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The US Department of Health and Human Services recently announced a new open data initiative, the Community Health Data Initiative, intended to provide tools and data sets for community-level health analysis.  As the first part of this initiative, HHS and related government and non-government entities will be collecting and linking to existing data and resources, some of which we've already examined (such as the CountyHealthRankings.org mapplication).  The USDA contributes its county-level food and nutrition atlas, useful for visualizing statistics about food deserts, food access, and food insecurity issues, as well as physical activity statistics.  

The Red Cross and FEMA jointly operate the National Shelter System, a comprehensive database of over 54,000 emergency shelters across the United States.  When shelters are activated during an emergency, this system is used to monitor locations, capacities, and other shelter information.  In addition to Red Cross and FEMA staff and volunteers, many state and local organizations use this information as well.

The Global Action Atlas, a new online portal from National Geographic, allows visitors to explore environmental, humanitarian, and cultural projects around the world with an interactive map interface.  The site integrates social networking and provides a pathway for recruiting advocates, donors, and volunteers.  Well beyond sticking pushpins on a map, this portal aims to  "connect people and planet."