You can add custom boundaries to mySidewalk to better visualize data that may not be covered by standard Census and other boundaries included in mySidewalk. Common custom boundaries include economic districts, traffic analysis zones, neighborhood improvement areas, or buffer zones around project sites. After you add the boundary, you can visualize it as a layer on a map and/or use it to apportion data from the mySidewalk library.
What is a custom boundary in mySidewalk?
The mySidewalk platform includes the following boundaries:
Nation
Metropolitan and Micropolitan Areas
Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)
States
Congressional Districts
Counties
State Senate Districts
State House Districts
Unified School Districts
County Subdivisions
Places (city, town, municipality)
ZIP Codes
City Council Districts
Neighborhoods
Census Tracts
Census Block Groups
If you need a boundary outside of these options, you can create a custom boundary using one of the following methods: Upload, Draw, or Travel Time/Distance.
How to Add a Custom Boundary
You have three main ways to add a custom boundary in mySidewalk:
Upload a custom boundary
You can upload a custom geography in .csv or GIS layer format. Follow these steps:
Click Upload Data in the navigation menu.
Select Upload Geography and choose your file.
For detailed instructions on uploading a custom boundary, click here.
Draw a custom boundary
You can manually draw a custom boundary using tools like multi-select, polygon, radius, line, and box. Here’s how:
Go to the navigation menu and click Draw a boundary.
Use the available drawing tools to create the shape you need.
To learn more about drawing your own custom boundary, click here.
Use travel time or distance to create a custom boundary
This option allows you to create boundaries based on travel time (e.g., a 15-minute drive) or a specific distance (e.g., a 10-mile radius). To do this:
Click Draw a Boundary in the navigation menu.
Choose Travel Time and set the appropriate parameters.
To learn more about using travel times or distances to draw a boundary, click here.
Whether you upload or draw your custom boundary, the boundary will be available as a Layer in your Layer Library.
What can I do once I have a custom geography?
Apportion Data in Chart
You can use your custom geography to apportion mySidewalk data to the shape you created. If you're working in a Report or Dashboard, set your custom boundary as your Geography in the global default or from within the component editor. (In the example below the custom boundary is called "KC Streetcar Buffer.")
Open up data search and filter by data that is Available For: Custom Layers.
Make your data selection.
Map Overlay in Chart
After you've built your map - like the one below showing population by census tract in Kansas City, MO - select Add Layer, My Layer, and choose your layer.
Apportion Data in Seek
In Seek, select Regions from any view.
Select Custom and choose your layer. (In this example, the custom boundary we'll choose is "Example Custom Boundary.")
After adding your layer, click Finish selecting.
And now you can view the selected data for your custom boundary.
