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Belen Martinez
The Technical Mapping Advisory Council (TMAC) is a federal advisory committee established to review and make recommendations to FEMA on matters related to the national flood mapping program authorized under the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012.
The national flood mapping program provides flood maps to inform communities about the local flood risk and help set minimum floodplain standards so communities may build safely and resiliently. The Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) established under the program help determine the cost of National Flood Insurance Program flood insurance which helps property owners financially protect themselves against flooding.
The TMAC reviews the national flood mapping activities authorized under the law and prepares recommendations for the FEMA Administrator. The TMAC also produces an annual report on the impacts of climate sciences and future conditions and how they may be incorporated into the mapping program. The TMAC is comprised of representatives from federal, state, local and private sector organizations as mandated in the Biggert Waters Reform Act of 2012 and governed by the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) requirements.
Flood maps help mortgage lenders determine insurance requirements and help communities develop strategies for reducing their risk. The mapping process helps you and your community understand your flood risk and make more informed decisions about how to reduce or manage your risk.
Updates to flood maps are a collaboration between your community and FEMA. Every community that participates in the National Flood Insurance Program has a floodplain administrator who works with FEMA during the mapping process.
OpenStreetMap is only as good as the contributions of the people who edit it. To encourage and help people to edit, OpenStreetMap enthusiasts can run Mapping Parties. Mapping Parties come in many flavours, but generally the idea is to get together to do some mapping, socialise, and chat about making a free map of the world!
It is a convivial community event, open to all, and although some folks will be mapping experts, newcomers are always welcome. It's a great way to find out more about the project, and if you've never gathered map data for OpenStreetMap before, it's a great way to learn how. Some mapping parties are very specifically targeted as a training event for new mappers. This can even involve the organizers lending out GPS units to have a play with some gadgetry (although a GPS is not required for OpenStreetMap mapping).
The schedule of a mapping party can take several forms. For example, a simple mapping party can just involve going to a nominated pub after doing some mapping, but typically a larger event will involve meeting beforehand to discuss the plan and to team people up. Afterwards, the event may involve use of laptops/computers with internet, to actually input the data gathered that day, or it may not. (For a simpler mapping party, participants take their data and input it later at their leisure.)
After the mapping is finished, the participants share food and drinks, and enjoy themselves. It's a party, after all! Indeed, mapping is not compulsory at a mapping party. Sometimes it's all about the party!
See Current events for a list of mapping parties happening in the coming months. You may also find some details of user groups or recurring events in your area under Mapping Projects. We'd love to see more mapping parties happening all around the world. Anyone can organise one! Want to give it a go? Check out the Mapping Weekend Howto.
GEM is the next-generation modeling tool built on the core data and capabilities of the Energy Zones Mapping Tool (EZMT). It features an improved user interface, mapping themes, downloadable modeling results, and other updates. Also, registration is no longer required.
King County and City of Seattle today announced the results of a groundbreaking heat mapping project that quantifies the harmful, inequitable impact that hotter summers are having on the region. The data show that surface-level temperatures in areas with paved landscapes, less tree canopy, and industrial activity are substantially higher during summer heat events compared to less urbanized areas.
NCEI and the IHO Data Center for Digital Bathymetry (DCDB) archive and share depth data acquired by hydrographic, oceanographic, and industry vessels and platforms during surveys or while on passage. These data, which are used in several national and international mapping bathymetry projects, are free to the public with no restrictions.
There is not 100% confidence in the elevation data and/or mapping process. It is important not to focus on the exact extent of inundation, but rather to examine the level of confidence that the extent of inundation is accurate (see mapping confidence tab).
The inundation areas depicted in the Sea Level Rise tab are not as precise as they may appear. There are many unknowns when mapping future conditions, including natural evolution of the coastal landforms (e.g., barrier island overwash and migration), as well as the data used to predict the changes. The presentation of confidence in these maps only represents the known error in the elevation data and tidal corrections.
