At the outset of The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo’s (RMWB) initiative to update their residents’ ability to understand their local geography, it was clear that three questions would need to be answered. How does a modern municipality maintain a meaningful connection with its residents in the digital era? How can it effectively offer information that’s both accessible and accurate? And how, finally, might it combine these needs into one practical service that people will actually use?

The answer – with applications ranging from urban and transport planning to agriculture and disaster mitigation – was built with GIS.

Customizable and lightweight, the Municipal Viewer is an intuitive, scalable web-map viewer that gives value to users of all experience levels.

Users are capable of editing, annotating, creating, and sharing their own maps based on a range of options, data, and features. They can also organize the map by themes including education, land use bylaws, parks, and transit, in addition to toggling between a municipality basemap and a hybrid basemap including satellite information. With its powerful array of tools – including Pictometry’s stunning high-resolution imagery – the map also offers a consistent experience across platforms.