Renaissance in Belfast - A Personal Perspective

On August 27^th, 1979, Lord Mountbatten was killed by an IRA bomb while sailing near his holiday home in County Sligo, Ireland.I was personally affected by this event, as I was vacationing only about 30 miles away from where the tragic event took place.Images from that time have stuck with me through the years, as well as the feelings of pretty intense fear, as I watched neighbors harassing neighbors on street corners, and kids throwing rocks at each other.But by the same token, I was struck by the beauty of the country, and the hipness of Belfast (even with the scary checkpoints we had to go through).

Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but after years in this industry, I can get a little bored reading yet another "GIS Helps City A do X, Y and Z" article.But perhaps my experience back in 1979 is why I read with special interest the article (below) by Matthew Spencer that chronicles Belfast City Council's use of GIS in supporting revitalization efforts that have taken place since 1999 [Ed.note: Feature Article, Plotting the Renaissance in Belfast].It appears that at this point the applications in use do not involve any serious rock science, but they do support areas that allow the city to sustain its economic redevelopment, such as census analytics and emergency management.I think that's really great news, and a terrific use of this technology - kind of what it's all about.And I hope to get back to that beautiful part of the world sooner than later.

Also, take a look our monthly feature called Directions on Careers.Richard Serby, our careers editor, asks the burning question with regard to our economy: "Have We Turned the Corner? In his article, he prods those looking for a job to be ready when the job market gets hot.He asks other flammable questions such as, "Does your resume look like a 'map' or a 'mess'?

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