The mapping tool below reflects currently available data on two types of energy communities. First, the map shows energy communities that are census tracts and that have had coal mine closures after December 31, 1999 or coal-fired electric generating unit retirements after December 31, 2009, and tracts that are directly adjoining. Second, the map shows the metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and non-metropolitan statistical areas (non-MSAs) that are energy communities for 2023. These MSAs and non-MSAs have had for at least one year since 2009, 0.17% or greater direct employment related to extraction, processing, transport, or storage of coal, oil, or natural gas (the fossil fuel employment (FFE) threshold) and have an unemployment rate for 2022 that is equal to or greater than the national average unemployment rate for 2022. These MSAs and non-MSAs that meet the 2022 unemployment rate requirement are energy communities as of January 1, 2023 and will maintain that status until the unemployment rates for 2023 become available and a new list of energy communities is provided. The guidance that determines the MSAs and non-MSAs that are energy communities based on 2023 unemployment rates will likely be released in May 2024. In addition, the map shows MSAs and non-MSAs that only meet the FFE threshold. These MSAs and non-MSAs are not energy communities for 2023 because they do not meet the unemployment rate requirement; however, these areas could become energy communities in a future year if the unemployment requirement is also met. Note that brownfields are not shown on this map.
The CDFI Information Mapping System v.4 (CIMS4) is now available for geocoding addresses, mapping census tracts and counties, and determining the eligibility of census tracts and counties under the CDFI Fund's various program distress criteria. CIMS4 users can create and save maps and reports, including Target Market worksheets, and submit saved maps and reports for online applications as well as other uses.
Local Expertise
Tukman Geospatial LLC, a Sonoma County-based geospatial technology firm with specific expertise in vegetation mapping, serves as the primary contractor for mapping and data collection. Supporting Tukman Geospatial are Kass Green and Associates, Watershed Sciences, Inc., Prunuske Chatham, Inc., the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), Dr. Jarlath O'Neil- Dunne (University of Vermont), and Kruse Imaging. The program has an array of advisers, including the Vegetation Mapping and Remote Sensing Advisory Committee, which advises the mapping team on state-of-the art mapping techniques and methods.
Timeline
The program, which began in 2012, will last five years. Field work to develop a vegetation classification for Sonoma County was conducted in 2013 and 2014. LiDAR and aerial photography were acquired in late 2013 and are now available; vegetation and habitat mapping was completed in 2017. A list of map and data products is shown in the full list of data products.
Technology Advisers
The Vegetation Mapping and Remote Sensing Advisory Committee, comprised of 15 experts in remote sensing, GIS, vegetation mapping, and technology, advises the mapping team on technical issues and the keeps the team up to speed on the newest mapping methods and technologies. For more information on the technical advisory committee - including a list of members - click here.
In its most basic form, journey mapping starts by compiling a series of user goals and actions into a timeline skeleton. Next, the skeleton is fleshed out with user thoughts and emotions in order to create a narrative. Finally, that narrative is condensed into a visualization used to communicate insights that will inform design processes.
Collaborate with others. The activity of journey mapping (not the output itself) is often the most valuable part of the process, so involve others. Pull back the curtain and invite stakeholders from various groups to be a part of compiling the data and building the map.
Summary: Visualizing user attitudes and behaviors in an empathy map helps UX teams align on a deep understanding of end users. The mapping process also reveals any holes in existing user data.
Empathy mapping can be driven by any method of qualitative research (and can be sketched even if research is lacking). They can help UX professionals understand what aspects of their user they know and where they would need to gather more user data.
At the planning stage, the process of outcome mapping helps a project team or program be specific about the actors it intends to target, the changes it hopes to see and the strategies appropriate to achieve these. For ongoing monitoring, OM provides a set of tools to design and gather information on the results of the change process, measured in terms of the changes in behaviour, actions or relationships that can be influenced by the team or program.
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