Cuyahoga County Greenprint Explorer

The Greenprint Explorer web map application can be accessed  here .

The left-side panel of the application is where much of the user's interaction with the map will occur.

The panel has two pill-shaped buttons, located at the top: Data and Tools. A brief explanation of each will appear below the selected button. Below that description is an additional set of three buttons which will change for Data vs. Tools.

NOTE: The panel will show as full-size when the application is opened, but can be collapsed by clicking on the "Collapse" (<) button located in a box along the right-side edge of the panel.

Other map-based buttons are available around the periphery of the map, including navigation, feature selection, printing, and sharing. Each are described immediately below.

Basic tool buttons for navigation, searching, feature selection, and table views are located around the periphery of the map. More advanced tools are available through the Tools Section, discussed later in this manual.

NAVIGATION BUTTONS:

• At the top left corner of the map area, you'll find the zoom-in (+) and zoom-out (-) buttons to adjust the map's scale and focus. A mouse wheel may be used as well. Pan across the map by clicking and dragging on the map - assuming no other tools are currently being used (e.g., Selection, Draw, etc.).
• The Home button will restore the map's original extent.
• Previous and Next Extent buttons will cycle through previously displayed map extents (much like a browser's back and next arrows)
• The "find my location" button will zoom the map to your current location (using the device's GPS location or a location known to your web browser)

SELECTION BUTTONS:

• Selection: The selection tools buttons are located in the upper left corner of the map, for selecting and highlighting specific features on the map. The drop-down arrow on the first selection button allows the user to change their selection method, and the second button will clear any current selection. When using the selection button, only currently-displayed layers will have their features selected. A count of the selected features from all layers will appear in a box in the lower right corner of the map. Click on the "Selected features" box to zoom to all of the currently selected features. To view details on any selected layer's features, see the Table icon (triangle at the bottom edge of the map). More selection options are available under the Table View tool, described below. Selected features can also be used as input to the Near Me tool, described under the detailed Tools Panel section of this document.

UPPER-RIGHT MAP TOOLS:

In the upper-right corner of the map area are a series of five buttons for interacting with the map:

• Legend: Displays a legend box in the upper right corner for any currently-displayed layers. Each layer's legend is displayed separately. Click one of the dots in the lower margin to see other available legends. The legend box can also be dragged around the display and resized as needed. NOTE: Legends can also be displayed by clicking the legend icon within the Layers tab.

• Basemap: Provides a "gallery" of alternative basemaps to display below the Greenprint layers.

• Elevation Profile:
  • The Elevation tool offers the user the ability to explore and analyze elevation data associated with a specific path drawn anywhere on the map.
  • The tool will prompt the user to "Draw profile" by clicking on the map for each node in the line. Double-click to finish the line. Once the path is drawn, the tool gathers elevation data sources to retrieve detailed elevation information to display for each point along the path. The user can hover over the line graph to see corresponding points on the map. Various option buttons are available in the upper right corner to adjust or export the graph.

• Draw Tool:
  • The Draw tool enables the user to create simple, temporary drawings directly on the map. The Draw toolbar has two categories of tools - Selection and Drawing. The Drawing tools are located in the middle of the toolbar, and can be used to draw point, line, polygon, or circular features. Before starting to draw, select a style from the color palette provided.
  • Options at the bottom of the Draw tool allow for measurement text to be displayed after the feature is drawn. Turn on the appropriate switches provided for that feature type, and select the desired measurement units. On the left side of the toolbar, "selection" tools allow the user to select features that have already been drawn. When selected, the features will be highlighted with rectangular outlines and "handles".
  • Edit Drawings: On the left side of the toolbar, "selection" tools allow the user to select features that have already been drawn. When selected, the features will be highlighted with rectangular outlines and "handles". Individual features can then be modified by stretching or moving the handles. Features can also be copied or deleted with new buttons that appear. Features can also be deleted by pressing the Delete key on your keyboard.
  • A "Clear all" button, located on the far right side of the toolbar, will erase all drawn features.

• Measurement Tool:
  • The Measurement tool calculates distances, perimeters, and areas within the map. The tool uses the ellipsoid-based geodesic calculation to calculate measurements. Users can change the units of measurement when using the tool.

• Print Tool: The Print tool uses a customizable 'Print template' to create a downloadable map in PDF, JPG, or PNG formats. The template includes a customizable map title, page layout, and file format. Advanced options allow for finer control over map extents, scale, and additional map elements, like author, legend, north arrow, and scale bar. Once the Print button (bottom of panel) is pressed, see the 'Print result' tab in the panel to check the status of the print request. When a document icon appears to the left of the item, click on the document to download it to your own device and view it

TOP MARGIN TOOLS:

• Location Search Bar (a search bar located at the top right of the application): Allows users to search for recognized place names, addresses. Simply start typing, and the tool will choose the appropriate search method based on the text entered. Alternatively, the user can use the drop-down button to select a specific data source to search with.

• Menu: The Menu provides links to the Greenprint Home Page, the Greenprint Explorer Manual (this document), and associated applications and resources. Those links will open in a new tab in your browser.

