Publishing August 6, 2024 Copyright Esri 2024. All rights reserved. Available at bookstores everywhere, including: See the book come to life at www.powerofwhere.com
REDLANDS CALIFORNIA Esri Press Jack Dangermond • Esri • The GIS Community A Geographic Approach to the World’s Greatest Challenges WHERE THE POWER OF
What Is the Geographic Approach? Climate change, social conflict, water crises, and wildfires are all part of the mix when it comes to taking the geographic approach, but so are local questions such as where to route a highway that preserves the community fabric or where to add Wi-Fi so that it serves everyone fairly. For this geospatial journey, the seven geos of GIS will show us the way. 1 02 What Is Geodata? The aggregated abstraction of the physical world is geodata, a type of digital information that allows us to model reality and forecast the future. In GIS, we collect geodata through an array of sensors, from satellites and drones to submersibles and smartphones, with their data stored in vast repositories for analysis and mapping. 38 05 What Is Geoanalysis? Questions are innate to who we are, but we must ask the right questions if we hope to learn anything of value. Geoanalysis begins by posing the right questions of geography and using geospatial tools to draw insights from data. The use of GIS and spatial analysis, for example, can show us the best location for a new coffeehouse, predict whale migration routes, and estimate sales potential. 162 06 What Is Geocollaboration? Geocollaboration blends technology, data, analytics, and visualization with the spirit of human cooperation. Central to any collaborative effort are people sharing unique skills, geospatial data, and GIS tools to create more informed outcomes backed by the rigors of scientific study in areas ranging from ocean health and racial equity to education and humanitarian aid. 194 Beginnings xii A (Very) Brief History of GIS xvii Preface x About the Author ix Foreword vii TABLE OF QUESTIONS
03 What Is Geovisualization? Emerging from the fields of cartography, computer science, statistics, and analysis, geovisualization helps us understand and share spatial data and create pathways toward a viable future. Charts, graphs, GIS tools, and 3D interactive maps bring data to life, complementing traditional print cartography in the digital era. 90 04 What Is Geocommunication? Geocommunication allows us to present and share data through maps and stories that move us to action. On a small stage, it can show us the need for a new crosswalk on a busy street. On a large stage, it can show how our activities have changed the planet and suggest alternatives to restore its health. 130 07 What Is Geoaccounting? Geoaccounting is the process of observing, integrating, recording, and reporting a broad set of measurements about geographic locations and realms. Its GIS-driven reporting integrates thematic layers with online maps under the mantra, “You can’t manage or improve what you don’t measure.” 222 08 What Is Geodesign? Geodesign brings technology, workflow, art, and a quest for answers beyond assumptions together with planning, design, GIS, and creativity. The idea is to iterate proposed scenarios through spatial analysis and evaluate the implications of one design over another to create a healthier, more sustainable Earth for all living things. 238 Postscript 262 How the Book Came About 264 See the Book Come Alive 265 Acknowledgments 266 Image Credits 269 See the book come to life at powerofwhere.com.
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Foreword vii FACING PAGE Areas of the ocean that have frozen are considered sea ice, which can vary from slushy, barely solid areas to sheets of ice that are meters thick. Since the late 1970s, satellites have monitored the extent and concentration of sea ice around the world. This view shows Arctic sea-ice extents from 1979 to 2023. FOREWORD James Fallows Author and journalist The book you’re about to read is strikingly beautiful. It is also timely and significant. The Power of Where offers a unique inside view of a technology revolution that is just now coming to maturity. And it helps us see the dawn of new technologies with enormous potential to address urgent problems around the world. Scientific and technological achievements are often celebrated as dramatic, stand-alone events. The first radio transmission. The first steps on the moon. The first model of the human genome. But nearly all progress that matters has been decades or even centuries in its gradual evolution and is built on the work of innumerable people in varied roles. It has drawn from individual visionaries, large organized teams, and collaborations across continents. It has involved universities, businesses, national governments, and people who found exactly the breakthrough they were looking for—and others whose most important discoveries happened almost by chance. Isaac Newton famously said that if he could see farther than others, it was because he “stood on the shoulders of giants.” Today’s innovators, including those whose work appears in this book, stand on the shoulders of Newton and countless others between our time and his. And they do so in a more profoundly connected way than even Newton could have envisioned. Progress in one branch of science or technology now speeds progress in all others. Ever-increasing computing speed does for us what the wheel, the printing press, and the use of electricity did for our ancestors. It makes more things possible, all at once. Ever-faster and stronger digital networks allow people to know instantly what is happening in their community, or on the other side of Earth. Ever-more accurate sensors allow us to see, hear, and measure what is happening at the atomic level or in the vastness of space. Ever-more sophisticated analytic tools give us a sharper picture of what will happen next. The Power of Where meets the dual challenges of explaining how far technology has brought us and outlining the new opportunities it will open. As its eight chapters and many interactive maps make clear, these opportunites all arise from the deep human sense of place and from the mutually reinforcing revolutions in sensing, analyzing, predicting, and communicating that today’s geographic information systems (GIS) make possible. This is a cautionary book. The more vividly we can see and assess the state of the world’s climates, forests, waters, wildlife, and human settlements, the more acutely we realize the dangers to them all. But the same GIS tools that serve as stark warning signals also show us how—and where—we can best act to turn an ominous tide. Technology offers the tools, but success depends on all of us sharing our knowledge, working together, and considering the best alternatives. We stand on the shoulders of giants with these new ways to see where we are now and where we are going. The essays, analyses, and maps in this book give us an even clearer view.
