Colorado Springs, Colo. (Dec. 16, 2014)—The Sanborn Map Company (Sanborn) now offers a precise picture of the pervious and impervious land surfaces for local, state and regional governments nationwide. Sanborn’s comprehensive, highly accurate data are invaluable in sustainable land-use planning and for calculating stormwater fees.
Built environments often negatively impact the natural environment by decreasing water quality, fish populations and groundwater reserves, while increasing the likelihood of habitat fragmentation, flooding and urban heat island effects. Research indicates that impervious surfaces—surfaces impenetrable by water, such as sidewalks, driveways, rooftops and parking lots—largely are responsible for such negative impacts.
Sanborn uses high-resolution imagery data to identify the extent of impervious surface areas within urban environments. The company’s proprietary image processing and analytics capabilities yield valuable information that helps planners assess environmental impact and lets governments assign fair and accurate stormwater fees to property owners.
Sanborn recently provided such information to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), the regional planning agency for seven Michigan counties comprising more than 4.7 million people within a 4,500-square-mile area. Multiple stakeholders have benefited from the project, including the Clinton River Watershed Council.
“Clinton River used SEMCOG’s land cover data to bring landscape-level green infrastructure concepts down to the neighborhood and site level,” says Jason Caldwell, Sanborn vice president of business development and sales. “The information Sanborn provides can help communities quantify green infrastructure and model runoff—but most importantly, they now can set realistic and sustainable goals all the way down to the neighborhood level in ways that weren’t possible before they had the data.”
Sanborn also has developed Green Infrastructure Maps that work with modeling tools to understand and quantify the societal benefits of trees and green spaces.
Please contact:
Jason Caldwell
(719) 593-0093
About The Sanborn Map Company, Inc.
Sanborn is a preeminent leader in the exploding geospatial industry, delivering state-of-the-art mapping solutions to customers worldwide. Using cutting-edge technology, Sanborn specializes in high-quality aerial and mobile LiDAR, aerial orthophotography, 3-D modeling and visualization, oblique aerial imagery, indoor LiDAR mapping, unmanned aircraft systems sales and services, and geospatial software development. The firm currently operates a fleet of 14 aircraft across the United States. Sanborn’s technology advantage, innovative image processing expertise, a local presence nationwide and project management proficiency deliver unmatched value to its global customers.