Today I heard a truly inspiring presentation by Martin O’Malley, Governor of Maryland, at the ESRI Senior Executive Seminar. O’Malley was previously the mayor of Baltimore prior to taking on the governor position, and his history with that city provided a strong basis for a statistics-driven approach to government action and accountability.
During his time as mayor, he adopted an approach to fighting crime and drug problems that mirrored the ComStat system developed by Jack Maple in New York City. O’Malley commended GIS as a quantum technical advance on communication due to its ability to condense information for the rational application of human effort on human problems. The geographic approach holds individual actions accountable, and enables progress for the common good.
The challenges that O’Malley faced as mayor of Baltimore was nation-leading violent crime rate and drug addiction, the biggest loss of population of any major city and a legacy of government under performance. O’Malley found GIS and an information system architecture to be indispensable for its ability to condense what government is trying to accomplish, where to go with efforts and knowing that they’re getting there.
The CityStat system that he implemented in Baltimore gave access to timely accurate information shared by all, condensed tactical strategies of a collaborative nature, afforded a means to track information, and provided a means for relentless follow up. O’Malley credits the CityStat approach as a primary reason that he was able to reduce crime by 40% and reduce drug incidents by 50%.
O’Malley and his team also used the system to address the 15,000 vacant homes in Baltimore, taking title to more than 5,000 homes and either rehabilitating or demolishing those buildings. The system came in handy to target priority properties, and reduce the time it took to vacate and clean properties to 15 days. The means to set goals and meet them, reversing four decades of population in the city, obviously played a large role in O’Malley’s ascension to the governor role.
While Maryland’s enterprise GIS goes back to1972 (and in fact Maryland was client 003 at ESRI), the new StateStat system is an improvement on prior systems due to its ability to condense and share information across the enterprise. The effort is underway to build one map for Maryland that becomes part of every decision process, including parcel data for the entire state.
Maryland is faced with a problem that most states don’t have. Due to the Base Realignment and Consolidation (BRAC) effort, the state will have unprecedented growth. The state will have to absorb 60,000 new jobs in four years and is using mapping to create, build and maintain a sustainable future.
According to O’Malley the state has 21% developed land and 21% protected, with the need to make choices on how they manage and plan human activity. In the last 30 years the population of the state grew 30% with land consumption growth of 100%, which is unsustainable. There’s a need for smarter strategies that don’t decimate natural systems.
In its effort to absorb one million people in the next several years, the state of Maryland is using GIS to:
1 – Develop a statewide green print (wetlands, farms, open spaces) for ecological health and balance and the prioritization of parcels to preserve for restoration and protection.
2 – Evaluate BRAC Zones to look at where those that are being relocated came from to help determine neighborhoods that are the best fit to match the types of housing arrangements that they left behind.
3 – Creating transit-oriented development that prevents poorly planned growth.
4 – Address development that protects against security and natural threats, including sea level rise, with Maryland as the third most vulnerable state.
The StateStat system has spun off to include a BayStat system for the Chesapeake Bay, as well as a HousingStat and TransportationStat. These systems combine an executive view, an agency view and a public view.
O’Malley repeatedly referenced the fact that with these systems people want to see their own house – stating that it’s all about the relationship. GIS ultimately shows us our relationship to others, our proximity and connection to what’s around us, and the factors that bind us as a community.
It’s clear that Maryland is using geospatial technology to its true potential, with smart growth and the sustainability of ecosystems as a primary driver. I’m greatly impressed with both O’Malley’s grasp of the power of the technology as well as the implementation of the tool as a means to gauge his administration’s performance. I wouldn’t be surprised to see O’Malley ascend to even higher levels of governance, given his ability to achieve results that improve the lives of all citizens.