The City of Norman’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) team is only interested in two things in the City of Norman – what’s below the ground and what’s on top of it.

On November 20, we celebrate GIS day and recognize these unsung heroes of the City of Norman who work behind the scenes and provide the information that keeps the city functioning. This six-person division – GIS Services Manager Joyce Green, GIS Analysts Rick Hoffstatter, Michelle Matthews and Scott Woodruff, GIS Technician Kopila Regmi-Paudel and GIS Intern Matthew Marx – sort millions of bits of data, putting them into a format that can provide information about Norman’s history, the present status of the city, and can even be used to draw conclusions about the city’s future.

The job of the GIS team is to keep track of everything in the city and enter it into databases that citizens, city planners, builders, developers, environmental groups, and anyone else can access to provide necessary information.

 “Our primary database has about 500 layers of information,” said Joyce Green, GIS services manager for the City of Norman. “It includes things like zoning information, water lines, sewer lines, aerial photographs, building footprints, roads, easements, stormwater information, land use plans, city council wards, historic districts, and trees, to name a few.”

The information she and the rest of the team assemble assists all other city departments in doing their jobs. They help the Sanitation Department with route planning and provide the public with maps and days for pickup of solid waste, yard waste and recyclables.

Their information assists 911 dispatchers by helping them route first responders to an emergency quickly and safely.

The GIS staff incorporates population information from the US Census Bureau and voting precinct boundaries from Cleveland County into the GIS data to help determine ward boundaries.

Mapping the data gleaned from water line testing helps the city track where lines need to be replaced to meet current EPA requirements, ensuring the health of Norman’s residents.

“We collaborate with most of the city’s departments to make certain that staff have the information they need to do their job,” Green said.

In addition to the constant updating of information, GIS Services also provides GIS data to citizens and City of Norman employees through the city’s website. Some of the data is even downloadable for those with experience using GIS software. For those without experience, they also provide an interactive map that can display many of the City of Norman’s 500+ layers of data that cover the 189.5 square miles that make up the City of Norman.

“We are a support agency,” Green said. “Almost everything that goes on in a city happens at a location. This makes geographic data critical to decision making.”

You can find out more about the data and maps that GIS Services provide at https://www.normanok.gov/your-government/departments/planning-and-community-development/gis-services.