GIS Resources

As with most other technologies, GIS has been changing more rapidly in the past decade than ever before. Entities that build and maintain geospatial data often get stuck in a cycle of building and rebuilding web applications for consumers to access these data. Each iteration of web development yeilds products that become obsolete and unusable as the technology surrounding them changes.

Along with other government organizations, Richland County is providing access to GIS data, in the form of a WMS and links to external data sets/geospatial resources, so users can make their own maps using their own software. This do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to GIS empowers the user to build and modify their own solutions.

Free and Open Source GIS (FOSS)

There are several open source GIS desktop packages that are free to the public. See this link to view a forum discussion that lists many options and provides some user feedback about their experiences using this software.

You will also find links to download and learn more about several open source applications thourgh this forum thread.

Cartographic Web Map Services (WMS) - beta

To accommodate citizen and professional users, Richland County began offering “Web Mapping Services” (WMS) in 2013.

Preview

Over the past year, many Federal agencies have also begun providing free WMS access to their data. This allows users to add live data from numerous government agencies, private companies, and their own collections to make maps and products.

Click here for more information about Web Map Services.