Configure Neighborhood Stabilization

Neighborhood Stabilization can be used to understand current property conditions, return blighted properties to productive use, and engage the public in neighborhood stabilization conversations.

In this topic, you will learn how to configure the Neighborhood Stabilization solution to meet specific needs in your organization.

Load data from a shapefile or file geodatabase

Neighborhood Stabilization can be used to understand current property conditions, return blighted properties to productive use, and engage the public in neighborhood stabilization conversations.

Review the layers provided with the solution and determine what source data you want to load. Then load your existing data into the layers provided with the solution before sharing the maps or applications.

To load data from a shapefile or file geodatabase, complete the following steps:

  1. Create a .zip file of your shapefile or file geodatabase.
  2. Sign in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the DemolitionSites feature layer.
    Note:
    Prior to loading data, ensure you populate the Status field in DemolitionSites with values represented in the layer: Planned Demolition, Contracted Demolition, or Completed Demolition.
  3. From the item page, click Update Data.
  4. Follow the steps in the Update data wizard to load your data.
  5. Tip:

    For more information about uploading data, see Manage hosted feature layers—Append data to layers.

  6. Repeat these steps to load data into the MortgageCounselingFacilities feature layer.

Perform property condition surveys

Property Condition Survey uses location-enabled photos produced by many commercially available cameras and simplifies data processing so street-level photo collections can be gathered on a regular basis. Photo collections can then be used in the Property Condition Survey app or be classified using the Microsoft Custom Vision service to identify property where overgrowth, graffiti, and boarded windows may exist.

Perform street-level photo acquisition

To start, you’ll assume the role of a data analyst who needs to decide what type of camera will be used to acquire street-level photos. The Photo Survey toolbox has been designed to work with standard EXIF data captured by commercially available cameras, and there are several on the market that can be used to collect photos.

When selecting cameras and planning photo collection for your community, consider the following questions:

  • Is the camera well suited for diverse weather conditions, and can it be mounted on the side of a vehicle or on a window of a vehicle?
  • Does the camera take photos at predefined intervals (for example, every two seconds) and acquire GPS coordinate values for each photo taken?
  • Does the camera write photo data in a standard EXIF format?
  • How many photos can be stored on a given camera, and how will you get photos off the device?
  • How many vehicles will you use to acquire photos for your entire community? You will need two cameras for each vehicle used to acquire photos.
  • What is the speed you will travel to acquire the photos? The slower you can drive, the more photos you will acquire for each property.
  • What are the routes used to acquire photos? Will those routes cover every property in your community?
  • Can you use vehicles (for example, trash trucks and street cleaners) or employees (for example, code enforcement officers and assessors) who already canvass the community to acquire photos?
  • Would volunteer organizations working in your community partner with you to acquire photos?

Review the Property Condition Survey project

Now you will assume role of a data analyst on a neighborhood revitalization task force responsible for configuring the property condition survey. You are asked to configure the Property Condition Survey app using the map authored during the publish map step in the ArcGIS Pro project.

  1. In a browser, verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Property Condition Survey item.
  2. From the item page, click Download.
  3. Browse to and open the PropertyConditionSurvey project.
  4. If you do not see the Catalog pane, from the View tab, in the Windows group, click Catalog Pane.
  5. Expand the Tasks folder, and then double-click the Property Condition Survey task group.
  6. In the Tasks pane, review the collection of tasks.
    Tip:
    Click a task name to view its description at the bottom of the Tasks pane.
  7. Follow the steps in the tasks to set up the Property Condition Survey app.

Calculate blight probability

Now you will assume role of a data scientist on a neighborhood revitalization task force responsible for configuring the Property Condition Survey. You are asked to calculate the blight probability in the images taken at street level to augment manual surveys.

  1. In a browser, go to Microsoft Custom Vision, and then sign in or create an account.
    Note:

    If you created an account, after your account has been created, be sure to accept the terms and conditions.

  2. If necessary, in the Azure Portal, create a resource group for Custom Vision.
  3. On the Custom Vision landing page, in the upper right, click the settings button.
  4. Copy the training key, prediction key, prediction resource ID, and prediction endpoint for your account.
  5. In the PropertyConditionSurvey project, in the Tasks pane, double-click the Detect Blight task and follow the steps.
  6. Input the copied values in step 4 into the Detect Blight step.
  7. After you have run the Detect Blight task, review your results in the Photo Points layer published in the Publish Map task.

