Using GIS to Count Residential Dwelling Units in Escambia County, Florida

Author: MaryBeth Meehan
Organization: FAU/FIU Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems

220 SE 2nd Avenue
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33444
USA

Phone: 954 762 5261
Fax: 954 762 5666
mbmeehan@fau.edu

The FAU/FIU Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems was contracted by the Escambia County Planning Department to verify existing land use, zoning, and future land use designation for approximately 60,000 parcels, a process that had been done manually using tax maps and aerial photographs.

The Joint Center partnered with the FAU GIS Lab to geocode residential data from the Escambia County Property Appraiser's Office and Gulf Power, an electricity provider. Once geocoded, the project team aggregated to count the number of dwelling units within each future land use category. This project jump-started the use of GIS in the County.