Regional Data Platform Frequently Asked Questions

For all inquiries related to the RDP, please email the Local Information Services Team (LIST) at LIST@scag.ca.gov.

Users can also utilize the request form within the RDP to ask for technical assistance, seek training or submit questions and comments.

The RDP is a revolutionary system designed to facilitate interagency collaboration through data sharing and to support local and regional planning activities at all levels.

Provide access to data, modern tools and best practices that support stronger planning and information-based decision making at all levels.

Streamline data exchange with jurisdictions and partners across the region while establishing procedures and standards for geospatial data consistency.

Establish a community of planners and geographic information system (GIS) professionals to foster collaboration and collective learning and guide the RDP’s long-term growth and evolution.

The RDP is one of the signature elements to come out of SCAG’s Future Communities Initiative, established in 2017, which was a work program adopted to accelerate SCAG’s leadership GIS technology application and big/open data resources to promote a smarter and more connected region. As one of SCAG’s most transformative projects to date, the RDP focuses on the use of data and shared information to help solve common challenges.  

The RDP contains various planning and engagement tools and resources, data and information tools, and the Local Data Exchange (LDX), which is a secure portal for sharing data between local jurisdictions and SCAG.

The RDP is organized into five main pages: Content Library, Apps & Maps, Planner’s Corner, LDX Portal and Request Technical Assistance Portal.

• Content Library: a growing repository of data to download in various formats, including spatial and non-spatial data.
• Apps & Maps: a collection of web applications and web maps developed and updated by SCAG. The page includes various featured applications as well as an application and map gallery. SCAG will add new applications and tools to this page as they are developed.
• Planner’s Corner: a space for sharing tools, best practices, training and tutorials, and other resources to assist local planning, including the Local General Plan Update Site Template, a ready-to-use template designed for member agencies to communicate and engage with residents about general plan updates.
• LDX Portal: a secure data portal where local jurisdictions can share data and collaborate with SCAG during the Connect SoCal development process.
• Request Technical Assistance Portal: features a form to request technical assistance, submit feedback on data or tools, request one-on-one training or a live demonstration, request data and more. Once the form has been filled out, someone from SCAG will reply via email.

The RDP uses a data-driven approach to inform development and analysis of local and regional planning scenarios and validation of planning assumptions.

The RDP standardizes regionally significant datasets, allows local planners to update their data in real-time and draws insights from emergent local and regional trends. More specifically, the RDP offers online tools for SCAG and our local jurisdictions to access the datasets necessary for local general plan development and to support general decision-making by monitoring local and regional transportation, land use, housing, economic growth, sustainability conditions and trends.

The RDP’s Member and Partner Showcase features a data-driven collaboration hub for local jurisdictions to engage in peer-to-peer learning and best practices. Please complete the online form to have your jurisdiction’s work featured in the showcase.

Every four years, SCAG updates Connect SoCal, the Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy for the region, as required by federal and state regulations. Extensive engagement with local jurisdictions is integral to this process.

The RDP features the LDX, which is a secure data portal where local jurisdictions can share data and collaborate with SCAG during the Connect SoCal development process. The LDX System ensures that SCAG gathers the data it needs from member agencies in a more continuous and less burdensome way to keep our regional database as up-to-date as possible for local and regional planning purposes. The RDP and LDX also ensure that member agencies have access to up-to-date data to use as contextual layers for their local planning. This symbiotic cycle of data sharing drives holistic planning for the region. Continuous data collection and exchange ensures that Connect SoCal remains a dynamic and adaptable regional plan.

Residents of the cities and counties of the SCAG region can engage with the RDP through the platform’s publicly available tools and applications. These SCAG-hosted applications are designed to allow anyone to find important facts about their communities and learn about the local general plan update process, contribute ideas and provide feedback to jurisdictional planning staff.

RDP tools democratize the planning process by enhancing transparency, promoting inclusiveness and facilitating two-way communication between residents and their local government. The resources provided through the RDP allow local jurisdictions to create an engaging space to enhance communication with the public.

In addition to improved local engagement, the RDP supports public involvement in planning at the regional level. Many urgent planning priorities in the SCAG region extend beyond jurisdictional boundaries, so the RDP provides a forum for promoting public engagement in understanding and addressing critical regional issues.

The RDP  promotes a better informed, data-supported local planning process.

The RDP delivers powerful data and tools that facilitate flexible integration with the existing ArcGIS platforms used by member agencies.

The various analytical tools and regional datasets provided through the RDP enhance the capacity of cities and counties in the SCAG region to conduct analysis, assess land use policy options and more effectively collaborate throughout the planning and project design process.

The datasets available through the RDP can be used in many ways through flexible download formats, such as .csv and .shp, which allow for more advanced analysis or via the dataset REST endpoints.

Through the RDP and member agency GIS collaboration, cities and counties can see beyond city boundaries and work together to address major regional issues such as racial equity, homelessness and climate change-related risks.

Various tools and applications available on the Apps & Maps page have been designed to assist with local planning activities and help local planners make better data-driven decisions, such as the Economic Trends Tool, Housing Element Parcel Tool (HELPR), Parcel Locator and SoCal Atlas. The Planner’s Corner houses a variety of training resources as well as the Local General Plan Update Site Template. Users can also request technical assistance through our Request Technical Assistance portal to receive one-on-one training on a tool or receive assistance with certain technical analyses.

The RDP enables streamlining of the data-sharing process to improve collaboration throughout the SCAG region.

The RDP enables local jurisdictions to share their data-driven planning and engagement applications with others in the region through the member and partner showcase section of the Planner’s Corner, inspiring other local jurisdictions to use interactive tools to communicate planning information with the public.

The RDP is an ever-expanding space with plans to add more data and other features as they are identified and developed by SCAG. Ongoing improvements and enhancements to the RDP will be implemented over time, based on feedback and input from users and local jurisdictions through surveys and feedback submitted to LIST through the Request Technical Assistance portal. To stay up to date on the newest features and enhancements coming to the RDP, sign up to receive SCAG’s newsletter.

To learn more about the LDX, please visit the LDX frequently asked questions website.