Introduction
Equity mapping helps you identify underrepresented or disadvantaged groups, tailor engagement approaches, and show representative engagement when you need to defend a decision. Much of what makes that analysis useful is your own geography: council districts, service areas, project boundaries, the layers your GIS team already maintains.
You can bring those layers into PublicInput two ways. A public ArcGIS feature layer you can add yourself in about a minute. On-premise files still come to us.
Adding an ArcGIS Feature Layer Yourself
If your layer is published as a public hosted feature service, you no longer need to send us a list and wait. Anyone with Editor access or higher can add it directly.
Note: this is still rolling out. If you do not see the Add ESRI Layer button yet, ask your customer success manager.
Open the map layer library from either place: click Add Layers on an admin map, such as the participants map or a map chart in a report, or click Customer Map Layers on your account settings page. Both open the Select Map Layers window. Stay on the Your Map Layers tab, where you will see two buttons under the list: Add Map File, for a KML or KMZ upload, and Add ESRI Layer.
Click Add ESRI Layer.
Paste the address of the layer into ESRI feature layer URL. It has to end in the layer number, for example .../FeatureServer/0.
Type a display name if you want one. Leave it empty and the layer keeps the name it has in ArcGIS.
Pick a legend colour. This is the colour the layer draws in on your public maps.
Click Add ESRI Layer to save.
PublicInput reads the service while it saves, so give it a second. When it finishes, a message names the layer that was added and the new row appears in your list with an ESRI badge. If the service cannot be read, the window tells you why and nothing is saved, so you can correct the URL and try again.
The URL Has to Point at One Layer, Not the Whole Service
This is the part that trips people up. An ArcGIS service address ends at FeatureServer or MapServer, and a single service often holds several layers: districts, routes, boundaries. PublicInput saves one layer per entry, so the address you paste needs the layer's number on the end.
To find it, open the service in a browser and click the layer you want. The address you land on ends in a number, like /FeatureServer/0 or /MapServer/2. That is the one to paste. If you want two layers from the same service, add it twice, once for each number, and give each one its own name and colour.
What This Flow Does Not Do
It does not read secured services. If ArcGIS asks a visitor to sign in, PublicInput cannot read the layer either. Publishing a public copy is the usual way around this. See how to publish your feature layer as a hosted feature service.
It does not draw the layer on the small preview map inside Select Map Layers, so ESRI rows have no zoom control there. They appear on your public engagement maps.
It does not bring the service's own symbology across. Each layer draws in the single legend colour you pick.
It does not copy the data. PublicInput points at the live service, so the service has to stay public and online for the layer to keep working.
It accepts point, line, polygon and multipoint layers. A table, or a layer with a geometry type outside that list, is refused.
Choosing the Right GIS Layers
There is no limit on how many layers you add, but pick ones that help someone understand the geography of the communities you serve. Layers that an engagement practitioner can read without a GIS background are the useful ones. Shape-oriented layers with integrated data attributes and colouring work best.
On Premise GIS Data
For layers that are not published to ArcGIS Online, send us the files. Provide a zip file or a secure online folder and grant read access to support@publicinput.com or your designated account manager. If you need us to create a secure folder, ask.
Once the files are uploaded, email your account manager or support@publicinput.com to open a ticket for importing them. That process usually takes 5 to 10 business days.
Analyzing Data with the Equity Mapping Toolkit
However your layers got in, you will find them in the My Map Layers section of the Equity Mapping interface.
By examining participation in projects, meetings, and communications over time, you can answer questions such as:
Who are we not hearing from?
What parts of our community are most actively engaged?
Are we hearing from people most affected by our projects?
Equity mapping lets you dig into your data, so you can build trust between governments and communities while making sure all voices are heard.
Conclusion
Your own GIS layers are what make equity mapping specific to your community rather than generic. Adding a public ArcGIS layer takes a minute and no longer needs a ticket; on-premise files still come through support.