Latest Contributions by ShreeRajagopalan

Content Contributed by Dan Henderson, Esri Team Lead for Local Government My colleague @RichardLeadbeater and I were talking the other day about the continuous cycle of Redistricting that comes directly after the decennial census here is the US. It got us talking more about the location-based workflows and activities that cannot be done without high quality GIS/spatial analytics. While the census has gotten most of the press over the past one to two years, it’s the required actions that follow the census that have a large impact on State and Local jurisdictions; redistricting, voting precinct adjustment, and elections. Let’s talk about them for a bit.   Redistricting Before I dive too far into Redistricting, I do want to mention how states like California leveraged Esri technology to better manage their census activities. This included identifying historically low response areas, community outreach and education, community outreach and education (https://census.ca.gov/ ), helping direct and track where census enumerators should prioritize where they should concentrate their work. Even though this was the first digital census, there was still a significant on the ground effort to increase census responses. Once the census data collection was completed, the pandemic caused major delays in processing and quality checking. The normal springtime data release has been significantly delayed. State and local governments and their redistricting staff have been clamoring to start the process using 2010 data to test their approach and to start the public outreach and participation process. Esri Redistricting is being used by dozens of customers to more easily re-draw boundaries and comply with the Department of Justice (DOJ) compliance tests to ensure that any plan created complies with Federal requirements. The time savings on the creation of these plans far offsets the time spent by internal staff using other legacy methods. Redistricting Precincts While not as controversial as Redistricting, precinct creation and maintenance are a regular and time-consuming activity for elections staff. This is an activity that varies considerably between states considering their election formats and factors such as mail in voting, early voting, and population distribution. Jurisdictions can now leverage Esri Redistricting (Enterprise version) to revise their election precincts. There are also ways to leverage ArcGIS Desktop to accomplish this task, which typically occurs prior to each election cycle (often every 2 years). This precincting process can also be used to maintain and update school district boundaries, police precincts or beats, and utility districts. Elections Election day applications have been the core of Esri’s elections solutions. By creating election outreach websites, poll location maps, wait time applications, and election results application, state and local jurisdictions have improved their processes which typically were paper or phone call intensive and not automated. We have seen several of our customers recognized with national Clearinghouse awards for the efforts and GIS technology has played a significant role in modernizing their operations. Examples include Yolo County and Maricopa County.  Wrapping it up Location and spatial data are critical to all of these workflows. GIS and location intelligence have been critical to these efforts and as Esri’s tools have improved, the workflows are more accessible than ever by GIS professionals, senior staff, election commissions, and the public. As I have worked with several jurisdictions throughout my career, I have never been more encouraged by the increased transparency of the redistricting and election process. We still have a long way to go to eliminate partisan and racial gerrymandering but by using the best solutions in the market, state and local agencies can increase the level of trust in the results through active constituent engagement and clarifying the steps taken to ensure that adopted plans comply with the Department of Justice tests. Clarity in the process helps avoid/limit litigation and by doing so, reduces the financial burden on jurisdictions and taxpayers.  Esri Census 2020 Release for Esri Redistricting Customers: As of March 15th, 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau announced they will provide a redistricting summary data file in the legacy format to all states by mid-to-late August 2021 and the user-friendly version will be available by September 2021. Because of this, Esri will tabulate and process the Census Public Law data ahead of the original September 30th data release date. Two weeks after the August release date, Esri will begin data and software updates to current customers’ Esri Redistricting solution. All Esri Redistricting customers should work with their Project Managers on scheduling updates to their software and 2020 redistricting data leading up to the August data release timeline. We will process and deliver the updates to customers in terms of priority by the order of signed agreement. *Please note the August Census PL data release contains the same data as the September 30th delivery, rather in a legacy format. ... View more

Esri Redistricting is a web-based software that enables governments, advocates, and citizens to complete and share regulation-compliant redistricting plans. Using the power of Esri’s ArcGIS software and dataset components, Esri Redistricting provides comprehensive tools for plan creation, management, visualization, editing, and collaboration. Labelling Counties While before you may have needed to bring in a separate layer to label the counties in the area you are working with, you now have the option to label counties within the application. This functionality can be found under the Themes button under the Create tab. Click advanced and select label counties to bring in county outlines and labels. You can change the size of the font and color of the labels and lines to make them more visible. Updating the Homepage in the Admin Console In the admin console you now have the option to customize the homepage of the application to match your organization’s needs. Creating Regional Plans In the new release, we have implemented functionality that allows for you to merge multiple regional plans into a statewide plan, ensuring that no geographies are assigned to multiple districts. See the video below for a more detailed explanation of this process. New auto-save capability to allow for recovery in case of unintentional tab closure or internet connectivity problems Plan histograms and plan distribution charts can now show more than 50 districts. Publishing map packages is now publishing a plan package ... View more

If transparency and public engagement are important elements in your community, be sure to watch this recording and learn how Esri Redistricting, a complete software solution for redistricting, can make the redistricting process easier for you.   #Esriredistricting redistricting redistrictingplans #transparency, gerrymandering ... View more