BOTTOM-MARGIN TOOLS:

• Submit Feedback: In the center of the bottom banner is a Feedback button, which will launch a brief survey regarding the usability of the Greenprint Explorer. County Planning staff will review submissions to help improve the application.
• Share buttons: On the right side of the bottom banner of the application are a series of share buttons for various social media, as well as a simple "link" button to copy a URL, or even to generate a QR Code. The shared URL will launch the application using it's default settings.
• Coordinates Tool: The Coordinates tool, located in the bottom left corner of the map area, will report on the coordinates of a given location. With the Coordinates Tool, users can add a temporary point using the crosshairs button to the left of the input box and clicking on the map. The coordinate values are provided in the box. Click on the "copy" icon to the right of the coordinate values, and paste the values into the software of you choice.

TABLE VIEW:

Attribute data from most of the layers is displayed in a table at the bottom of the map. First, look for the 'carat' symbol (^) at the bottom edge of the map to expand the table. Click once on the symbol to open the Table pane. A drop-down button at the top left of the table allows the user to select various layers' data for display in the table pane. Table records can be sorted by clicking on any of the column headings.

A series of buttons is located in the upper right of the table window, offering various features:

• Show/hide columns: Click to turn columns on/off
• Show/clear selection: If features have been selected (see Selection button in map-based tools), the user can choose to show only those selected features in the table. The Clear button will clear the selection for that table.
• Actions - provides for multiple options:
  • Set Filter: Apply a filter to the table data to focus on specific records based on certain criteria.
  • Zoom to: Zooms to all selected features (see Selection tool), or all features if none selected
  • Set Location: Immediately activates the "Near Me" tool (see Tools Panel) to use any selected features as the location(s) input for a radius search.
  • Pan to: Pans the map to the selected features without changing the map scale
  • Show on map: Flashes the selected feature(s) on the map
  • Export all / Export Selected (if allowed for that layer): Exports features to JSON, GeoJSON, or CSV (excel) formats. (For quick file conversion visit  Quickmaptools  to quickly convert downloaded GeoJSON files to Shapefiles within your browser.)

To change the size of the table panel, click and drag the top edge of the table. To minimize the table, click the inverted carat symbol (v) at the top of the table.

POP-UP BOXES: If no other tools have been selected, by default, a single-click on the map will cause a "Pop-up Box" to appear with attribute data for nearly any visible layer. Some pop-ups are nicely-formatted, and others are simple data tables for individual features. If multiple layers are involved, the user can move between layer features with the left/right arrows at the bottom of the box. A current feature count will also appear in the lower right corner of the box (1 of 2, 2 of 2, etc.). The current layer name will appear at the top of the box.

The Data Section focuses primarily on layer management, offering three options:

• Layers: Manage layers in the map
• Themes: Select preconfigured maps by theme
• Add Data: Add your own data to the map

Each is described in detail below.

Each of the 11 layer groups and sub-layers are described in the Layer Content section below, but first are a few tips on working with the layers.

To quickly find a layer, use the layer search bar to search for relevant layer names. To activate a group or any of its sub-layers, click on the empty check box on the left side of the layer name. A green check box indicates that the group and/or individual layers are turned on. To see the available sub-layers, click on the right-pointing triangle to the left of the layer name. That group will expand to show the next level of available layers. In some cases, there may be multiple levels of sub-layers. Each level must be turned on to view any of its sub-layers.

NOTE: Some layers will have a "dot" button instead of a check box. This indicates that only one member of a layer group can be visible at a time.

Most layers are displayed only at appropriate zoom heights (e.g., users won't see parcels at the countywide scale). Layer names that appear in gray text in the Layer panel will not appear at the current zoom height, typically requiring the user to zoom in closer until they begin to appear.

To see a legend, click on the legend icon (three horizontal lines) located to the right of the layer name. When the legend is turned on, the button will turn green. Legends can also be turned on for all layers in an entire group by clicking the legend icon next to the group name.

NOTE: This may cause some legends to be duplicated,

Each Layer also has an "Options" button - three dots (...) located to the right of the layer name. The options (if allowed for that layer), include:

• Transparency: Adjust the transparency of the layer
• Details: Opens a structured "metadata" page for the layer, providing details on the source that are provided by the data 'publisher'.
• Set Filter: Allows users to set a filter using the  SQL Expression Building , which uses logical expressions to find and display features in a layer based on attribute values in its data.
  • Expressions use the general form of <Field name> <operator that specifies a condition> <Value or Field>. For example, Parcels is greater than .5 acre.
  • More details can be found in the Tool Section.
• Set Location: Allows users to set a location for the Near Me tool based on a selection made on the map.
• Add to Table: Allows users to add a layer's attribute table to the table widget directly from the layer list.
• Export all / Export Selected (if allowed for that layer): Exports features to JSON, GeoJSON, or CSV (excel) formats.
  • For quick file conversion visit  Quickmaptools  to quickly convert downloaded GeoJSON files to Shapefiles within your browser.

As noted above, layers span across eleven distinct groups that are numbered and capitalized for easier navigation throughout the Greenprint and this manual. The system draws map features in order, from the bottom of the layer list to the top. Because of that drawing order, features are largely organized so that area features (e.g., SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS) are located in lower layers than point features (e.g., ADDRESSES AND LOCATIONS), with linear features (e.g., TRANSPORTATION) in between.

