Custom GIS software for measuring community indicators. (page 1 of 2)

Criterion Planners/Engineers Inc. is a Portland, Oregon urban planning firm specializing in software tools for community design and decision-making. One of the firm's principal tools is INDEX(Trademark), a GIS-based model that is customized for individual communities and agencies to better understand local issues and set priorities.

The software uses GIS mapping to track a wide variety of livability indicators at the scale of a single neighborhood or an entire region. Indicators related to the built environment include land-use, housing density, employment density, transportation routes, infrastructure location and service levels. Other indicators help to accurately measure natural assets of a place.

INDEX can track over 85 specific performance indicators including pedestrian safety, access to grocery stores, access to bus stops, street tree cover, land use diversity, and bicycle network connectivity.

Such information aids citizens in assessing present community capacity and guiding future choices. It is designed for use by a wide variety of players: planning staff, citizen organizations, design firms, policy advocates and decision-making bodies. Its clarity of visual presentation enables both citizens and professionals to easily view and understand information.

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