1. Which browsers are officially supported by the Esri Redistricting software? Safari, Firefox, MS Edge, and Chrome.  IE 11 will not be supported moving forward. 2. Can I use my own boundary for my Redistricting process, or do I need to use the standard Census data? No, if using the single-seat (SaaS) implementation via ArcGIS online, however you can use your custom data as reference. Yes, if using the on-Premise or Managed Cloud Services version; the data can be customized to fit your redistricting solution as needed. 3. If using a Managed Cloud Services Redistricting solution, what is the standard infrastructure for a single server setup? Standard data storage is up to 500 GB Single cloud ArcGIS Server with 4 virtual computing units and 32 GB of Virtual memory Hosting period 12 months Up to 100 active users Target system availability = 95% Full weekly backups (incremental daily backups) Long term backup for 30 days Daily syncs with your data into your Cloud instance Microsoft Windows Server 2016 (or newer) operating system ArcGIS Enterprise licensing System Monitoring 24/7 with Esri COTS hosted software Operation support 24/7 from MCS 4. What is the advantage of using Esri redistricting solution vs. competitor software? Esri's Redistricting solution is a web-based solution that requires no software installation and is scale-able based on total users. Esri’s Enterprise Redistricting solution allows public participation in the redistricting process to ensure full transparency to the public. 5. Can a "Plan Population" summary report be exported to CSV or other formats for additional analysis?  There is not an "export to CSV" option; however, you can export to an Excel file, then "Save as" CSV". Other export formats are available such as HTML, PDF, and Excel files.  6. Can all plans be exported to shapefile and block equivalency files all at once? No, there is no bulk export of shapefiles or block equivalency files function. Only single exports of each redistricting plan are available currently.  7. Can I use my existing ArcGIS Online account for the Redistricting trial software? No. To use the free 21-day trial, you need to create a new ArcGIS Online account using the activation email you receive after submitting the form. If you want to use an existing ArcGIS Online account, please reach out to your Esri Account Manager and/or customer service representative and request to activate a Redistricting evaluation and provision licenses to the app via ArcGIS Online. 8. What is the difference between the free Districting for ArcGIS ArcMap extension vs. the Esri Redistricting SaaS option?  Districting for ArcGIS Esri Redistricting SaaS version Requires ArcMap Up-to-date web browser Not menu driven – no UI Robust UI specifically for political redistricting. Does not ship with Census P.L. data Comes with past and current P.L. 94-171 data Required GIS background and experience GIS experience not required Can work with other polygon data, such as work zones, school attendance zones, Police Beats. Is locked to P.L. data.  Can create other districts but only based on Census geography. Free, but requires ArcMap SaaS pricing = $4,500 Users must provide their own data to complete a district plan or boundary Access to Esri Living Atlas and ArcGIS Online via Esri Redistricting app No Esri support or active product development SaaS version has Esri support included   9. Does Esri Redistricting handle a large number of users if my jurisdiction requires public participation (ex: 2000 users)?    The foundation of Esri Redistricting resides upon ArcGIS Enterprise. The Esri Redistricting solution was designed such that the browser client does most of the heavy lifting which reduces the load on the ArcGIS Server in the background. Because of this, the Esri Redistricting application won't be the bottleneck in the system architecture. If there is concern over the number of users accessing the software, it may be suggested that an additional 4-core server be included to allow your system to auto-scale if necessary. #esri redistricting‌ #redistricting‌ #gerrymandering‌ #transparency‌ ... View more

If transparency and public engagement are important elements in your community, be sure to sign up for the upcoming webinar and learn how Esri Redistricting, a complete software solution for redistricting, can make the redistricting process easier for you. Webinar title: Delivering a Modern Redistricting Solution Webinar date: October 28, 2020 | 10 am - 11 am PDT Sign up here.  #Esriredistricting redistricting redistrictingplans #transparency, gerrymandering ... View more

Esri User Conference 2020 has many virtual sessions across hundreds of topics. Below is a focused agenda to help you navigate your way to ArcGIS Monitor activities.   **Note: Please registeras all-access attendee to watch sessions and participate in the virtual expo at Esri UC 2020!**    Join us LIVE on Tuesday, July 14, at 8:40 am PDT  ArcGIS Monitor: An Introduction technical workshop Session ID: 10337 ArcGIS Enterprise administrators require effective monitoring solutions to meet the growing demand for feature-rich, highly available and performing ArcGIS solutions. In this session, you will learn to configure and diagnose the root causes of typical cases, e.g. performance, uptime and infrastructure problems using ArcGIS Monitor. Who should attend this session? GIS Managers, GIS Administrators, IT Managers, IT Administrators, Users with enterprise implementations ...............................................................................................................................................................................................   Virtual Showcase   Monday, July 13           12:05 PM–3:50 PM PDT Tuesday, July 14           7:30 AM–9:40 AM and 11:10 AM–3:50 PM PDT Wednesday, July 15     7:30 AM–9:40 AM and 11:10 AM–3:50 PM PDT   For ArcGIS Monitor questions and demos visit Booth ID: SH-19-01 to Chat or Schedule a Meeting with a product expert. (Located in the ArcGIS Enterprise area)  ..............................................................................................................................................................................................   ArcGIS Monitor Resources:   Overview of ArcGIS Monitor  YouTube Playlist Twitter Get Started with Using ArcGIS Monitor Access Latest Downloads Use this Demo Site to See What ArcGIS Monitor Can Do Contact the team anytime at arcgismonitor@esri.com   “See” you at UC! ... View more

Recording from 2020 (virtual) Developer Summit is now available! ArcGIS administrators require effective monitoring solutions to meet the growing demand for feature-rich, highly available and performing ArcGIS solutions. Hear from Andrew Sakowicz and Evan Mosby on how to install, configure, and diagnose the root causes of typical cases, e.g. performance, uptime and infrastructure problems. ... View more

ArcGIS Monitor was featured in the UC 2019 plenary! Monitor allows you to track your enterprise GIS and mission critical business systems end-to-end, giving system administrators and IT professionals the tools they need to be informed, efficient, and operational. Watch now. ... View more