• Cleveland Neighborhoods: This layer displays the names and boundaries of Cleveland's 34 Neighborhoods, which are also know as Statistical Planning Areas (SPA).
• Ohio Legislative Districts (2022-2026): Provided by the Ohio Secretary of State's Office
  • Ohio House Districts
  • Ohio Senate Districts
  • Ohio Congressional Districts
• County Council Districts (2022-2032): The 11 districts of the Cuyahoga County Council.
• Cleveland Wards (City of Cleveland): The 17 wards of the City of Cleveland.
• Cleveland SPA Neighborhoods: The 34 neighborhoods or statistical planning areas in the City of Cleveland.
• Cleveland CDC Service Areas (2022): Local Community Development Corporations
• School Districts
• Census Tracts: 2020 Census tract boundaries. Note that these boundaries can also be found in the SOCIOECOMOMIC and LAND COVER AND TREE CANOPY layers.

• Community Facilities: This layer represents a compilation by County Planning staff of various points of interest in Cuyahoga County, including city facilities, libraries, schools, and day care sites. The data sources for this compilation include SafeGraph, OpenStreetMap, Google Places, The State of Ohio, and Local Municipalities.
• Building Footprints (2017): Building footprints developed by Cuyahoga County GIS Department, based on 2017 aerial photography.

The ODOT Crash Inventory dataset, put together by Ohio's Department of Transportation (ODOT) and provided through their TIMS REST Services, gives a detailed look at specifically pedestrian and bicycle traffic accidents in Cuyahoga County. The dataset, originally organized by year, is merged into a single dataset by County Planning staff. This combination aids in better analyze and understand road safety trends in the county.

• Crashes by Severity: Indicates locations of both pedestrian-involved and bicycle-involved crashes, color-coded using ODOT's severity scale. Note that multiple crash points at the same location may be obscured.
• Crash Activity Heat Map: Indicates concentrations of pedestrian-involved and bicycle-involved crashes (regardless of severity). Concentrations will be adjusted according to the current map scale.

• Regional Bike Network: The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) develops bike maps for all five counties, including Cuyahoga County, within its region in collaboration with county and local governments, metroparks systems, and non-profit organizations. In addition to the base fields classified by NOACA, several fields have been added by County Planning staff to align with the Cuyahoga County Greenways trail classifications. The dataset includes characteristics of the regional bike network such as trail types, lengths, connectivity, and other physical aspects.
• State and US Bike Route System: Ohio has developed a  Statewide Bike and Pedestrian Plan , which will provide bicyclists with safe and convenient connections through and to population centers and destinations in Ohio. The system will serve as a strong backbone that local and regional bike networks can build on and connect to across the state. Designated and proposed routes in the system are identified by their facility type.
• Cuyahoga Greenways Plan: This Greenway Plan (completed 2019, adopted in 2020) depicts existing and planned routes of regional significance throughout the county. The routes typically traverse more than one community, fill gaps between identified regional routes, and create non-motorized transportation connections to destinations, employment centers and other activity centers. Planned trails and routes are depicted at a conceptual level and the exact placement could be adjusted once detailed design and engineering plans are underway.
• Level of Traffic Stress (NOACA): Level of traffic stress (LTS) reflects an analysis that quantifies the amount of discomfort that people feel when they bicycle close to vehicular traffic.

• Stops: RTA stop locations for all bus and rail stations.
• Routes: All bus and rail routes by type.
• High-Frequency Routes: Routes with 15-minute or better frequency. Based on analysis by City of Cleveland Planning Commission using RTA's transit scheduling database.
• High-Frequency 10-Minute Walksheds: Areas around high-frequency stops that are within an estimated 10-minute walk from each stop, based on analysis by the Cleveland City Planning Commission using RTA's transit scheduling database.

• Functional Class: Highway functional classification, determined by the Ohio Department of Transportation, is used to determine which roads, streets and highways are eligible for federal transportation funds. It is used to establish design criteria for various roadway features, and as a management tool to measure a route’s importance in project selection and program management.

