What is Community Explorer?

Community Explorer is an interactive Leaflet GIS workspace built directly into ExecutivePulse. Each community loads its own GeoJSON parcel data displayed as color-coded layers on a satellite map. Parcels can be colored by site use (commercial, residential, industrial, and more), occupancy status (occupied, partly occupied, unoccupied), building condition (excellent to unsound), or vacancy. Clicking any parcel opens a popup with address, assessed value, owner, sale history, tenant businesses, and a Street View image.

Staff can launch a Quick Survey from any parcel popup to log roof condition, facade condition, window and door condition, foundation status, and notes. All edits sync back to the server and are reflected in the map in real time. The business inventory grid shows which businesses operate at which parcels.

The Walk Route Planner generates an optimized walking sequence to visit all unsurveyed parcels, complete with a printable PDF route sheet that includes a map, stop sequence, and distances. The Census Overlay shows population, median income, and poverty rate by census tract layered directly on top of the parcel map, connecting neighborhood conditions to the demographics they affect.

Originally built for a Meadville, PA downtown revitalization project, Community Explorer is now available for any EDO managing a defined geographic area - downtown districts, neighborhoods, commercial corridors, or industrial parks.

Core Features

Everything your team needs to survey, analyze, and track neighborhood conditions from the field and the office.

Interactive Parcel Map
Satellite imagery base with color-coded parcel overlays. Switch between site use, occupancy, condition, and vacancy views with one click. Filter by any combination of attributes. Lasso-select any area to focus your analysis on a specific block or corridor.
  • 4 color coding modes: site use, occupancy, condition, vacancy
  • Filter by any attribute combination
  • Lasso polygon selection
  • Real-time filter chips and parcel count
Field Survey Tools
Click any parcel to open its popup, then launch the Quick Survey to log condition data from the field. Rate overall condition plus individual components: roof, facade, windows and doors, foundation. Data saves immediately and updates the map.
  • Quick Survey from any parcel popup
  • Component-level condition rating
  • Notes and observations field
  • Surveyed/unsurveyed visual distinction on map
Walk Route Planner
Generate an optimized walking sequence to visit all unsurveyed parcels in the current filter. The app calculates the shortest route using a nearest-neighbor algorithm, shows total distance and estimated time, and produces a printable PDF for field staff.
  • Auto-optimized route generation
  • Total distance and time estimate
  • PDF download with map and stop table
  • Checkboxes for field completion tracking
Census Demographic Overlay
Toggle a census tract layer over the parcel map showing population, median household income, or poverty rate. Click any tract for a popup with all three metrics. Gradient color legend updates to match the selected metric.
  • Population, income, and poverty rate layers
  • Per-tract popup with all metrics
  • Gradient color legend
  • Pairs with heatmap for pattern identification
Timelapse and Snapshot History
Save a snapshot of parcel conditions on any date. Snapshots accumulate over time and become a timelapse slider you can scrub through to see how the neighborhood changed season by season. Before/after comparison mode highlights which parcels changed.
  • Date-stamped parcel condition snapshots
  • Timelapse slider through saved history
  • Before/after comparison mode
  • Modified vs unsurveyed visual indicators
Heatmap and Analytics
Toggle a heatmap layer to visualize concentration of vacancy, poor or unsound conditions, or undervalued properties. Street-by-street summary report shows condition breakdown per street, sortable by worst conditions, most vacant, or most parcels.
  • Vacancy, condition, and value heatmaps
  • Street-by-street summary with chart
  • Condition breakdown by street name
  • Excel export for external analysis

Why GIS-Powered Data Beats Clipboard Surveys

Clipboard surveys produce boxes of paper that get transcribed to spreadsheets that get emailed around and go out of date immediately. Community Explorer produces a living map.

Clipboard + Spreadsheet Approach

  • Data captured on paper, transcribed manually
  • No geographic visualization
  • No running history of neighborhood change
  • Walk routes planned with printed maps
  • No business inventory linked to properties
  • Reports require manual data assembly

Community Explorer

  • Data captured on phone, syncs to map in real time
  • Full GIS visualization with filtering and heatmaps
  • Timelapse history of every survey round
  • Walk route auto-generated and printable from app
  • Business inventory linked to parcel records
  • Automated KPIs and street-by-street summary report

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Community Explorer from EDO teams.

It is built for EDOs managing a defined geographic area - downtown development authorities managing a central business district, Main Street programs covering a commercial corridor, urban renewal agencies working on a neighborhood, or CDFIs and community development organizations focused on a specific area.
Community Explorer loads from GeoJSON parcel data for your area. Most county assessor offices provide parcel data in formats that can be converted to GeoJSON. The ExecutivePulse team works with you during onboarding to prepare and load your parcel dataset.
Yes. All changes are saved to a shared server-side dataset. When one staff member surveys a parcel in the field, other users see the updated data when they refresh. The system is designed for coordinated field survey teams.
At any point, you can save a snapshot of the current parcel dataset with a date stamp. As snapshots accumulate, a timelapse slider appears that lets you scrub through dates and watch the parcel map change. This makes it easy to show progress to boards, funders, or city council.
Yes. The system works for any defined geographic area with parcel data. Some EDOs use it for industrial park vacancy tracking, others for commercial corridor condition assessments. The parcel attributes and survey fields can be adapted to match your area's characteristics.

Ready to Put Your Neighborhood on the Map?

See how Community Explorer turns scattered clipboard surveys into a living, interactive neighborhood intelligence system.

Schedule a Demo