OP has long been a leader in the use of Geographic Information Systems technology in DC. For more than twenty years OP has combined leading-edge tools and professional planning expertise to produce high-quality maps and analysis. OP has more trained GIS users than any other District agency. All of our planners have GIS tools at their computer workstations, and dozens have received formal GIS training.
Like the rest of DC Government, OP has chosen GIS software from ESRI as our principal toolkit for mapping and spatial analysis. Our office has developed custom extensions to the standard ArcMap software to improve staff productivity and to help our agency manage the large number of maps we produce each week. These extensions include:
- A standard map tool that generates high-quality base maps at a variety of sizes from 8 ½ by 11 to oversized posters
- A data catalog tool that helps planners browse all of our available data sets easily and make appropriate choices between them
- A navigation tool that helps staff zoom in on precisely the area they care about
- A Pictometry tool that integrates detailed oblique air photos directly into our maps
- A tracking tool that logs and indexes every map we make
- And a variety of enhancements that improve the operation of the underlying software
Together with partners in the Office of the Chief Technology Officer, the GIS/IT unit provides GIS technology support to a broad range of DC government agencies.