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About the Author ix FACING PAGE The headquarters office on the Esri campus in Redlands, California. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jack and Laura continue to own and operate Esri as a privately held company without debt or venture capital, reinvesting about 30 percent of its annual revenue into research and development. They direct and oversee every facet of the business, which includes more than 6,000 employees, the Esri campus headquarters in Redlands, and dozens of offices worldwide. Today, Esri’s growing global user community includes millions of GIS professionals and hundreds of thousands of organizations in government, academia, business, and nonprofits, and its work supports virtually every field of human endeavor. Widely acknowledged as the leading visionary in the field of geographic information system (GIS) technology, Jack Dangermond is the cofounder and president of Esri. Jack and his wife, Laura Dangermond, launched Environmental Systems Research Institute (later shortened to Esri) in 1969 with a shared vision that systems thinking along with computer mapping and spatial analysis could help people design a better future. From their hometown in Redlands, California, they built their small consulting firm for land use planners into a world-leading developer of geospatial technology, including its ubiquitous software product, ArcGIS®. For more than 50 years, their vision has guided Esri’s GIS mapping and analytic technologies worldwide. Their involvement in conservation dates to high school, when they planted many of the stately ficus trees that line downtown Redlands streets today. In the decades since, they have designed parklands and donated thousands of trees to area schools and the community to support the local urban forest. More recently, they donated their purchase of 24,364 acres of grassland, chaparral, oak woodland, and forest along the Central California coast to The Nature Conservancy to protect a biodiverse landscape known as the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve. At home, Jack is a respected citrus and avocado grower and has been instrumental in bringing commuter train service back to Redlands for the first time in decades. Jack credits much of his success to his Dutch immigrant parents, who emigrated from the Netherlands and moved to Redlands in the 1920s and then opened a plant nursery in 1945, the same year he was born. Growing up in the nursery, Jack learned to nurture plants, serve customers, and understand the basics of business. In the years since, his life’s work has brought many honors, including the Planet and Humanity Medal from the International Geographical Union, the Champions of Earth Award from the United Nations, the Alexander Graham Bell Medal from the National Geographic Society, and more than a dozen honorary doctoral degrees. Jack has authored numerous papers on GIS and travels internationally to meet with world leaders and speak at conferences as an ambassador for the geographic approach.
x The Power of Where PREFACE there that I had my first aha! moment, realizing that geography and systems modeling provide a framework to understand everything, that systems interconnect, and that the world is a system of systems. I am sure this kind of clarifying moment has been shared by many people, but when I experienced it, I felt like a whole new door of understanding had been opened. The 1960s brought many changes. It was the early days of what would later be called the digital revolution, which began to impact everything from science and business to the way people worked. As I continued my graduate school studies, I became increasingly interested in the subjects of this book—geography, computer mapping, and spatial analysis. I also came to realize that together, science and technology could be valuable in many fields. Since then, GIS has become essential infrastructure for managing hundreds of thousands of organizations around the world. Almost 60 years have passed since the day I flew home from Minnesota, but my excitement about the potential of integrating geographic science with the advancing technology of GIS has only grown. Times have changed, but the memory of that aha! moment remains as vivid today as the day I had it peering through a tiny window over Las Vegas. This book is about the power of where and the geographic approach. It includes maps, stories, and GIS apps that demonstrate the value of using geographic science to create better understanding and transform how people do their work. I did not write this book alone. Rather, it has been assembled with the help of my colleagues across Esri and the GIS user community. It represents many of the latest concepts behind Left to right: Rocky Mountains; Utah farmland; Las Vegas, Nevada. Flying home from the University of Minnesota in 1966, I found myself in a window seat, absorbed by the views of the Upper Midwest landscape from 30,000 feet. As a new graduate student, I reflected on the teachings of one of my mentors, John Borchert, who first introduced me to the concepts of quantitative geography. His research focused on abstracting and modeling geography by creating digital map data and developing system models that described spatial relationships, patterns, and geographic processes. This fundamental work allowed him to build theoretical models that could help predict many types of human and economic behaviors, including social interaction, transportation flows, and even consumer visits to stores. These basic models were building blocks for understanding how cities evolved, with many valuable lessons for urban planners. Professor Borchert taught me that the city—and the world—is a vast series of complex interconnected systems that if digitized and analyzed properly could explain so much about the world we live in. He also advocated strongly that the world should use geography as a basis for planning and managing the future. As my flight home continued and the airliner reached the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, I could see spatial systems everywhere: stream networks as part of a hydrology system, road networks interconnecting places, and as the flight passed over Utah’s farmlands, agriculture as its own kind of system. As we reached Las Vegas, yet another type of urban system appeared, surrounded by the vast Mojave Desert. It was
