new jersey geographer

New Jersey is a great state to be a GIS specialist, consultant, or student. There is a wealth of GIS data available throughout the state, and that massive amount of data is getting easier to use.

The Office of GIS in the State’s OIT department has made available several statewide layers via WMS. If you’re not familiar with WMS, the gist of the service is that a remote server renders a georeferenced image of map that can be used in your GIS software, whether it’s desktop GIS like ESRI’s ArcMap, or server-side GIS, like TileCache and OpenLayers. Having a WMS service available is an incredible resource. Where the 2007 aerial photographs span several DVDs (just having the 4 MrSID tiles that cover Rowan University requires 23MB of space*), being able to download just the portion of the aerials at the scale you need is wonderful. Coupled with the fact that it renders faster than drawing from tiles over the Rowan network is outright amazing.

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I recently became involved in OpenStreetMap. After watching it from the sidelines for the past year, I recently started contributing to the map. I wrote a python script to export lines and polygons from ArcGIS to OSM. You can see the results of the script by zooming into Rowan University, where I’ve exported the campus buildings and uploaded them. I’ve also been working to get the various cycle routes throughout the State into OSM. Cycle routes are managed by a myriad of local and state entities, and considering DOT informed me that they do not keep any GIS records of the bike routes or facilities, OSM seems like a natural repository for volunteers to collect and share cycle route data.

I’m also planning a course exercise using OSM. I’m going to encourage students to print out their neighborhood using Walking Papers, recording any updates or fixes, then modifying the OSM data via Potlatch or JOSM. Though it will likely be offered as an extra credit assignment initially, I’m hoping I’ll be able to integrate it and other elements of OSM into my courses in the future.

If you have an interest in mapping or GIS, you should check out OpenStreetMap. Sign up for an account, and start updating in your neighborhood. If you’re in New Jersey, I’ve updated OSM’s wiki with links to the cycle maps to be added, as well as instructions on how to add features to OSM using the State’s 2007 aerial photography. If you’d like to collaborate with me on sharing information via OpenStreetMap, let me know. You can follow me on OpenStreetMap here.

When you look at the maps produced for the NJ State Plans, you can see a not-so-surprising trend.

State Plan maps spanning 70 years.

Encourage development in and around our cities. Preserve areas of environmental importance, such as the Highlands and Pinelands. Plan accordingly for agriculture.

I’m always surprised when environmentalists and developers claim that a proposed plan or regulation will have severe ramifications one way or another. The current course on which we are traveling has been set a long time ago. We still march towards statewide build out, while simultaneously preserving thousands of acres of farmland and open space.

That being said, we still need to plan to ensure that on a micro level to ensure that development is encouraged where appropriate and that the environs protected or reserved for later growth. The 2009 New Jersey State Plan is currently available from the Office of Smart Growth’s web page for informational purposes only. The public comment period will likely begin in June. However, you don’t have to wait until June to take a look at the draft final plan and map. I’ve also made the draft final map available on NJ State Atlas.

Before Google Earth 5 had come out, I had commented to a few people that the dates for the aerial photos (which used to be displayed in the bottom center of the screen) were way off for New Jersey. The date was reported as 2004, but it was clearly 2007 imagery.

Well, this little problem is now a bigger issue. In browsing the area around Rowan University (where considerable development has occurred in stages between 2002 and 2008), I noticed several places where the “2004″ imagery shows a further progression of development than the (actual) 2006 photography. I’ve prepared a KMZ file with annotated points, highlighting places where the development that is visible in the “2004″ aerials had not yet occurred in 2004.

Considering I had noticed this discrepancy throughtout the State before Google allowed you to transition through the older imagery, I took a look at another location in the State where development is occuring, Newark. Google Earth has 11 different sets of photography available for Newark. The very big problem is that the default imagery is pre-Prudential Center. This is even reflected in Google Maps. The default images in both Maps and Earth is now the “December 30, 2002″ images. Many of the buildings that are in Street View for Newark are not to be found on the aerial photography. The 2002 data is the second-oldest data available, but it’s now the default.

This seems like a pretty big mixup for Google to make. We’ve gone from posting imagery within the same day to reverting back to a 4 to 6 year lag.

Find another place in the State (or elsewhere) where the dates are obviously wrong? Let me know in the comments.

ACES, the express rail service between New York and Atlantic City begins operations on February 6th. NJ Transit is operating the service. The service will actually cross the river into Pennsylvania and get as far south as North Philadelphia before crossing over the Delair Bridge on to the same set of rails used to operate the Atlantic City Line. The former Central Railroad of New Jersey would have provied a shorter route for the service, however the track has been removed along portions of the right-of-way.

The once-happenin’ place known as Sea Breeze is perhaps on its last legs. Several homeowners are looking for a buyout from the State. The seawall protecting their homes has not been maintained by the township, county or state. A part of Fairfield Township, Sea Breeze once had an amusement pier and steamboat service to Philadelphia. Like many of the near-death towns on the Cumberland County bay shore, salt hay and oyster farming were likely the sources of income for the majority of the people in the area. Wonder what’s to become of nearby Money Island and Gandy’s Beach?