Geographic Information Systems

NIRPC utilizes Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to meet the increasingly diverse spatial data requirements of comprehensive transportation, environmental and economic development planning and regional initiatives.  Realizing the importance of collaboration in these three planning domains NIRPC seeks to employ a variety of data that will be used to develop a regional comprehensive plan. 

 To that end, GIS has the technological ability that incorporates graphical features with tabular data in order to assess real-world problems.

Using GIS, all data can be matched to a set of “x” and “y” coordinates, which allows for spatial integrity of geographic data.  Ever increasingly geographic data and information are being used to enhance the decision making process across many agencies.  With GIS, maps can be programmed using simple code and then stored in a computer allowing for future modification as needed.  GIS utilizes raw data and pinpoints exactly how this data connects to our Earth in a multitude of ways.  Data can be transferred and processed a much greater speed helping to involve all decision makers in the northwest Indiana region.

 A large portion of data NIRPC utilizes comes from the Indiana State data framework that is now supported by Indiana legislation due to the ever-increasing need for accurate state-wide data, and the progressing importance of GIS.  In addition, data is collected from municipalities and created at NIRPC.  Certain GIS data projects in progress at NIRPC are a regional land use inventory, crash and safety data to identify problem locations, demographic data, traffic counts and other projects that help to inform the public of how the region is constantly changing. 

The GIS technician contact for NIRPC is Mary Kaufman and she can be reached at mkaufman@nirpc.org.