Preface xi modern GIS and the revolution it has created in thinking, action, and technology. Our collective aspiration is to share what we have learned and what we believe is a powerful way to better understand Earth’s systems and guide human action. My life’s work has centered on the question of how to put the geographic factors that define Earth’s systems into a computer so that we could see problems as relationships between phenomena. The idea was that by visualizing and modeling these relationships, we could harness the computer to compare vast amounts of data, make predictions, and arrive at new understandings to drive the smartest approaches to planning, design, and environmental protection. The science of geography is all about where. The word itself is a simple yet profound part of language that resonates with human experience. We intuitively comprehend the concept of where because it’s part of our daily life. It can be both a question and a statement. Where serves as a bridge to exploration, triggers our curiosity, and evokes human connection. Where is about location, and location is one of the most natural and common ways for us to organize our thoughts and experiences. As children, we begin our explorations by understanding where we are, and from there, by searching for where we want to go. In other words, we focus on where something is in reference to everything else. Location is a way to organize, index, and retrieve our memories. Almost everything happens somewhere, and as humans we use spatial location to catalog everything we know about a place. It’s different here than it is there. Where is essential for comparative analysis, asking questions such as, “Where are there grocery stores within walking distance from homes?” “Where are there better schools?” “Where are the areas with more trees?” Where is also emotional and personal. We visit our birthplace, vacation with loved ones, hike with friends, and survive misfortune. Later, when we remember these experiences, we recall exactly where we were— and the feelings associated with them. Where underpins everything we do and provides context for our stories and memories. Grounded in the power of where, GIS organizes and integrates all types of data and supports mapping and virtually all human activities with analysis, models, and maps of all kinds of information, transforming how we address challenges and act responsibly. GIS also enables the geographic approach as a way of thinking and acting that brings together all these factors and supports holistic thinking. The geographic approach answers questions such as “Where is it?” and “How do I get there?” In that way, where is as much a verb as it is a noun. But instead of addressing problems in a linear way, the geographic approach integrates all the factors—and all the scientific disciplines—to reveal unseen patterns and relationships. We began automating maps and overlaying map layers at scale in the early 1970s. We used these new digital techniques to do simple arithmetic and logical manipulation of environmental data, such as vegetation, soils, slopes, and landforms. Applying this data, we realized that GIS could model these interconnections and become a useful platform for understanding the complications of our world. These map overlay models and many related spatial analytic tools have led to new insights and ways to solve problems. They have also supported ecosystem models and helped us realize that almost everything is related to everything else—that my actions or inactions here affect your life there, which makes the geographic approach an empathic endeavor. Geographic thinking is the ability to use interdisciplinary data to model these relationships and perform geographic analysis to show how they connect and interact. Maps, particularly digital maps, are rapidly becoming a language that magnifies our understanding of everything. We grasp maps intuitively; other forms of communication can take longer to comprehend. Maps allow us to easily communicate information about human activities, including design and collaboration. They describe not only what is but what could be. The power of where is about unleashing all our knowledge of the world and using spatial analytics and mapping to support many natural and science-based actions. My hope is that the stories, maps, and examples in these pages will inspire you to embrace and use this geospatial power as we work together to create a better tomorrow.
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Chapter 01: What Is the Geographic Approach? 1 WHAT IS THE GEOGRAPHIC APPROACH? The sea level along US coastlines is projected to rise an average of 10–12 inches (0.25–0.30 meters) from 2020 to 2050—an increase equaling the rise measured during the 100 years from 1920 to 2020. Sea level rise will vary regionally along US coasts because of changes in land and ocean heights. This GIS visualization shows Miami Beach, Florida, in 2090 and the structures impacted by sea level rise based on the projected intermediate-high scenario of 1.5 meters of global sea level rise by 2100.