Configure property surveys

Blighted and vacant structures can have a significant impact on property value and may have substantial remediation costs associated with them. Property Condition Survey can be used by local governments to publish street-level photo collections, conduct property surveys, and automate the classification of property condition using ML/AI.

Publish a property survey app

The Property Condition Survey app consumes the map you authored during the publish map step in the ArcGIS Pro project.

To configure the Photo Survey app, complete the following steps:

  1. Using Microsoft File Explorer, browse to the \Documents\ArcGIS\Packages\PropertyConditionSurvey\commondata\userdata\PhotoSurvey folder and unzip it.
  2. Open the configuration.json file in Microsoft Notepad or another text editor.
  3. Enter the web map ID for your photo survey map, for example, "webmap": daa3eeae86954f4cba87c044466c4c2f.
    Note:

    The web map ID can be found at the end of the map URL in ArcGIS Online. For example, in http://myorganization.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=2ef11dad8ff04178b2b236e867e9c952, the web map ID is 2ef11dad8ff04178b2b236e867e9c952.

  4. Save and close the file.
  5. Copy the PhotoSurvey folder to your web server so it can be accessed as a website or virtual directory.

    In IIS, the default web server directory is <your directory>\Inetpub\wwwroot\.

  6. Browse to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manage.
  7. Click <your server> > Sites > Default Web Sites.
  8. Right-click the web server directory folder for the app and choose Convert to Application.
  9. Choose the DefaultAppPool application pool.
  10. Click OK.
  11. Begin using Property Condition Survey by browsing to http://<your server>/PhotoSurvey/default.htm.

Configure the property survey app

Use the configuration.json file to configure the Photo Survey app to your organization's needs. Photo randomization, guest access, thumbnail image display, and Twitter credentials can all be configured by modifying the following parameters:

ParameterDescription

randomizeSelection

Controls how the Photo Survey app will display photos.

  • True for random photo display (default)
  • False for ordered photo display

allowGuestSubmissions

Specifies if the Photo Survey app will allow guest or anonymous survey submissions.

  • True to allow guests (anonymous) to submit survey submissions
  • False to disallow guests (anonymous) to submit survey submissions

showGuest

Specifies if the Photo Survey app will allow guest or anonymous access.

  • True to allow guest (anonymous) access
  • False to disallow guest (anonymous) access

thumbnailLimit

Sets the maximum number of thumbnails displayed in the Photo Survey carousel. If the number of photos for a given property exceeds this number, the photo carousel will not be displayed in the app.

includeOverviewMap

Specifies if the Photo Survey app will include an overview map.

  • True to show overview map
  • False to remove overview map

showSkip

Specifies if the Photo Survey app will include a skip button. This requires all surveys to be submitted.

  • True to show skip button
  • False to remove skip button

Configure survey questions

There are several options available regarding the types of survey responses that can be displayed in the survey panel. Choose from the options below based on the structure of your data as well as the desired user experience.

Once you have determined which response type to use, choose the appropriate options in the Survey Questions table.

FieldDescriptionRequired information

Field name in Photo Points

Field name in the Photo Points layer that the survey response will be stored in.

Field name

Question Type

Survey question type. Choose from the drop-down list.

Parent, Child

Parent OBJECTID

If the question should be dependent on the response to a parent question, add the parent ObjectID of this question.

ObjectID

Display Condition(s)

Value required to display this question.

Value

Question Text

Text displayed for each survey question.

Text

Question UI Type

Available question types. Choose from the drop-down list.

Button, List, Drop-down list, Text, Number

Image URL

To display images on the survey panel, add the image URL.

URL

Image Position

Position of image in the survey panel. Choose from the drop-down list.

Before, After

Required?

If the question is required for the survey, choose from the drop-down list.

Yes, No

Question Order

Order of the questions as they appear in the survey form.

Numeric value

Configure the Neighborhood Stabilization site

The Neighborhood Stabilization solution includes the Neighborhood Stabilization ArcGIS Hub site. This site can be configured with your organization's branding and used to share information with the public.

Update with organizational information

After deploying the Neighborhood Stabilization solution, the Neighborhood Stabilization Hub site layout requires a few updates to fit your local context.

To update the site with your organizational information, complete the following steps:

  1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Neighborhood Stabilization site.
  2. From the item page, click Configure.
  3. Scroll to any sections that you want to update, hover over the card, and click the edit pencil Edit that appears in the horizontal toolbar, and then edit the content with information specific to your organization.
  4. In the side panel, click Footer.

