GeoJawn 2019
On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to attend GeoJawn 2019, presented by the City of Philadelphia as a part of Philly Tech Week. It was held in the City of Philadelphia Innovation Lab, located in the Municipal Services building, right across the street from City Hall.
The event showcased geographical information systems and other data-driven solutions created by city employees. I was able to speak to some of the people who created these applications the city uses.
I came in unsure what to expect but was greatly impressed by some of the applications displayed – I didn’t even know many of them existed! It was interesting to see the prevalence of information systems in city use and just how important they are. A lot of the systems are used to inform city residents and better the city. Clean PHL, for example, hosts a Litter Index that shows city litter conditions block-by-block.
I’d like to explore Philadelphia’s GIS applications in the future and think every resident should look into what the city has put together. The MIS program teaches students to create innovative solutions and GeoJawn showcased just that.