RPC readies localized housing‑transportation and socioeconomic mapping tools; IT systems moved to Azure AKS

Planning and data technology staff at the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission previewed two new mapping and data tools and reported completion of a cloud migration intended to improve application reliability.

Rita, from planning and community development staff, said the RPC will soon release a locally calibrated House and Transportation Affordability and Accessibility Index and a Champaign County socioeconomic tool. The tools allow users to select custom areas — from polygons to street segments — and generate downloadable PDFs with local demographic and socioeconomic metrics adjusted to the RPC’s locally collected data, staff said. Rita said the team planned to present the tools to RPC member agencies for comment and aimed for public release after that review.

Justin and Tyler’s data technology team reported they finished mapping application work and a full cloud migration to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). Staff said the migration removes dependence on an internal building internet connection and should make RPC web applications more resilient. IT staff also said they will issue an RFP for IT vendors ahead of a December contract expiration and are replacing copiers under a county contract.

Staff said they plan outreach and public engagement for the active transportation plan and other initiatives, including events and a QR‑coded survey to solicit community input ahead of public release of the new tools.