Greetings Pythonistas. I'd like to introduce to you Madrona, a new BSD-licensed framework from Ecotrust for effective place-based decision making. To get right to it, Madrona sits on top of Django, PostGIS, JQuery and Mapnik providing some nice features for quickly putting together tools for decision support and spatial planning. Here's what it provides in a nutshell:
- A set of python django apps that provide models, views and templates for representing spatial features and solving spatial problems - An automatic RESTful API for accessing spatial features in the KML and GeoJSON formats - Robust model for sharing features between users and groups supporting collaborative design - A collection of javascript libraries (based on JQuery) to provide a web-based interface to the API Beyond the use of those core libraries, Madrona is pretty technology agnostic. You can pick and choose the features that you want and integrate what you need to. For example we have some Madrona-based tools using Google Earth and OpenLayers, some using Grass and PostGIS for analysis, ESRI and TileMill for map publishing, etc. Whatever technology best supports the specific spatial problem at hand, Madrona just wants to make it easier for you. We encourage you to check out the website, try out the tutorial, fork the code, and hit us up through the mailing list or IRC. Cheers, Tim Welch Senior Developer Ecotrust http://madrona.ecotrust.org Case studies: - Prioritizing aquatic conservation and restoration in the Pacific Northwest (http://ow.ly/c9IyW) - Visualizing assets and vulnerabilities in bioregions around the world (http://ow.ly/c9IDD) - Supporting ocean and shoreline planning in Washington (http://ow.ly/c9IFc) - Developing forest land management scenarios in the Pacific Northwest (http://ow.ly/c9IXv) About Ecotrust — www.ecotrust.org Ecotrust's mission is to foster a natural model of development that creates more resilient communities, economies and ecosystems here and around the world. Over more than 20 years, Ecotrust has converted $80 million in grants into more than $500 million in capital for local people, businesses, and organizations from Alaska to California. Ecotrust's many innovations include co-founding the world's first environmental bank, starting the world's first ecosystem investment fund, creating a range of programs in fisheries, forestry, food, farms and indigenous affairs, and developing new scientific and information tools to improve social, economic and environmental decision-making. Ecotrust works locally in ways that promise hope abroad, and it takes inspiration from the wisdom of Native and First Nation leadership in its work. Learn more at www.ecotrust.org