FACING PAGE This map from the nonprofit NatureServe used machine learning and environmental predictor variables to model US habitat for 2,216 species—a taxonomically and ecologically diverse set of the nation’s most imperiled plants and animals. The map highlights areas of highest biodiversity importance to guide effective conservation decision-making. “We are still the first generation of human beings to have the ability to see and measure the planet instantaneously: The vegetation data. Biosphere on the land and in the ocean. Soil moisture. Winds. Ocean-surface temperature. The immensity boggles the mind. KATHRYN SULLIVAN NASA astronaut 2 The Power of Where THE GEOGRAPHIC APPROACH The geographic approach is a way of thinking and solving problems that uses spatial location—where things are—to represent, organize, and understand information. Some might say the approach is not new, and in one sense they’d be right. In making maps for thousands of years, humans have relied intuitively on geography to navigate and make sense of their surroundings. So what makes the geographic approach relevant and worthy of our attention in the here and now? This book sets out to show how digital mapping technology and online geospatial data are transforming how the world operates and humanity sees itself. A global geospatial nervous system has emerged, supporting millions of users producing maps that connect people and information for every purpose and activity imaginable. A worldwide community of people and organizations use geographic information systems (GIS) to analyze data, communicate and persuade, and effect positive change and action. The work of this growing community has unlimited potential to address and even solve many of the challenges we face today. As a living organism, Earth sustains a human-built environment with an infrastructure that supports 8 billion people. The dynamic climate, atmosphere, and ocean and our relationship to them are hard to grasp, let alone manage. In this context, geography serves as a common denominator. Everything happens somewhere, and geography is the connecting thread. We collect vast amounts of data and measurements about what is happening on our planet. An array of instruments, satellites, sensors, and cameras measure almost everything that can be detected on the surface, belowground, in the oceans, and in the atmosphere in high resolution. The challenge is to make sense of all these incoming measurements. GIS enables us to integrate and synthesize this disparate data, but we must make stronger, more concentrated efforts to derive meaning from it. Understanding data and measurements in the context of a geographic approach allows us to view the world in ways that were previously hidden. Although the map at right might look like another pretty picture, its data synthesizes thousands of observations of 2,216 rare species.
Chapter 01: What Is the Geographic Approach? 3 Number of plant and animal species that are protected by the Endangered Species Act and/or considered at risk.
4 The Power of Where High suitability Low suitability Wheat-growing suitability in 1970 much warmer by 2050, it’s hard to fathom what that means in terms of the impacts to agriculture. The predictive maps seen here show the northward shift of suitable wheat-growing areas in North America by 2050, a sober assessment of the potential effects of climate change, among many other impacts. The maps show that areas for highest wheat suitability (dark green) will shift dramatically, according to the latest climate and cropland forecasts. Pondering these challenges, I think of the wisdom of Mario Palma, the great population statistician from Mexico, who wrote, “The lack of understanding of our own reality—be it social or economic, natural or environmental—is one of the great risks that every society faces.” But Palma concluded that we can overcome that risk through the intervention of institutions that produce statistical and geographical information. For nearly six decades, I’ve kept abreast of the work of colleagues and users in the areas of geographic information, analysis, and visualization. As a result, I see a lot of data about the health of our planet. What I’ve seen lately in various presentations, customer briefings, and forecasts concerns me deeply. All indicators show us heading in a direction that cannot be sustained without greater human intervention to address existential challenges, such as collapsing ecosystems, loss of biodiversity, extreme weather, and war or conflict. Overcoming these problems will require a level of cooperation and collaboration beyond any we’ve seen in human history. For example, consider these comparative maps of wheat-growing suitability. When we read forecasts that North America could grow The predictive model on these two pages shows areas historically suitable for wheat growing (this page) moving northward to areas suitable for wheat growing by 2050 (facing page), if no climate change polices are rapidly adopted. To reach this conclusion, analysts looked at two complex datasets: NASA historical cropland data with over 20 bioclimatic and topographic layers and 2050 RCP (representative concentration pathways) 8.5 climate data. RCP 8.5 is a widely accepted climate change scenario that assumes a trajectory of warming without human intervention. Minneapolis Fargo Calgary Spokane Winnipeg Regina Columbus Detroit Toronto Syracuse Montreal Madison Des Moines Sioux Falls
