcels and property information, but we have also added several themes that were in CityViewer (our older interactive map). Themes include Community Development, Construction, Historical, Traffic & Parking, Zoning, and others. These can be turned on and off in the tool or opened using the shortcuts on our AxisGIS page. We find most of the usage comes from Assessing - there is a link within each search result in the Property Database app - but there is also a lot of use by contractors looking for utility information, residents looking for traffic and parking information, as well all kinds of searches for municipal resources, land use, parks, aerial photos, and more.

What are some real-life scenarios in which AxisGIS can help residents, contractors, or businesses?
AxisGIS allows users to answer location-based questions by having both a map and robust database on one screen. Many of our users are looking at the assessment data which every theme is built around. Those users may want to look at properties for various reasons, query the Assessors database, create mailing labels, or open up other themes such as the Zoning layer to find out more about a property. Another group which frequently use our tool are utility contractors. For example, from the DPW theme, users can bring up information on the sewer and stormwater utility network, retrieve scanned plans, and visualize what is in the area a potential or current project might be. A lot of users also use Parking, Historical, and Construction themes to answer questions about their projects or businesses.

AxisGIS is a replacement for CityViewer. Why did we need a new interactive map and how is it different?
CityViewer was our previous interactive GIS map tool. We had a GIS consultant make a custom tool built around our GIS databases. CityViewer not only let users view and create maps, but also make mailing lists, query the database and return results about data sets, mark-up maps, and jump to different themes while still being connected to a selected property of feature. That map was used for 20 years, but the consultant no longer supported it, so we found the best solution for us that would allow us to replicate what we could from CityViewer while adding easier navigation, more tools, and better performance.

What other things can be done with AxisGIS?
Users can do a lot of digital exploring of Cambridge with AxisGIS. They can also make measurements, draw on a map and share markups, easily create abutters lists for mailings, query properties for real estate questions, jump out to Google Street View or Bing Bird’s Eye View after they select a property, interact with our Cambridge GIS database, and more. This tool has been created to support use on all mobile devices as well as a desktop web browser.

Is there a learning curve? How do I learn how to use it?
AxisGIS is simple to use, but also has some advanced features which users may need instructions for. There is a detailed help topics section within the tool itself and we have added some instructions particular to the Cambridge site, such as how to create an abutters report. The vendor, CAI Technologies also has some instructional videos on YouTube.

How does AxisGIS integrate with other Cambridge resources?
First of all, this tool allows users to access information in the GIS database that aren’t available anywhere else on our Website. Items such as scanned images and pictures are only in this tool. There are several integrations within the current tool. The most obvious to users is the integration with the Assessors database which returns all the property information. Less apparent is the integration with the City’s master address database. As we expand this tool, we hope to integrate with other enterprise databases.

Are you looking to enhance AxisGIS over time?
Yes. We are looking at several new themes that we did not have in our last tool, such as election information. We have been putting our efforts into getting everything we could from the old tool into AxisGIS and are looking forward to collaborating with our vendor on expanding what we can offer in this robust mapping tool.