• Parcels: Cuyahoga County Parcels can be displayed by selecting either one of the following:
  • All Parcels (Fiscal Tax Map): Parcels with real property appraisal characteristics.
  • Vacant Parcels (Fiscal Tax Map): A subset of Tax Parcels including only vacant taxable land uses (TAX_LUC ends with '000'), City Land Bank (EXT_LUC=6411), or County Land Bank (EXT_LUC=6210). "Vacant" parcels are those without structures, according to the County Fiscal Office.
• Superfund & RCRA Sites (EPA)
  • Active RCRA: An Active RCRA site simply means that the property owner has registered with EPA as either a Generator, or a facility which Treats, Transports, Stores or Disposes (TSD) hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act program. These hazardous waste handlers may include facilities as large as industrial manufacturing sites or as small as dry cleaners and auto mechanic shops. Registration as a RCRA permitted site is an administrative requirement and does not imply contamination. EPA's  Facility Reporting System documentation  (PDF) provides details on RCRA and other EPA programs (page 9 covers RCRA categories).
  • Superfund Sites: Superfund Sites are properties which have reported to EPA under the  Superfund Enterprise Management System  (SEMS) and  SEMS National Priorities List  (NPL). Superfund is a program administered by the EPA to locate, investigate, and clean up the worst hazardous substance contaminated sites throughout the United States under the Federal Comprehensive Emergency Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Such reporting may include known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants.
  • Superfund Site Boundaries: This layer contains polygons depicting U.S. EPA Superfund Site boundaries, defined as "the sum of all of the Operable Units (OU) and the current understanding of the full extent of contamination. For Federal Facility sites, the total site polygon may be the Facility boundary. As site investigation and remediation progresses, OUs may be added, modified or refined, and the total site polygon should be updated accordingly. Superfund features are managed by regional teams of geospatial professionals and remedial program managers (RPMs), and Shared Enterprise Geodata Services (SEGS) to harvest regional data on a weekly basis to refresh the national dataset and feature services. The data and corresponding metadata records can be  downloaded  from the  EPA Environmental Dataset Gateway (EDG) ."
• Landfills: The first three layers in this group are from the Ohio EPA  Division of Materials & Waste Management: 
  • Active Solid Waste Facilities: Point representations of solid waste facilities that are currently in operation.  Symbols depict the type of facility. 
  • Historic Solid Waste Sites: Point representations of closed solid waste sites.  Refer to the attribute data for more details, such as Waste Type and Year Closed. 
  • Cuyahoga County Dump Soils (c.1980): This layer shows soils that are designated as ‘Du’ or Dump Soils through the National Cooperative Soil Survey of the US Department of Agriculture.  The “Soil Survey of Cuyahoga County” report was issued in 1980.  According to the Survey, Dump Soils are: “miscellaneous areas consisting mostly of cement, bricks, cinders, home refuse, and other debris of industrial origin. Some areas are sanitary landfills containing mostly home refuse.  Most areas are 20 to 200 acres in size. The depth of the fill material ranges from about 10 to 100 feet." A digital copy of the  Soil Survey of Cuyahoga County  is currently available on Google Books.
• Conservation & Protected Land: Several layers show the locations of conservation easements and other protected lands:
  • Priority Conservation Area: Priority Conservation Area (PCA) is an area recognized as a significant space to be preserved as open space. In Ohio, PCAs are identified in a watershed-specific Balanced Growth Plan that has been approved by local communities and endorsed by the Ohio EPA. This is a voluntary designation and is specifically geared toward watershed protection under the  Ohio Balanced Growth Program . Four approved Balanced Growth plans have been completed in portions of Cuyahoga County: Big Creek Watershed, Chagrin River Watershed, Chippewa Creek Watershed, and Furnace Run Watershed. A PCA designates an area for protection and restoration that may be critically important for ecological, recreational, heritage, agricultural, and public access areas. PCAs can also be significant for their contribution to water quality and general quality of life.
  • Conservation Easements (WRLC):  Western Reserve Land Conservancy  (WRLC) is the largest land trust in Ohio and one of the largest land trust organizations in the nation. This dataset include all protected properties owned or maintained by WRLC, and covers much of Cuyahoga County. The dataset is maintained directly by WRLC, and represents the most up to date inventory in Cuyahoga County.
  • Conservation Easements (NCED-All Other): The  National Conservation Easement Database  (NCED) is a nationwide compilation of conservation easements. The NCED relies on the voluntary submittal of conservation easement data by participating organizations and is not necessarily an exhaustive list. The WRLC land holdings are excluded from this layer.
  • ODNR Protected Lands: Today, 141 State Nature Preserves and natural areas have been dedicated in Ohio. Although the majority of preserves are owned and managed by the State, some preserves are leased to local park districts for management . Other preserves are owned by non-governmental agencies. Some private landowners have dedicated their lands as preserves, and those lands are protected by the State. Access to some preserves is available by a no-fee permit from ODNR.

• Open Space by Type: The Cuyahoga County Open Space Inventory consists of public and institutionally owned open space and does not include all conservation easements on privately held lands. Four general types of Open Space are depicted:
  • Park: Publicly accessible parks
  • Cemetery: Both public and private
  • Golf Course: Both public and private
  • Other Public/Institutional: Includes non-park open spaces such as airports, school campuses, and some publicly owned vacant land.

The Land Cover and Tree Canopy group contains a variety of indicators, primarily drawn from the Cuyahoga County 2019  Urban Tree Canopy Assessment Update , as well as an indicator of Urban Heat Islands, provided by Cleveland State University.

