ChiVes - new environmental mapping resource

Last night's ChiHackNight presentation introduced ChiVes, a data collaborative and community mapping application that brings data on Chicago’s environment together at the neighborhood level. It’s a partnership of researchers, community organizations, and civic groups.

 

This site is a data collaborative, resource guide and a platform where "code-enthusiasts and developers can fork the ChiVes website, make changes, and submit for review."  

Above is a screen-shot showing a map view from one section in the site. At the right are many menu choices for what you might want to view. You can zoom in to the block level.  

Below is a map view from the 'communities' section on the site. Choose a community from the drop-down menu and you'll see a report like the one shown below for Grand Boulevard.

The beauty of this site is that it is a "work in progress".  If you see something that you think would improve the maps or presentation of information, contact the organizers, like I did on Twitter, or if you're a web developer or GIS professional, use the open source code and create a new page that you can host on your own site or, possibly, offer as an update to the existing site. 

I added a link to ChiVes in this section of the Tutor/Mentor Library where I point to many other examples of GIS mapping. 

In addition I shared this article, showing how I was overlaying information on maps to show poverty levels and the number of kids, age 6-17, in each Chicago community area, and to draw attention and resources to help youth tutor and/or mentor programs grow in each area.  The Tutor/Mentor Program Locator platform built in 2004-2009 is out of date and now only an archive. Thus, I'm hoping a developer (and a university) will be inspired to take ownership and build a new platform with the same features and goals and student involvement similar to what ChiVes is modeling. 

If you're reading this please share information about ChiVes so more people will investigate and help make this a valuable resource for Chicago and a model for other communities.