Customized Geospatial Workflows for E-Government Services Richard Holowczak Dept. of Computer Information Systems Baruch College, CUNY Soon Ae Chun, Francisco J. Artigas and Vijayalakshmi Atluri Rutgers-CIMIC

E-Government Research Use E-Commerce technologies to streamline delivery of government services to citizens and between government agencies NSF and State of NJ Funded E-Government Project: –Rutgers University, CUNY, Columbia, UMBC Automate/Streamline Business Establishment –Geographically and functionally dispersed and autonomous agencies –No Central control on how to open a new business –Burden is on entrepreneur to navigate the process – must also submit duplicate info. to each agency

NJ Business Portal Research GIS Based Business Services –Business location services: Properties, rents, infrastructure, local services, demographics, zoning/building codes, incentives, competitors Customized Workflow Generation –WF guides entrepreneur through specific steps required based on type of bus. Workflow Management System –Interacts with agencies on behalf of the entrepreneur, addresses duplicate data submission and consistency problems

Focus on GIS Research Apply what has been developed in the E-Government project to more tightly couple the GIS with Customized Workflow Area of Focus is the Meadowlands District in northern NJ

New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Meadowlands District 32 Sq. Miles Tidal River 14 Municipalities 8500 acres of wetlands acres of upland Industry, commercial, elevated highways, landfills, rail tracks

Land Preservation and Development Meadowlands District under intense development pressure A wide range of projects being proposed all of the time (turn landfills into parks, build hotels/offices, etc.) 800 Permit requests per year Approx Open cases per year

Workflow Management Systems Workflow: Formal specification of –Coordinated sequence of Tasks executed by Agents –Inter-Task Dependencies Automation of business processes Best suited for well-defined, static processes WFMS: Software to manage WF execution Purchase Requisition Vendor Selection Purchase Order PO Approval … Employee Selection System Purchasing Agent Purchasing Manager

Hotel Development WF County Site Plan Approval Conformance with Flood Insurance Rate Maps Confirm 50ft. Buffer Strip Apply for Zoning Certificate NJ DEP Proof of Compliance Permit for Construction and Operation of a temp. sewage facility Site Inspection Zoning Certificate

Objectives Combine GIS and WF technologies to assist development/preservation project management –Assist outside organizations in identifying areas of interest by presenting alternate WF –Assist NJ Meadowlands Commission in managing the permitting and reporting processes

Geospatial Workflows Location dependent component-based composition model –Tasks and dependencies are associated with a particular geographic location Geodata and geographic rule driven customization model –GSWF are customized based on current geographic characteristics and users preferences and goals –As such characteristics change (e.g, re-zoning) GSWF automatically adapt

Generating a GSWF 1.Dynamic Interview session gathers baseline data about the project –Interview questions adapt to the type of project 2.Interaction with GIS (selecting parcels, lots, etc.) identified a set of geodata associated with the project 3.1. and 2. are used as inputs to a database of rules 4.Rules are then used to determine the tasks and dependencies between the tasks required to carry out the project

Sample Interview Questions Type of Project (Preservation, New Development, Re-Development, Alteration) Lot Ownership (Owned, To be acquired) Project spans more than one lot (Yes, No) Type of business or other activity (Corporate Offices, Warehouse, Golf Course, Park, etc.)

GIS Coverages Zoning Land Use Parcel Traffic Patterns Landfill and Contaminated sites Demographics etc.

Example Rules If (activity is auto service station) THEN prompt fuel tanks and containers involved IF (lot area < 10,000 sq ft ) OR (lot width < 100 ft) THEN add variance IF (fuel tanks and container involved) THEN obtain Proof of Compliance with NJDEP tank regulations IF (another gas station located closer than 1000 ft) THEN deny permit or ask to pick another location IF (solid waste site) THEN require soil erosion plan permit and zoning certificate for excavation IF (property affects county road or drainage structure) THEN apply for County site plan approval IF (expected land disturbance > 5,000 sq ft.) THEN obtain Soil Conservation District Approval

System Architecture

Prototype

Example GSWF Interview: Alternation of existing site, multiple lots already owned GIS: Selection of a parcel indicating: –Zoning type (light residential) –Land Use (Two family home) –Lot size is less than 10,000 sq. ft. Obtain Soil Erosion Permit Certificate of Zoning For Excavation Proof of Compliance On Tank Regulations Certificate of Zoning for Development File for Lot Size Variance

Project Management Selecting different lots automatically produces several GSWF from which a project manager can choose Once a GSWF is chosen, it can be put into action –Project Managers are guided through each step of the WF –NJ Meadowlands Commission can track progress of the workflow, anticipate workload, etc.

Future Work Prototype Development –Small rule base (~20 rules) to be expanded –User interface improvements –NJ Meadowlands Commission user interface Apply this work to the E-Government project

Acknowledgements This work is partially supported by the National Science Foundation under grant EIA and the Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute (MERI) grant from the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Robert Ceberio, Chief Executive Director, NJMC Irfan Bora, Fiscal Officer, NJMC Eliana Caffrini, Chief Regulatory Officer, NJMC Dom Elefante, GIS specialist, NJMC Timucin Bakirtas, Prototype Development Pietro Mazzoleni, Prototype Development