Chapter 01: What Is the Geographic Approach? 5 These predictive maps show that areas for highest wheat suitability (dark green) will have shifted dramatically in the period from present day to 2050 according to climate and cropland data from the World Terrestrial Ecosystems 2050, a joint effort of United Nations climate group, Esri, and historical records from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Analysts looked at two complex data sets: NASA historical cropland data with over 20 bioclimatic and topographic layers; and 2050 RCP 8.5 climate data. The widely accepted climate change scenario based on this data assumes a trajectory of warming that will occur if no climate change polices are adopted. Using correlative GIS machine learning to study wheat suitability, the model intrinsically learns the relationship between climate and wheat presence to predict wheat suitability on a global scale. The results show that the areas of best suitability shifting dramatically to more extreme latitudes. Today, most of the world’s wheat is grown between the latitudes of 45 and 57 °N. Most wheat-cultivating regions of the world will experience a decrease in wheat suitability. Areas beyond approximately 55 ° N may experience increased wheat suitability by 2050. Predictive Crop Modeling Using the geographic approach to understand the threat climate change poses to food security. The predicted latitudinal shifts are derived from the summation of predictive suitability values within each degree of latitude. Current Future Predicted wheat-growing suitability in 2050 The irony is that we are capable of reaching agreement about the reality of our plight. At its core, the problem Palma describes revolves around information—the kind of information that the GIS user community compiles and addresses every day. The science of geography—the study of Earth’s physical, biological, economic, and cultural features and their interactions—helps us see the world as a single ecosystem. It serves as a kind of language for organizing all the related factors and bringing them together. This is the work of illuminating patterns, discovering relationships, and studying and modeling everything that can be modeled in a geographic context. The predicted latitudinal shifts for optimal wheat growing are derived from the summation of predictive suitability values within each degree of latitude. Green Bay Spokane Portland Edmonton Duluth Winnipeg Regina Detroit Ottawa Quebec City
6 The Power of Where Forests and cropland Shipping lanes Moscow Magnitogorsk Paris Shanghai Hong Kong Bangkok Kuala Lumpur Maputo Rio de Janeiro Methane Carbon dioxide Relative CO2 expressed as an exaggerated elevation surface Global Emissions
“Climate change is the most critical challenge of our time. It requires immediate and effective action, including cutting our carbon emissions as much as possible. But there is another effective action we can take: applying GIS, which is uniquely suited to address this singular challenge. DAWN WRIGHT Esri Chief Scientist, ocean explorer Chapter 01: What Is the Geographic Approach? 7 Maps and visualizing geographic patterns can present the planet’s challenges in ways that people can grasp and take steps to address. Over the last century, steadily increasing carbon emissions have corresponded with rising land and ocean temperatures. On the three globes at left, red represents carbon emissions (with the relative levels extruded vertically by volume) while the green areas represent where carbon is stored (what scientists call carbon sequestering). The geographic approach gives us a new method for considering all aspects of a problem. It integrates a system for solving problems holistically while incorporating all their circumstances—environmental, social, and economic—and understanding and organizing the messy details of our collective reality, as shown in this illustration. FACING PAGE These globes show Earth from different perspectives and depict areas in green that sequester carbon versus the areas in red—exaggerated according to their relative levels—that show total carbon emissions. The geographic approach gives us the tools to grasp the dimensions of our human footprint on the planet. Economic • Infrastructure • Development • Financial • Industrialization • Energy Environmental • Oceans • Biodiversity • Water • Ecosystem services • Forests Social • Demographics • Education • Equity and equality • Health and welfare • Population Saint Petersburg Los Angeles Johannesburg Düsseldorf Beijing Buenos Aires
“The most important issue of the twenty-first century will be the condition of the global environment. IAN McHARG Scottish landscape architect and writer 8 The Power of Where OUR WORLD IS BEING CHALLENGED We’ve reached the point that the impacts of human-induced climate change are stimulating ecological instability that could threaten our existence unless we act now. It is my sense that as a species, we are proceeding recklessly beyond our means in ways that predictive analyses indicate are not sustainable. But I don’t subscribe to the idea that our species may not survive climate change, regardless of human intervention. I believe we have a choice to create a sustainable future, but we must take collective responsibility now for imagining and creating solutions and implementing them everywhere. This book is filled with examples about the use of the geographic approach to create green infrastructure, preserve wildlands, promote equity, develop sustainable and regenerative agriculture, support renewable energy, reduce carbon emissions, and help cities implement life-affirming practices. Extreme heat Ocean warming Natural disasters Water crises Severe droughts Food shortages Steep declines in biodiversity Social conflicts Wildfires Unconstrained development Ecological instability Pollution Loss of nature Overpopulation Human-induced climate changes Over history, the human species has survived, evolved, and thrived. We’ve created agriculture and cities, transportation and communication systems, and education and public health systems, mostly in the last few hundred years. We have overcome many challenges, and the result is a human population that has grown quickly and according to the United Nations (UN) could reach 9.7 million people by 2050. Some people describe this era as the Age of the Anthropocene—the period in Earth’s history when human activity has started to significantly impact our planet’s ecosystems and climate. Unfortunately, these challenges are interrelated with human progress, and we’ve created many unintended consequences as a result. The graphic on this page points to just some of the repercussions of greatest concern. Natural and human-induced phenomena are creating an array of identifiable challenges facing our world.