Tree Canopy: The Tree Canopy layer group provides several summary "metrics" and a detailed layer of tree canopy change

• Metrics are summary statistics for tree canopy coverage by varying levels of geography, reflecting conditions observed in the summer of 2017.
  • Existing Canopy - Census Tracts: Percent tree canopy coverage by census tract (2010 boundaries)
  • Existing Canopy - Parcels: Percent tree canopy coverage by tax parcel (2019 parcel boundaries)
  • Canopy Change - Census Tracts: Percent change in tree canopy from 2011-2017 by census tract.
  • Canopy Change - Parcels: Percent change in tree canopy from 2011-2017 by tax parcel
• Tree Canopy Change: This 'image' layer is derived from an overlay of land cover data sets from 2011 and 2017, and summarizes the data on a 2-square foot level of detail. Canopy losses since 2011 are shown in red. Existing canopy is shown in shades of green, with gains since 2011 shown in a darker shade.
• Impervious Metrics (2017): These are two additional layers that indicate percent of impervious cover (pavement + buildings). The percentage categories are adopted from the Center for  Watershed Protection's Integrated Framework to Restore Small Urban Watersheds , and reflect various restoration practices depending on the degree of imperviousness.
  • Census Tracts - by Percent Impervious
  • Local Subwatersheds - by Percent Impervious
• Land Cover - Base: Similar to the Tree Canopy Change layer described above, these two "Base" layers are high-resolution depictions of land cover, where each pixel represents two square feet of land area.
  • Vegetation (2017): The Vegetation layer is a subset of the "Complete Land Cover" layer, offers a clearer depiction of natural land cover, including Grass/Shrub and Tree Canopy.
  • Complete Land Cover (2017): The Complete Land Cover layer forms the foundation for the  County's Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) Assessment Update , captured in 2017. For definitions of the 10 land cover classes included in that study, refer to the 2019 Urban Tree Canopy Assessment Update link provided above.
• Cuyahoga County Urban Heat Islands: Difference from County Average (F): This image service displays the differences in degrees Fahrenheit between any given pixel and the mean surface heat value for Cuyahoga County. This 30-meter raster was compiled by the the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences at Cleveland State University (Robert Moore, M.S. Candidate). Data was derived from Landsat 8 imagery from the summers of 2021-2023. Areas with surface temperatures above average are shown in shades of red and transition to shades of blue/green for areas with surface temperatures below average. See  Heat.gov  for more information.

Elevation Contours 2-foot (2006): Elevation contours are linear representations of the elevation of the ground. Each continuous line represents a particular elevation value, and the lines are spaced at two-foot elevation intervals. Thicker index lines represent intervals of 10 feet and are automatically labeled with their elevation value. Dashed elevation lines represent depressions. Closed depressions will often occur around ponds, wetlands, or other such low-lying areas. Other contextual clues can help in reading contour lines and the associated terrain. For example, the Shaded Relief layer (at the bottom of the layer list) illustrates shadows cast from a virtual sun shining from the northwest. Another example, using water features, generally occurs for lower elevations and may cause contour lines to stretch out in the downhill direction of the water's flow. Elevation contours can also be used to effectively calculate slope (steepness) along a given path by dividing the change in elevation by the horizontal distance between any two points. Steep Slopes (CCPC, 2006): Steep Slope is a layer that depicts land having a percentage slope greater than 12%, shown in two classes: 12-18% and 18.1% or more. Slope is measured as rise over run and is depicted here in percentage classes. For example, a stretch of land 100 feet long that rises fifteen feet in elevation has a slope of fifteen percent (15/100). Planning and conservation literature cite varying definitions for "steep" slope. Considerations include soil type, land cover, and allowable landscape techniques. Hillside protection ordinances likewise cite varying standards, and often include slope-density standards that limit the density of development according to the degree of slope.

Cuyahoga County falls entirely within the Lake Erie (and Great Lakes) wastershed. The area is further subdivided into dozens of smaller subwatersheds containing a wide variety of wetlands, streams, and three major rivers. Layers in this section are a combination of local and federal sources:

• State Water Trails (ODNR): This set of several layers provided by ODNR depicts the State-designated water trails in Cuyahoga County, including the Cuyahoga River , Lake Erie shoreline, and a small portion of Rocky River. Point locations for paddling access facilities are provided as well, including water trail access points and hazards on a variety of water courses.
• Water Bodies (NHD): This layer is an area representation of lakes, ponds, larger streams, and rivers identified by the "high resolution" National Hydrography Dataset Plus (NHDplus).
• Streams: This layer is a linear representation of major above-ground streams that were derived from aerial imagery in 2006 by the Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office. Enhancements to the data were added by the Cleveland Metroparks, and include some stream names.
• Wetlands: Existing wetlands are depicted from two available sources, each in its own sub-layer. Wetland features from these two inventories often overlap and vary in their coverage due to varying methodologies and time period of measurment. Each source has a different set of characteristics, as well. The two sources used for the wetlands layers are:
  • National Wetlands Inventory (NWI): Each wetland in this inventory is assigned a brief "NWI Code" to summarize its typology. A brief description is provided for each code ("NWI Description"). To get a full descriptive definition for any particular code, see the  NWI Wetlands Code Interpreter .
  • Wetlands: Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD): The SWCD Wetlands Inventory is a compilation of two local studies, done in 2000 and 2006. Note: several of these wetlands have since been destroyed due to development.
• Flood Hazard Areas: The  Federal Emergency Management Agency  (FEMA) produces  Flood Insurance Rate maps  and identifies  Special Flood Hazard Areas  as part of the  National Flood Insurance Program's  floodplain management. Special Flood Hazard Areas have regulations that include the mandatory purchase of flood insurance. Generally, Flood Hazard Areas are an indicator of the likelihood of flooding.
• Active Stream Area: Working with several partners, including the Cleveland Metroparks and the Chagrin River Watershed Partners, the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission (CCPC) developed a series of buffer areas - areas to be preserved for protection - around various types of water features highlighted in the map. The methods utilized are patterned on well-established modeling approaches and use a particular feature's drainage area and/or feature type to delineate its buffer or "active stream area". The maps show buffered water areas, by feature:
  • Lake Erie Shore: 300-foot buffer
  • Navigable River (Cuyahoga): 300-foot buffer
  • Navigable River (Chagrin, Rocky): 120-foot buffer
  • Stream Bank (Larger Watershed): 120-foot buffer
  • Stream Bank (Smaller Watershed): 75-foot buffer
  • Ponds, Lakes, Other Water bodies: 120-foot buffer
  • Wetland (National Wetland Inventory): 120-foot
  • Wetland (Soil and Water Inventory): 120-foot
  • Small Stream Centerline: 25 foot buffer

