The Center for Applied GIS is located in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, on the campus of Youngstown State University, and is managed by John Bralich, Director. The Center provides a broad spectrum of GIS and community development-related services, including the following:
- Comprehensive analysis of property and neighborhood conditions, including vacant properties, with a focus on blight remediation efforts and code enforcement
- Property and infrastructure conditions surveys
- Production of GIS maps in both printed and digital display formats
- Tabulation and analysis of socioeconomic and property-based data
- Geocoding (address-matching), mapping, and analysis of address-level data
- Network analysis, such as mapping and analysis of service areas
- Production and maintenance of interactive web maps, including the Real Property Information System (RPIS), and the city of Youngstown zoning map
- Planning services, including the development of Analyses of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice and ADA Transition Plans
- Printing of GIS maps and documents
The mission of the YSU Center for Applied GIS is to integrate professional staff, and university faculty and students, to focus on issues and problems of urban and regional development, by providing an ongoing program of applied research and technical assistance to government, nonprofit, and social service organizations.
Our license agreement prohibits us from serving ‘for profit’ clientele. We can only service intra-institutional, government and non-profit agencies.
John D. Bralich is the Director of the Center for Applied GIS at Youngstown State University. John has worked at YSU since 2001. He received his B.A. in Geography and M.A. in American Studies at YSU. John, in addition to managing research projects and the GIS Mapping and Data Center, and providing technical assistance to the University and a myriad of local government and social service entities, has provided GIS mapping and demographic analysis for numerous major projects, including the Youngstown 2010 Future Land Use Plan, development of the city of Youngstown’s rental registration program, neighborhood revitalization and watershed action plans, updating of the city of Youngstown’s code enforcement and demolitions process, and mass transportation projects throughout Ohio and Michigan. He has participated in and provided mapping for numerous vacant property surveys in the city of Youngstown. He developed a plan to establish a wetland mitigation bank on the east side of the city of Youngstown, and served as the YSU Research Team lead on a Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program planning grant, and an Innovations in Community Based Crime Reduction Implementation Grant, through the U.S. Department of Justice. Both projects were collaborations between Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, Youngstown Police Department, and YSU, which aimed to reduce crime and improve neighborhoods in a targeted area on the south side of the city of Youngstown. He also recently completed an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice in Trumbull County, Ohio, and an ADA Transition Plan in Trumbull County. In addition, he developed and maintains the Real Property Information System, an online interactive map that contains a comprehensive collection of real property data in Youngstown, Ohio. He may be reached via phone at (330) 941-2302 or by email at jdbralich@ysu.edu.