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Portland, OR has a fantastic mapping tool that is just begging to have it's features copied by Google Maps. Practically everything that is public record is on Portland Maps. Everything from the owners of buildings, assessed values, property taxes, type of building. Even the type of foundation, number of fireplaces, plumbing, etc. is available for some buildings. And current/past building permits, nearest schools and parks. And then there's a map of the flood plains, utilities (water and sewer, down to drinking fountains and manhole covers), crime rates, and on and on.

It's certainly not viable for Google to go through adding that level of detail, but a quick look at the level of information available on that site really makes Google Maps look pretty poor in comparison. Having all of that information is available as an overlay layer for Google Earth is a nice touch though.

Very useful if you're planning a move to Portland Oregon. Wether for business, to live or both. PortlandMaps.com

Funny you should mention Portland. http://portlandmaps.com/ has lots of freely available GIS data. Very helpful when buying a house.

A lot of big cities are already gathering images and info (including satellite imagery) and making them available. Portland, OR (big?) has Portland Maps. Not as slick as Google, but it sure would be neat if google listed links to other map/info sources for a region you're looking at on their map. I think listing relevant links is something they can handle. Paris Metro? Utah Topo? Disneyland bathrooms?

It depends on what I need. If I am going on a long trip, I use MS Street and Trip as it can configure the route for things like speed limits for different roads, road construction, fuel stops, rest areas, hotels, etc.

If I am looking for a service though, yahoo maps and their yellow pages service kick butt compared to Google's map / local service.

If I want good satalitte imagery and a truely staggering amount of information, I use PortlandMaps.com. While it is local to Portland, Oregon, this has anything and everything I could ask for. Crime maps, Satalitte / Arial imagery down to 6 inches (much closer than Google's). Property value, planned road improvements, Public works, sewer and water lines, school districts, Census information. They give me information that neither google nor microsoft could provide nationwide, let alone worldwide.

We already have PortlandMaps. You can see crime maps, tax maps, appraised value, bus routes, upcoming road improvments, much better satallite imagery... Google Maps has nothing on these guys. Every city should have something like this.

You might appreciate the Portland Metro Area's efforts.

General Info

Satellite Mapping

With Property Lines

Elevation

Crime Stats
Well you get the idea.

General Info

Satellite Mapping

With Property Lines

Elevation

Crime Stats
Well you get the idea.

General Info

Satellite Mapping

With Property Lines

Elevation

Crime Stats
Well you get the idea.

General Info

Satellite Mapping

With Property Lines

Elevation

Crime Stats
Well you get the idea.

General Info

Satellite Mapping

With Property Lines

Elevation

Crime Stats
Well you get the idea.

General Info

Satellite Mapping

With Property Lines

Elevation

Crime Stats
Well you get the idea.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for mentioning that. I was hoping someone would when I saw the article on the front page.

While Portland is only a subsection of Metro's area, I don't know if I'd say that the site only has "limited data". While the amount of info is a little scarry, it was very intresting finding all about a tiny triangle of property that was in the paper.

Oh, and there's a news story in Real about the whole e-govt.

(I live just down in Salem) http://www.jasonmchuff.net/

Thank you, thank you, thank you for mentioning that. I was hoping someone would when I saw the article on the front page.

While Portland is only a subsection of Metro's area, I don't know if I'd say that the site only has "limited data". While the amount of info is a little scarry, it was very intresting finding all about a tiny triangle of property that was in the paper.

Oh, and there's a news story in Real about the whole e-govt.

(I live just down in Salem) http://www.jasonmchuff.net/

Portland on-line mapping sites, paid for by your taxes. 1. PortlandMaps http://www.portlandmaps.com/ 2. MetroMap http://topaz.metro-region.org/metromap/metromap.cf m It's all property-based, not person-based. The only way to link the data to an individual is to know the specific characteristics of the land parcels they own beforehand (e.g., tax lot ID or street address)

The City of Portland operates portlandmaps which provides free access to limited GIS data.

My city's GIS/Aerial Photography website has higher resolution than that. Newer photos and data too. Plus it's free (relatively speaking)

A story in the Fall 1990 WHOLE EARTH REVIEW #68, pp. 101-104, documents a 1984-1987 USGS study which showed a 70% correlation between radio signals on 200 Hz - 100 KHz. (the signals which BPL, if permitted by the FCC, will largely block).

Multiple citations are included to other research at the end of the article.

I think I will build one, even though when I bought my new home, it was built in Zone Green.

PGE park would be easy to cover the entire park with *regular* WAPs - let alone WAPs with good antennas. How much do you know about PGE Park? It is a small park with a couple open sides, and lots of businesses and apartments around - and on a hill. So it would be very easy to put a good directional antenna in a building up the hill next to the park and cover most of the stadium. Check out PortlandMaps Aerial Photo for a better context.

You mean something like this? I can even find out how much my neighbor paid for their house with this.