The Active Stream Area layer displays Flood Hazard Areas from the Flood Insurance Rate Map created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

• Watersheds: Watersheds are areas defined by topography that determine natural drainage patterns. Two alternative depictions of watershed boundaries are available:
  • Local Sub Watersheds: The "Local" watershed boundaries were derived from national sources, but are customized to align more closely with several of the area's watershed management agencies. Each of the local watersheds are named and are color-tinted in groups according to their major watershed "parent", including the Cuyahoga, Chagrin, Rocky River, and Lakefront watersheds. The underlying database includes links to the local watershed planning groups, as well as land cover statistics from the  2019 Urban Tree Canopy Assessment .
  • Watershed Assessment Areas (EPA 2022): These watershed boundaries are typically slightly larger aggregations of watersheds, associated with the national standard "HUC12" boundaries. The underlying attribute data is from the US EPA's  Assessment, Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Tracking and Implementation System (ATTAINS)  system, and provides details on each watershed's water quality assessments. Several indicators are provided directly in the layer's pop-up boxes (and table view), and the EPA's fully formatted reports are available by clicking on the "Waterbody Report URL" link.

Socioeconomic Characteristics provide valuable insights into various aspects of a population's social and economic status. Using data sourced from the American Community Survey (ACS) 2021 5-year estimates at the census tract level, this layer group encompasses several sub layers, each focusing on a specific aspect of socioeconomic characteristics. Each has its own customized pop-up box (see Tools), some of which include margins of error and more detailed charts.

• Population Density: This layer depicts residential density as persons per square mile, to inform an understanding of the level of urbanization or population concentration in a particular area.
• Disabled Population: This layer shows six different types of disability and is symbolized to show the percent of population with a disability at the tract level.
• Race and Ethnicity: This layer shows population broken down by race and Hispanic origin and is symbolized to show the predominant race living within an area. The color coding depicts the predominant (highest percentage) classification, as well as the strength (degree of dominance) in each census tract.
• Percent Limited-English Speaking Households: This layer indicates the percentage of households where residents have limited proficiency in English. It helps identify areas with linguistic diversity, which can inform language-based services, educational support, and community engagement strategies.
• Educational Attainment: This layer indicates the percentage of adults 25+ without a high school diploma.  
• Highest Prevalence of Level of Education Achieved: This layer summarizes the highest level of educational attainment among adults aged 25 and older. The color coding depicts the predominant (highest percentage) classification, as well as the strength (degree of dominance) in each census tract. It offers insight into the educational landscape, potential skills gaps, and opportunities for targeted educational initiatives.
• Housing Tenure: This layer shows housing context and uses color symbols to show the predominant housing type: owner-occupied, renter-occupied, or vacant. The color coding depicts the predominant (highest percentage) classification, as well as the strength (degree of dominance) in each census tract.
• Poverty Status: This layer shows the percent of the populationwith income below the federal poverty level.
• Rent Burdened Households: This layer shows housing costs as a percentage of household income and is symbolized to show the percent of renter households that spend 30.0% or more of their household income on gross rent (contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities).  The data is derived from a survey that uses income based on earnings over the past 12 months. 
• Median Household Income: This layer shows median household income by race and by age of householder and is symbolized to show median household income.  Income is based on the past 12 months of survey. 
• Vehicle Accessibility: This layer shows the percent of households with no vehicle available.

The EQUITY section of the Greenprint is new, and reflects a new emphasis on “environmental justice” (EJ) at the local, regional, and national levels. The US EPA defines EJ as: "…the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies." The Cuyahoga County Greenprint utilizes three sources for EJ, each of which has a different focus, both in intent and in geography:

• Federal Justice40 Areas:  Justice40 is a federal government initiative  that affects programs in agencies across the federal government. The federal government has made it a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, under-served, and overburdened by pollution.
• NOACA Environmental Justice Areas: The environmental justice areas identified by the five-county Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) are part of its  Diversity & Inclusion Policy  (see page 8), adopted in December of 2020.  The designated areas are composed of Census-defined Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ), and provide for benefits in its own transportation funding decisions (including bikeways), and may influence funding decisions by other grant providers.
• Cuyahoga County Equity Zones: The  Cuyahoga County Equity Zones  were developed in 2021 by the County Department of Equity & Inclusion as “an intentional effort to improve equity by encouraging (County government) investment in areas of historical disinvestment”.  The areas are currently composed of 2010 Census block groups.

