|
Rocket
City Geospatial conference attendees celebrated GIS day with a special
cake.
It's always special to be with somebody on their
birthday. Being with Jack Dangermond on the 10th anniversary of GIS Day
(which falls during Geography Awareness Week) is in that same category.
During his keynote presentation at the Rocket City Geospatial
Conference in Huntsville, AL on Wednesday, Dangermond (president of
ESRI) made special mention of the occasion. His central theme was
honoring GIS professionals and what they do in the context of making
the world a better, and more sustainable, place.
While cataloging numerous applications (planning, transportation, land
information systems, public safety and law enforcement, managing
natural disasters, natural resource management, social issues, and
human health), Dangermond discussed mapping foreclosure patterns. He
ran an animation that clearly showed the pattern of higher numbers of
foreclosures two hours away from major metropolitan areas, including
Los Angeles and San Francisco. "It isn't the downtown areas, or even
the near suburbs, but way out - the consistent pattern of increased gas
prices caused the foreclosures. … Geography tells that story. … GIS is
about telling stories."
Dangermond highlighted the following trends.
- Growth in the number and sophistication of
"Fusion Centers" (centers built around the country to support emergency
management)
- Increasing popularity of mashups, which will
bring the notion of GIS to "virtually everyone"
- Increasing integration of imagery
- More support for mobile applications (LBS)
- Geobrowsers are becoming the norm
- Content (not just data) will become an integral
part of GIS, and it will be delivered by services.
Dangermond delivered what can only be described as a
pep talk for GIS professionals. "Climate and global warming - loss of
biodiversity … there is no 'bailout' for this increasingly challenging
situation. … [But] GIS is doing good - it's a counter-balance to some
of the negative things that are happening in our society and our
world," said Dangermond. "Our world needs a new approach … I don't
think it will work out without deliberate and conscious thought about
how to do things … to chart a better future. Right now we are certainly
doomed. I travel a lot, I see it, and it's not a good future. On the
other hand, what you guys are doing … all those things are making a
difference. These [applications you develop] are all improving the
world."