Chapter 01: What Is the Geographic Approach? 9 1. Conservation science and action: Florida wetland restoration. 2. Business and economic development: Food and beverage processing assets in south Vancouver, British Columbia. 3. Renewable energy: New York State offshore windmill suitability. 4. Transportation planning and management: Japan traffic congestion survey. 5. Climate change and environmental monitoring: Geospatial climate intelligence. 6. Health and human services: Malaria incidence in the Greater Mekong Subregion of Southeast Asia. GIS WORK AROUND THE GLOBE Because the collective GIS community works across geographic extents and scales that relate to virtually any type of activity, the scope and depth of what their work represents is almost endless. The next few pages present examples of the major categories of geospatial applications carried out by GIS professionals around the world. 1 3 4 5 6 2
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“The combination of geographic information systems (GIS) and the Internet of Things (IoT) has given us the ability to model complex systems, measure performance, and see and measure what works on a scale— and with a timeliness—never before possible. MARTIN O’MALLEY Former governor of Maryland FACING PAGE THIS PAGE Chapter 01: What Is the Geographic Approach? 11 1. Telecommunications: Modeling Wi-Fi coverage. 2. Water and wastewater management: Florida water service facilities. 3. Urban and regional planning: Visualizing an urban plan for Prague in the Czech Republic. 4. Census, population, and demographics: US population census, 2020. 5. Natural resources management: New Jersey Geologic Survey. 6. Campus, facility, and building management: San Francisco Airport terminal management. 7. Public safety, emergency management, and national security: Wellington, New Zealand, public event operations. 8. Planning for and responding to disasters: Ukraine dam sabotage assessment. 9. Social equity: Texas internet access in relation to age and poverty dashboard. 10. Engineering and public works management: Texas bridge construction tracking. 11. Energy utilities: Utility network connectivity trace. 12. Managing and applying land information: Minneapolis land value assessment. 13. Public engagement and collaboration portals: Florida crowdsourcing flood damage. 14. Imagery and remote sensing: Daily crop stress assessment. 1 6 4 7 2 5 8 3 9 13 12 10 11 14
12 The Power of Where New RiverAgua Fria River Underground Storage Project Cave Creek Reservoir Najahli Bay Mesa Community College Resthaven Cemetery Memory Lawn Cemetery National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona Phoenix Deer Valley Airport Scottsdale Airport Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Peoria Glendale Paradise Valley Fountain Hills Scottsdale Mesa Tempe Phoenix Boston
“One of the greatest technology contributions to our conservation efforts has been from the use of geographic information systems through our partnership with Esri. JANE GOODALL The Jane Goodall Institute Chapter 01: What Is the Geographic Approach? 13 THE GEOGRAPHIC APPROACH REVEALED The geographic approach integrates and supports seven uniquely spatial methodologies. These methods are underpinned by the framework of the world’s collective geographic data, created and shared by the geospatial community. The seven core geomethods are described in chapters 2 through 8: · Geodata is the aggregated representation of the physical world, a series of digital information layers that allows us to model reality and forecast the future. · Geovisualization portrays the content and context of information through the language of maps, their descriptive attributes, and interactive visualization techniques. · Geocommunication brings maps and narratives together for the purpose of storytelling and dissemination. · Geoanalysis takes disparate geographic feature layers and integrates them using spatial and statistical modeling tools to derive new information and insights. · Geocollaboration engages communities, bringing them together through web-accessible and shared geocentric platforms. · Geoaccounting keeps records, accounting for all factors—social, environmental, and economic—setting up balanced measures for visualization and reporting. · Geodesign generates design proposals for future scenarios that predict results from geographic simulations. This is the basis for the geographic approach. Despite all we know and all our technological advances, humanity has continued down an unsustainable path. The geographic approach is not a silver bullet or magic wand, but it gives us a chance to work collectively to integrate data from countless unique perspectives and move beyond hope to action. Based on data sharing and collaboration, this multidisciplinary approach supports the idea that we are collectively responsible for our planet. If we think of the world as an evolving garden, we must take steps to nurture it. In a global context, that means we must address the great sustainability challenges of our time. Because the geographic approach sees the world as a single system, we can view environmental, economic, social infrastructure, industrial, and other factors as spatially referenced layers. As such, the lens of geography illuminates patterns and reveals relationships as these layers are brought together. Similarly, the integration of maps, spatial visualization, and spatial modeling derives knowledge from this approach. The methodologies that bring the geographic approach to life are presented separately in the illustration, but in practice they more often overlap and interact. Geoscience, the study of Earth and its processes, underpins these methods, which help users grasp how seemingly disparate disciplines and factors connect in a universal framework. The geographic approach also encapsulates the fundamental need for people to push beyond their core disciplines to become leaders who make a difference in their work and beyond. Environment Social Health & Welfare Demographics Population Education Equity & Equality In Oceans Climate Water Biodiversity Ecosyste The concept of layered information organized by location is central to the geographic approach. FACING PAGE These eight images correspond to the chapters presented in this book. 1 3 5 7 2 4 6 8