    A custom footer is provided. In most cases, you will need to update it with your organization's branding, contact information, and social media references.

  5. Click the HTML box.

    The HTML window appears.

  6. Make the necessary changes and click Apply.
  7. Click Save.
  8. Click the Save drop-down arrow and click Publish Draft.

Share items with the public

Several layer views, maps, and apps included in the Neighborhood Stabilization solution must be shared with everyone so they can be accessed by the public on the Neighborhood Stabilization site.

To share items with the public, complete the following steps:

  1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Neighborhood Stabilization folder.
  2. Next to each of the following items, check the check box:

    NameItem type

    MortgageCounselingFacilities_public

    Feature layer (hosted, view)

    DemolitionSites_public

    Feature layer (hosted, view)

    BlightProblems_dashboard

    Feature layer (hosted, view)

    Mortgage Counseling Locator

    Web Map

    Demolition Tracker

    Web Map

    Blight Dashboard

    Web Map

    Mortgage Counseling Locator

    Web Mapping Application

    Demolition Tracker

    Web Mapping Application

    Tax Liability Calculator

    Form

    Blight Status Dashboard

    Dashboard

    Neighborhood Stabilization

    Hub Site Application

    Neighborhood Stabilization

    Hub Initiative

    Note:

    You will only have a Hub Initiative item if your organization has ArcGIS Hub Premium.

  3. Click Share.
  4. In the Share window, click Everyone (public) and click Save.

Populate operational hours

This solution leverages the Opening Hours Specification to display operating hours for a place or service. When you populate the data fully, Arcade expressions interpret the data and display the operating hours in a human-readable format in the map pop-up. Understanding the data specification and options in the Arcade expressions will help you populate your data and display it in the maps and apps provided with the ArcGIS Solution.

Operating Hours Specification

The Operating Hours Specification allows you to store a combination of operating hours in a single field but relies on a series of data standards to render the information correctly. To ensure operating hours are displayed correctly, follow the standards below:

  • Enter all times using a 24-hour clock without a leading 0—for example, Tu (7:00-19:00).
  • Use a two-letter abbreviation for each day, with the first letter capitalized—for example, Mo, Tu, We, Th, Fr, Sa, Su.
  • When a location is open 24 hours a day, use 24 Hours—for example, Mo (24 Hours).
  • When a location is closed on a specific day, use Closed—for example, Sa-Sun (Closed).
  • Enclose all times and closed statuses in parentheses—for example, Tu (7:00-19:00); We-Mo (Closed).
  • Separate days and ranges with a semicolon to denote the two (or more) groups—for example, Th-Fr (7:00-19:00); Sa (24 Hours).

Using the standards above, a diverse set of operating hours can be populated for your places and services. Some common examples include the following:

  • To specify the place is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. seven days a week, populate the operating hours field with the following: Mo-Su (9:00-17:00).
  • To specify the place is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during the week and closed on weekends, populate the operating hours field with the following: Mo-Fr (9:00-17:00); Sa-Su (Closed).
  • To specify the place is open one day (Tuesday) a week, populate the operating hours field with the following: Tu (7:00-19:00); We-Mo (Closed).
  • To specify the place has operating hours that vary by day, populate the operating hours field with the following: Mo-Tu (9:00-17:00); We (Closed); Th-Fr (7:00-19:00); Sa (24 Hours); Su (Closed).

Operating hours data can be populated all at once for many places and services using Calculate field values or uniquely entered for each place or service using an application provided with the solution.

Arcade expressions

The Arcade expressions include several settings that allow you configure the look and feel of the operating hours when they are displayed in the web map pop-up. The expressions work with the operating hours data and web map pop-up configurations to display current operating hours in your map and app.

This solution uses three Arcade expressions: Hours, Days, and Open/Closed. To modify one of these expressions, complete the following steps:

  1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Mortgage Counseling Locator map.
  2. Open the item page and click Open in Map Viewer.
  3. Click the Mortgage Counseling Facilities layer.
  4. On the Settings (light) toolbar, click Pop-ups.
  5. Click Attribute expressions and double-click the Arcade expression you want to modify.
    Note:

    Each Arcade expression has a set of variables that can be configured according to your organization’s needs. Review the expression notes and modify the variables as needed. Do not change anything else in the expressions.

  6. Click Done.
  7. Click Save and open and click Save.