Somerset County, New Jersey, Develops Interactive Application to Explore Affordable Housing with ArcGIS Experience Builder

Affordable housing is a pressing issue across the United States. There is a national shortage of more than 7 million affordable homes to accommodate the needs of more than 11 million extremely low-income families. The state of New Jersey has one of the country’s highest housing costs, impacting renters and households with the lowest incomes the most. However, a unique set of laws is requiring local governments to provide opportunities for affordable housing.

The local government of Somerset County in New Jersey serves around 350,000 residents. With a per capita income close to $114,000, Somerset County was New Jersey’s second-most affluent county in 2022, based on median household income reported by the US Census Bureau, and it has high housing costs to match. The median home value is close to $500,000, and home values and rental costs in the county saw a significant spike during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Office of Planning, Policy, and Economic Development (OPPED) for the county provides guidance to officials on housing and demographics, including addressing the issue of affordable housing in the county. The office collaborates closely with its 21 municipalities to ensure that affordable housing options are available for residents, including seniors, and it has been compiling a comprehensive list of affordable and senior housing developments. However, this data was not available in an easy-to-use, user-friendly format and remained largely underutilized.

To raise awareness about various housing options within the county, including affordable housing, the County Office of GIS Services team developed and deployed the Somerset County Housing Navigator website using ArcGIS Experience Builder. This interactive and mobile-friendly site offers details on available housing options and allows users to search and filter based on preferences and needs. The website has gained popularity among residents and has enhanced the county's capacity to provide essential data to those seeking a home.

The county’s housing data for affordable and senior housing was presented to the public in static PDF maps and extensive spreadsheets, which had several limitations. The information was presented in a noninteractive format, which meant that users could not actively engage with the data, such as click a property to access more information. Also, the static nature of the PDFs and the length of the spreadsheets made it challenging for users to navigate and access the information efficiently.

Finally, the data was not optimized for mobile devices, limiting its accessibility, which is a concern considering the increasing prevalence of smartphones.

“Our main priority is to ensure that our residents can easily access and benefit from this valuable information,” says Aarthy Sabesan, the manager for the Somerset County Office of GIS Services. “Our residents are notably tech savvy, and we want to create a product that meets their evolving needs. While we will still provide printed maps for those who prefer them, static PDF maps alone will no longer serve the purpose."

In addition to conceptualizing a new interactive solution, the team aimed to empower residents to make data-driven decisions through the website. “We want to do more than just present data; we want to deliver meaningful insights so our residents can make informed decisions,” says Sabesan.

The team also wanted to provide contact information for housing assistance agencies that could guide residents through the home search process. According to Sabesan, having a centralized portal for this valuable information would greatly benefit residents seeking assistance.

The GIS team wanted the new site to offer clear information about Somerset County and the available housing options. After attending a presentation on ArcGIS Experience Builder for the county, Sabesan wanted to see if the tool was a fit for the new project. She found it to be an ideal solution. ArcGIS Experience Builder is a configurable solution for building web applications and is included in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise.

“The options I explored didn't seem to provide the design flexibility I had in mind and the seamless integration with other products that I desired,” says Sabesan.

Experience Builder also had the option of building a mobile-friendly design for the application, which Sabesan says was a mission-critical priority for the project.

Sabesan and her team focused on crafting an engaging user experience (UX) design, because a good design directly influences how residents interact with the website. One of the guiding principles of their design was to ensure that a user could find information or complete a task in approximately three clicks.

The entire process of developing the site took just five weeks. The team used housing datasets that were updated before building the site.

“I would say the entire design and development process went quite smoothly. Given that I am a software engineer, I do have the background, but even then, I was able to conceptualize and launch the application in about half the time I initially expected,” says Sabesan. “The design flexibility played a significant role in that.”

The new site includes a comprehensive community profile with key demographic information about the county, including data on age, education, employment, income, and housing. The community profile also offers color-coded interactive maps displaying median home values throughout the county, as well as a map showing average rental prices. This information empowers users to make housing choices that align with their preferences and financial considerations.

The housing data section of the new site is divided into three distinct categories: affordable housing, senior housing, and market-rate rentals. The pages for affordable and senior housing are integrated with interactive dashboards, enabling detailed data exploration of housing options. The interactive housing maps provide an overview of available housing options, including property details and contact information.

Users have the flexibility to filter the data according to their preferences, and the results can also be exported and printed. The sections also feature a consolidated list of housing assistance agencies and their contact information.

There is also a form users can complete if they are unable to find the information they need. The form is sent to the GIS team for routing to the appropriate housing agency. The form was built using ArcGIS Survey123, a form-centric solution for gathering data and creating surveys included in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise.

The Somerset County Housing Navigator app was launched in March 2023 and currently averages about 200 views per week. The GIS team plans to update the data every six months to ensure accuracy and has been telling others about the new site via social media. This was the first site launch from the GIS team, and Sabesan says they fulfilled their goal of creating a site that is user-centric, interactive, and meaningful.

“We've made complex housing data and its insights user-friendly and interactive for our residents. This eases the stress of finding a suitable, safe place to live,” says Sabesan.

Sabesan says Experience Builder allowed her and her team to create a simple and intuitive interface. “It gives us the freedom to make decisions as to how we want the information and the data to flow. That ability is crucial,” says Sabesan. “You don't have to be an experienced UX designer or software engineer to create informative and visually stunning products.” 

She adds, “It doesn't just look like a GIS application. It looks like a website with GIS capabilities.”

Experience Builder is a user-friendly and straightforward solution to teach to new staff members. Sabesan says that even with a lack of experience in GIS-based application development, new employees can get started quickly.

“Experience Builder is easier to grasp and work. From a managerial standpoint, it certainly gives me confidence in training new team members,” says Sabesan.

The feedback from management and others at Somerset County has been very positive, and Sabesan says there is a lot of excitement about the application. GIS team members continue to use Experience Builder to build other applications, and they have even received requests for nonspatial apps from other departments. Sabesan is happy that the new Experience Builder site meets the needs of the community.

“We are a government organization, and our core mission is to serve our residents,” says Sabesan. “Our goal with the Housing Navigator application is to equip our residents with the data and insights they need to make informed decisions, all with the overarching goal of improving their day-to-day lives. This, in essence, is how I measure ROI."