• Generalized Zoning Districts: The Generalized Zoning Districts layer provides a representation of the municipal zoning districts within Cuyahoga County. The data was originally compiled by the Cuyahoga County GIS Department, and has been edited and updated by Cuyahoga County Planning Commission (CCPC) staff in the course of their zoning work in several communities. These districts reflect the unique zoning designations established by each municipality, but it is important to note that the generalized designations are not considered official and should be interpreted as the result of CCPC staff analysis. Additionally, the layer includes overlay districts specific to the City of Cleveland. These overlay districts are supplementary designations that modify the regulations of the underlying base zoning districts within the city. For official zoning maps and ordinances, refer to the local community website or contact the community directly.

Several different sets of aerial photography are provided from Cuyahoga County sources, including color images as far back as 2006. Imagery from 1979 and 1951, from the National Agricultural Inventory Program (NAIP), are less precisely-placed overlays of adjacent photographs.

Any selected aerial will cover over the currently displayed "basemap", but the aerial layer's transparency can be adjusted to see through to the basemap (see the "..." next to the aerial layer name).

Themes are preconfigured layer settings that are focused on popular topics and data points outlined in the Greenprint Guidebook. The Themes feature allows users to quickly find layer configurations that are most relevant to them, as well as discover new layers and views that may interest them.

After selecting a named Theme, users can modify the various map layers as needed. To return to the default view, select the "Home" theme from the list.

Users can also configure their own temporary Themes by activating various layers in the Layers Display, and then clicking the plus button below the list of existing themes.

NOTE: User created saved themes will be present during entirety of the Greenprint session, but may not be carried over across multiple sessions.

Add Data allows the user to add data to the map by searching for layers in ArcGIS Online content, entering a known URL, or uploading local files.

NOTE: Local shapefile sets must be zipped before uploading. Tabular CSV files can be uploaded as well. The "Actions - Add to map" function will add the uploaded features to the map, and the new temporary layer will be added to the top of the map's layer list. If tabular CSV data is added, and if it contains a geographic identifier (e.g., Latitude/Longitude, Zip Code), then the "Actions - Add to map" function will automatically geocode the records and add them to the map.

The Tools Section encompasses two main tools designed for querying and analyzing layers according to their underlying data. The two featured tools are Near Me and Spatial Selection.

The Near Me tool enables users to discover relevant points of interest and resources in their vicinity. Additionally, a Search bar is available to locate data specifically associated with a boundary geometry.

To Analyze by Named Geography (Search Bar):

1. Type in name of named geography, the search bar will auto populate with related named geographies.
   1. Users can refine the searches by checking the checkboxes for each named geography type by using the drop down arrow located to the right of the search bar.
   2. Example: Focused specifically on Municipalities, users would just check the Municipalities box.
2. To select the named geography, simply click the desired geography, or users can click enter on their keyboard to select the first option available.

To Analyze by Drawn Geography:

1. Identify a location of interest using the Location drawing tools (point, line, or polygon).
2. Adjust the Distance from the Location for which features are to be found.
3. Results are highlighted on the map and summarized in the tool panel, indicating the number of features found in each layer. To see more detail, click on any of the result headers. Some results are further summarized into counts by category, and ultimately to individual database records.
4. When finished using the tool, re-click the highlighted Location tool (point, line, or polygon) to turn it off.

Tabular results can be downloaded to CSV (excel) format using the export icon (up arrow) where available.

NOTE: to view any of the selected features, it is helpful to have the feature layer turned on in the "Layers" section. Advanced: Features that are selected from outside of the Near Me tool can be used as input for the "Location" by going to Table View for the desired layer. After selecting one or more records, click on Actions -> Set Location. The Near Me tool will immediately accept the Location and generate new results surrounding the selected feature(s)

The Filters tool has been incorporated into the Layers tab, as well as the Table widget to provide direct access to the  SQL Expression Builder  for each layer. Once an expression is set and the filter is turned on the map will zoom to the features that meet the condition.

• To create expressions in the SQL Expression Builder, click Add clause or Add clause set.
• The expression for each clause includes the following parts:
  • Field—Select a field from the data source to filter on. The three field types are number, string, and date. Representative icons appear next to the field names.
  • Operator—Select a functional operator to evaluate the data values for the selected field. Operators vary depending on the field type. View a full list of supported operators for each field type.
  • Value—Type or select a value to complete the clause. Click the Select source type button to choose a value, such as user input, field, unique, unique (predefined), multiple, and multiple (predefined).
  • If you add more than one clause or clause set to the filter, click AND to specify that all filter criteria must be true or click OR to specify that any filter criteria can be true. You can also configure this setting for the clauses in a clause set.

NOTE: The associated map layer must be turned "on" to actively view the filter on the map.

The Spatial Selection tool allows users to select data using attribute selection, interactive map selection, and spatial selection. You can enable various actions that allow you to perform data processing tasks with a selection.