“Geographic information systems integrate seemingly disparate information quickly and visually, which facilitates communication, collaboration, and decision-making. ROGER TOMLINSON Created first GIS, 1963 14 The Power of Where A Multidisciplinary Process I’m often asked, “What’s so special about spatial?” In other words, what specifically is it about geospatial data and the geographic approach that makes this way of thinking compelling? Why should someone be interested? I sometimes break the answer to this question into five parts: Science-based: First, the geographic approach is inherently science based. Using this approach, we can combine all the sciences—biology, ecology, climatology, sociology, hydrology, geology, oceanography, and more—from any category of knowledge that science organizes. At a time of increased scientific specialization in academia, the geographic approach enables us to extend the sciences beyond their traditional boundaries to consider and understand their interdependencies. Integrative: Second, the approach is integrative. It unifies information around location, which means all sorts of information across many disciplines can come into play. We’ve seen the power of the common spatial denominator countless times in our GIS user community: When organizations set up enterprise GIS systems, team members with different backgrounds and specialties start collaborating. Instead of working in silos, engineers begin talking to planners about redevelopment, and police officers begin talking to community coordinators, for example, about homeless populations. Holistic: Third, the approach allows us to work holistically, which means to consider all components as parts of the whole. Our economies, societies, and species are interdependent. GIS helps us consider the whole context of any issue. It can support innumerable objectives and solutions by narrowing the focus of the debate and making trade-offs between different interests in a common geographic framework or context. Understandable: Fourth, the approach helps us understand information by generating a new kind of knowledge—spatial knowledge—that has the unique ability to show how seemingly disparate factors are related. Through maps and visualizations, it allows us to filter, parse, and integrate meaningful information from the seemingly unfathomable volumes of data that are collected every day. We can’t act on information if we don’t understand what it’s telling us. Collaborative: Finally, the approach is inherently collaborative because it supports solutions drawn from the contributions of many organizations working together. No problem exists in a vacuum; any solution has a ripple effect that must also be taken into consideration. The geographic approach helps address these tensions because it is inclusive and multidisciplinary by nature. Approaching problems in a geographic context allows us to organize and integrate all available information about the factors and indicators that apply to any problem. Using the connective thread of geography (location), we can mash up environmental elements such as biodiversity and climate data with economic systems, transportation networks, and dynamic social statistics to see connections and relationships through a geographic, or geospatial, lens. The result offers a framework for understanding and applying our knowledge in a unified setting to analyze information layers and predict the outcomes of our actions. That’s what so special about spatial. This map of seafloor age exemplifies a multidisciplinary approach. It’s built from scientific measurements, integrates multiple sources, paints a picture of Earth, is easily readable, and represents the work of many agencies and cartographers. FACING PAGE This map is a compilation of five different layers that can help visualize and understand the different areas of the seafloor: plate boundaries, seafloor crustal age, oceanic vents, bathymetry, and plate isopaths (lines used to illustrate thickness variations within a tabular surface).
Chapter 01: What Is the Geographic Approach? 15
FACING PAGE This map is a population density surface derived from the 2020 US Census. The clear delineation of human settlement patterns in the middle of the country is the edge of the 30-inch annual rainfall zone—to the east you do not need to irrigate crops; to the west you must. The linear features that look like strands of beads correspond to settlements along the earliest railroads, historically given a lot of land during the homesteading years. Laws governing the railroads required a town to be built along the track every 100 miles. “Maps by their nature are systematic. That system is now driven by computers, part of a technological development that we can safely term a revolution. DAVID RUMSEY Map collector, Cartography Associates 16 The Power of Where THE POWER OF MAPS Maps in some form have always supported and extended our innate desire and ability to understand where we are in relation to the natural and built environment. Maps show us where we are, lend order to complex environments, and put our surroundings into context by layering in new information to reveal patterns and trends. Nowadays, we apply digital technology to mapmaking. Like all fields of human endeavor, the digital revolution has transformed cartography—the art and science of drawing maps. Maps are a simple and efficient way to understand and communicate quickly. Looking at a spreadsheet, we see rows and columns of data. Using charts and graphs, we see patterns. But when that same data is presented on a map, we suddenly have locational context for the information. Because most of us are already familiar with geography, we can understand the data much faster and more intuitively when we see it as a map. Maps are a sort of cognitive prosthesis. They extend and amplify human thought and analytical reasoning in three primary ways: Seeing the unseen: Maps show us an invisible world beyond our direct (and limited) sensory perspectives. They are not merely recording the world like a photograph. A map may show the layout of a city seen from above, an animated humidity pattern for the past month, or a predictive model of a disease outbreak. Maps expand our cognitive playground outward so we can better understand our world. Reducing complexity: Maps derive much of their value from reducing the messy and overlapping complexity of reality into something focused and understandable. Maps embody the art and science of data reduction as intentionally abstracted representations of our world. A map of rainfall doesn’t literally draw raindrops; it uses symbols to stand for things, what academics call semiotics. Archiving information: Because humans can hold only so much in their heads at once, maps record information that can be recalled, used later, and disseminated, similar to the way that the invention of writing enabled us to communicate across time and space.
