Have you ever wished you had a map that highlighted all the hiking trails in city limits? Or maybe you want to visually see where all the libraries + voting polls are located. Look no further, Asheville. Meet GIS mapping – a.k.a. a go-to, visual resource (which isn’t just for coders) – used by The City, local organizations + passionate locals to help us discover data about places in our community

What is GIS? GIS (geographic information system) is a tool for gathering, managing + analyzing data. Maps are created through GIS software (like ArcGIS, Google Earth + more) to analyze physical locations and organize layers of info into visualizations in the form of maps + 3D scenes. Simply put, really cool virtually-layered maps.

Who uses GIS? GIS is used by cities to help their community learn about their city, including trends in the community, specific locations + more. These maps allow people to communicate, perform analysis, share information, and even solve problems on a local to global level. It’s also used by organizations such as National Parks or local festivals who want to provide visual maps to visitors.

How is it used locally? Buncombe County has a website dedicated to GIS. Here you can find mapping of school districts, developments, land use, healthy routes, parcel lookups + more. Explore this Full GIS Access map here, where you can input your address and find a lists of properties, parks, pools, schools, libraries, crime + voting areas in and around your location.

The Asheville Map is a “comprehensive Map Viewer” which is maintained by the City which includes street maintenance responsibility, snow removal priority, pipes, law districts + more. There’s even a map featuring black-owned businesses from State of Black Asheville here.

Pro-tip: If you want to explore creating your own local map using GIS software, you can create your own map here (and explore more maps about Buncombe County here).

If you’re looking for maps to pair with any of our AVLtoday guides (think voting, library programs, list to local pools, trail spots, etc.) here are a few that may be a great fit:

Discover : libraries, pools, schools, etc.

Development : upcoming construction projects

School District: local schools in the area

Land Use : explore slope stability, flood hazard areas + more

Healthy Living : running + biking routes, dog parks, playgrounds + more

I never knew you could learn so much about your city based on maps. From someone who thought GIS was only used for coders and those in tech-heavy fields, I was highly mistaken.

How can you apply GIS to your life in Asheville? Comment here and let us know. And remember, maps are cool.

–Audra