There are three ways to select features:

• Interactive selection—Interactive selection involves drawing a point, line, or shape on the map to select a set of features. Choose which interactive map selection tools to include in the widget.
  • Select by rectangle—Users can click and drag to draw a rectangle across features.
  • Select by lasso—Users can click the map to create the vertices of a polygon, or draw with the pointer to create a freehand shape. Users can double-click to close the polygon and select contained features.
  • Select by circle—Users can click and drag to draw a circle across a feature.
  • Select by line—Users can click the map to create the vertices of a line. Users can double-click to end the line and select intersecting features.
  • Select by point—Users can click the map to place a point and select intersecting features.

• Data selection—Create a spatial relationship that users can use to select features from other features. This method behaves similar to the Interactive selection, however it allows you to select geographical boundaries instead of drawing in custom selections.
  • Selectable layers—Municipal Boundaries, Census Tract Boundaries, and Local Sub Watershed Boundaries.
  • Users must have desired layer turned on and selected using the map-based selection tool. The Spatial Selection tool will provide feedback in its dialog box that tells you how many features are selected.

• Attribute selection—Attribute selection involves using SQL expressions to select features matching a selection criteria.
  • Selectable layers—Add selectable layers. Click + New data, then click Select data to open the Select data panel. Here you can choose from layers that you have already added to your app, or you can add new data. Layers you add are listed under Selectable layers. Click a layer to open the Configure layer attribute panel. Here you can build SQL expressions with the  SQL Expression Builder .

NOTE: For more information click  here .

Q1. How do I get to the Greenprint Guidebook?

A: Click on the menu icon in the upper right corner of the screen. The chosen document will appear in a new tab in the browser.

Q2. Why can't I see the layer(s) that I have turned on? A. There are several reasons. The most common cause is because you are zoomed out too far (or zoomed in too close). Several layers, like parcels, will not show up until you zoom in to a reasonable scale. Another reason may be that the layer's parent group is turned off. For instance, the Municipalities layer will not show if the BOUNDARIES group is turned off.

Q3. The colors on the map don't match the colors in the legend. Why? A. Many of the layers are semi-transparent (e.g., Open Space by Type or Watersheds), so you may be seeing a combination of one color from a lower layer viewed through another color of a semi-transparent higher layer. Try turning off layers that may be conflicting with the one in question. Also, there is a transparency control available through the Options "..." to the right of some layers. Try moving the transparency up or down.

Q4. I've selected a feature with one of the query tools, and it's highlighted in red. How do I unselect it in order to remove the highlighting? A. Click the selection tool to select another set of features, or click on the "Clear selection" button next to the "Select by ..." button in the upper left of the map area. To stop making selections, click on the highlighted "Select by .." button to deselect it (or use another tool).

Q5. How can I get current Fiscal Office data for a given parcel? A. Click on a parcel to get a pop-up box. The box will display up-to-date data on any given parcel. To see a fully formatted display, see the section called "CUYAHOGA COUNTY LINKS". Beneath are "Links" for the County's MyPlace application and another for a Tax Bill Summary. Click one of the hyperlinks and a new browser tab will open up for that parcel. Each subsequent selection of a hyperlink will open an additional browser tab. If you are interested in exploring a specific area, it may be worthwhile to continue in one MyPlace tab, rather than having the Greenprint Explorer generate multiple tabs.

Q6. Can I copy my tabular data to a spreadsheet? A. Yes. Using the "Actions" button in the Layer View, Table View, or Pop-up View to "Export all" or "Export Selected" (if there is a current selection for that layer) to CSV for all layers that allow data exports.

Q8. Can I use the viewer on my smartphone or tablet? A. Yes. Though it is designed to be used on a computer, the application can be viewed through any WebGL-enabled, 64-bit browser (see here to test your browser). The app uses responsive design, whereby the map and its controls will be adjusted for a smaller mobile or tablet screen layout. Not all application features are available on all devices. While all the layers will be available, typically the handheld version of the viewer will have fewer tools available. Note that the cross-hair button ("find my location") in the upper left of the map will provide geolocation options that can employ your device's GPS.

Q9. How can I add additional layers to the map?

A. In the Data panel, select the Add Data button, and then "+ Click to add data". Sources may be online layers from ArcGIS Online, from a known map service URL, or from uploaded files (SHP, CSV, etc.). See the Add Data tool documentation in the Data section above.

Q10. How can I download data for use in a GIS platform like ArcGIS Pro or QGIS?

A. Yes. Similar to exporting a spreadsheet, you can use the "Actions" button in the Layer View, Table View, or Pop-up View to "Export all" or "Export Selected" (if there is a current selection for that layer) to GeoJSON for all layers that allow data exports. Next, you would download the associated GeoJSON file and import it into your preferred GIS program.

For other questions or comments, please  Contact Us .

To view or use the Web Map that the Greenprint Explorer references for your own work, click  here .

The table below provides source links for each of the individual layers presented in the Greenprint Explorer. The purpose of the links is to provide more advanced users the ability to access those layers for their own web maps or desktop GIS work. Any of the 'arcgis.com' links will provide readable background 'metadata', whereas any of the 'REST' links will be unreadable within a standard web browser. See the "Layer Content" documentation in the Data Tab section for background information about each data source.