The Center for Spatial Analysis at OU

Welcome to the Center for Spatial Analysis (CSA) StoryMap! CSA is a multi-disciplinary research center housed on the OU-Norman Research campus, specializing in applied geospatial technology research and development.

We are a part of the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability in the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, and provide geospatial services to government agencies, private industry and the University of Oklahoma. CSA also produces traditional sponsored academic research and provides educational outreach programs.

Serving university, state, tribal, and municipal decision makers in their geospatial needs

The Data Warehouse has publicly available and downloadable maps for each county, providing election information across the state of Oklahoma.

Informing the public of their geographic location for voting

Each county map depicts precincts, house, senate, and commissioner districts, informing the public of their geographic location for voting. CSA is committed to doing its part to ensure all voting eligible Oklahomans are able to exercise their right to vote.

Dating back to 2012, CSA has created and performed maintenance on the geo-referencing of the Cherokee Nation voter registration system.

Oklahoma participates as a full member state in the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA). The SSUTA is a collaborative effort where states devolve to the group certain powers surrounding taxation, in exchange for a simplified means to collect appropriate taxes across jurisdictional and state boundaries. This streamlining in taxation protects local businesses by assuring tax compliance from large “remote sellers,” who have argued against states’ power to tax interstate commerce, and that prior state taxation practices were so complex as to be prohibitive to doing business (see Quill Corp v. North Dakota and review).

For Oklahoma, the SSUTA is operationalized with standardized guidance on database format and analysis practices associating every delivery address in the state with its corresponding, fair, and appropriate sales/use tax rate. In 2021 CSA celebrates 18 years in partnership with OTC providing for and maintaining this technology. In our daily work, CSA positively identifies the taxable jurisdictions in which delivery addresses fall across our State. Data releases/deliverables follow each Tax Quarter (4 times a year) and are publicly available. See taxproject.csa.ou.edu for a web interface to these datasets.

The Oklahoma Water Resources Board is charged with permitting and appropriation in the use of water resources in the State, among other vital functions assuring reliable supply for the public. Pursuant to the continued facilitation of these requirements, CSA has recently partnered with OWRB’s Geographic Information Systems Group to assist in a data infrastructure migration towards a future-proofing of existing business practices supporting OWRB’s mission, as well as to provide a platform for future services development.

CSA heartily acknowledges the absolutely clutch creative input and representation afforded to us by our contemporaries at OWRB GIS insofar in this effort. We look forward to a lasting return on investment for our friends at OWRB once delivered on the task at hand.

CSA has worked closely with ODAFF to develop Field Maps for their field staff to collect information and samples in the field using their cell phones and tablets for the Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey (CAPS) . Previously, staff used spreadsheets to write down information collected and reported at the end of the trapping season. Office staff are now able to view data and fix any issues that may arise in real time.

CSA has worked alongside the Oklahoma Archeological Survey since 2016, completing projects that are geared toward facilitating field expeditions and data collection. Most recently, CSA created a series of smart forms to assist with classifying items and characterizing sites in the field.

CSA has also created custom applications for OAS. The Area of Interest (AOI) tool depicted below empowers users to identify archeological sites and associated field data across the state by drawing an area on the map or uploading a predefined area.

CSA is assisting SWODA with municipal inventory mapping and capital improvement planning. CSA is using ArcGIS Field Maps to assist SWODA in their inventory of the various towns and communities in their region.

CSA leads and contributes to a variety of educational programs and events to support the use of geospatial technologies in schools, communities, and businesses. We host OU’s annual GIS Day Expo, providing students from across disciplines a venue to engage with GIS professionals and showcase their own geospatial research. CSA also hosts custom workshops designed to provide students and professionals with data visualization and spatial analysis skills. Previous workshops have ranged from topics including GIS for Health and the Environment and Applying GIS to Understand Hydrologic Impacts of Bridge Construction. Lessons in ArcMap, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online and QGIS are available.