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18 The Power of Where “We’re taught that any action you do should be done in consideration of how it will impact seven generations from today, and that’s a powerful teaching—to live your life in such a way that you are not concerned about your own individual existence but with the existence of faces you will probably never know. It’s not just future Shinnecock generations; it’s generations of life—two legged, four legged, of winged ones, of the swimmers…it’s all life on Earth. KELSEY LEONARD Shinnecock Indian Nation, advocate for ocean health
This map shows the estimated concentration of plastics in the ocean, along with major riverine sources of marine plastic waste. The size and brightness of each circle corresponds to the total mass of plastics measured within a 100,000 km2 hexagonal area of the ocean. The height of each orange spike represents the total mass of plastics deposited by a given river into the ocean each year. (Only the top 100 most-polluting rivers are shown.) Total mass of marine plastics per 100,000 km2 (2020) More plastic Less plastic Total mass of plastics deposited into ocean (2021) More plastic Less plastic Chapter 01: What Is the Geographic Approach? 19
GIS is an evidence-based, comprehensive platform for creating understanding, exploring alternatives, and finding solutions. It enables the geographic approach through a kind of loosely sequential and ultimately circular pattern of working on problems. 20 The Power of Where WHAT IS GIS? GIS (geographic information system) is a system for organizing, managing, and applying all types of geographic information. A GIS connects the data to the map, integrating location (where things are) with all types of descriptive information (what things are like there). GIS combines software, location-enabled devices, analytic methods, models, desktop and online mapping technology, visualization techniques, and massive collections of geographic data compiled by a global community. GIS can use any information that includes location, and most information includes at least one element of location. Its use is amplified by its connection via the web to any other GIS data or application on the internet. At a practical level, GIS abstracts our world into a large set of digital features at every scale, from global and regional to local and even indoors at the building level. But GIS goes beyond the science and practice of representing everything as we collect a limitless number of objects in databases. The ability to combine geographic information of any kind, cover any geographic extent, and create new geographic apps is where the magic happens. And apps can perform in seconds what used to take hours. GIS can compare many types of information, including data about people, such as population, income, and education level. GIS can analyze the suitability of plant and animal species to live on a landscape. It can add layers of information about that landscape, such as the location of streams, vegetation, and soil types. And it can identify the sites and sizes of factories, farms, schools, storm drains, and power lines. The application of GIS technology underpins the geographic approach to manage protected lands, predict the impacts of climate change, operate port facilities, transport cargo, measure changes in biodiversity, respond to natural disasters, maintain land records, and run cities. In short, GIS allows users to reach a more sophisticated and nuanced understanding of our world. The end of each chapter showcases a successful application of the geographic approach and its methodologies in the GIS user community. However, the use of these examples does not imply that ArcGIS is a monolithic system and the only GIS tool out there. Far from it, the global GIS community is diverse in makeup and areas of focus. Although ArcGIS is compatible with many systems, the open data and software movements have also excelled in applying and extending the geographic approach beyond individual communities. “GIS is providing a quiet revolution in scientific understanding; systematically revealing the patterns and systems of the world we inhabit. JACK DANGERMOND Esri cofounder and president Action Decision-making Data collection Visualization and mapping Analysis and modeling Planning and geodesign
Chapter 01: What Is the Geographic Approach? 21 Maps and geodata The digital resources that are shared, saved, combined, and analyzed. Mapping and visualization The intentional arrangement of geographic information into a coherent visual display. Spatial analysis The process of examining the locations, attributes, and relationships of features in spatial data through overlay and other analytical techniques to address a question or gain useful knowledge. Monitoring and reporting Providing information in a timely manner that is designed for a specific purpose and audience. Community engagement Organized around geography, people and organizations focus energy and attention on specific issues. Planning, policy, and decision-making Taking action by applying a solid data foundation. GIS Geographic Information System GIS thematically organizes all data by location. Inputs Outputs Real-time (smart) measurements Virtually everything that moves or changes on Earth can be captured and delivered in real time. Engineering data Computer assisted design (CAD) and building information models (BIMs) provide infrastructure data for GIS applications. Remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquiring of information from a distance. NASA and other agencies observe Earth and other planetary bodies via remote sensors on satellites and aircraft that detect and record reflected or emitted energy.
234 The Power of Where LA Live Downtown Los Angeles Warehouse District Westlake Fashion District
Chapter 07: What Is Geoaccounting? 235 Since 2007, more than half the world’s population has been living in cities, and that share is projected to rise to 60 percent by 2030. UN Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) 11 aims to create sustainable cities and communities that are ready for this rapid urbanization. Air quality is worse in cities and metropolitan areas worldwide. They account for 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, but as engines of economic growth, urban areas also contribute around 60 percent of global GDP. Many cities are also more vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters because of their high concentration of people and infrastructure. We can avoid human, social, and economic losses by creating, supporting, and sustaining resilient urban communities. As the world population grows and becomes more urbanized, cities need accessible transportion networks that ensure access to safe and affordable housing, public transportation, jobs, and public green space. According to the American Community Survey (ACS) published by the US Census Bureau in 2022, 14.1 percent of Los Angeles County residents commute more than 60 minutes daily. An additional 70 percent of commuters drive alone, and less than 10 percent use public transport, including buses, trains, or subways. More than 25 percent of all commutes in Los Angeles County take longer than 45 minutes, contributing to severe traffic congestion and poor air quality. TRANSIT ACCESS AND JOBS IN LOS ANGELES 07 case study FACING PAGE Where in Los Angeles are residents giving up their cars for a downtown lifestyle? The deeper green areas in downtown Los Angeles and immediately to the northwest represent areas where Los Angeles residents take advantage of good pedestrian and transit access to jobs, education, health services, restaurants, entertainment, shopping, and other amenities. Many of these downtown Los Angeles residents are not likely to own cars and drive, sharing lifestyles more commonly found in New York City or Paris, France. Dodger Stadium Low Transit Score High Transit Score 0 10 Chinatown
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