Citizen science, also known as crowd science, is an underrated method for scientific discovery and most people don’t understand its impact. Officially, citizen science is the name for scientific research projects that are conducted, in whole or in part, by nonprofessional scientists. But how does it work? Citizens are equipped with easy-to-use applications that allowRead… Read more »
I must confess that I love the potential of GIS (geospatial information system) applications. The power of GIS as a platform, combined with the tools provided by GIS maker Esri, presents an amazing way to record, document, assess and analyze the efforts and policy choices of government. The recent Esri Users Conference (UC) was chock full ofRead… Read more »
During my time as a GovLoop fellow, I have written 20 blogs about Esri’s geospatial innovations. And if you ask any of my coworkers they would probably think that number is actually small because of how much of a map nerd I am. I love to research and write about how maps are used toRead… Read more »
Thanks to Esri and their famous GIS platform the state of Virginia and retailer Walgreens are now contributing to the health of their communities. If you weren’t already impressed with the location-based system that lets you discover, connect, share, and apply data for community intervention efforts, wait until you read how ArcGIS helped to createRead… Read more »
Geographic information system (GIS) is back – and we’re not just talking about maps this time. We’re talking about a tool that creates a new vision of health improvements – a data-driven way to visualize and understand the large volumes of data and the allocation of resources needed for healthy communities. So yes, maybe we’reRead… Read more »
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr – these social media giants are just a few on a growing list of social networking platforms sprawling across the internet. Millions of people across the world use social media websites to connect, share and interact with others. According to a Pew report, 92 percent of teens in America todayRead… Read more »
Let’s say I own a business; I’ll call it Rel’s Deli. The thing I’ve learned about Rel’s Deli is it only does well when it’s at a three, nine or 12 minute drive-time radius. It’s in a low-crime area, and at least 150 people in that area are in the IT field — weird, IRead… Read more »
Esri’s User Conference brought together GIS lovers from around the world. The four-day event held in San Diego on July 20-24 explored problems unique to every sector while exposing attendees to fellow users and experts on the latest in spatial analysis, web and mobile apps, location analytics, big data, open data, and ArcGIS. As anRead… Read more »
In Pleasantville, the streets are clean and happy, vibrant individuals populate the city and nothing bad ever happens. But as GovLoop moderator Emily Jarvis said in our recent online training, Making Business Happen: ArcGIS for Economic Development, “Dreaming of Pleasantville and building it are entirely two different things.” Jarvis then went on to note aRead… Read more »
Citizens across the country are increasingly seeing more of their governments utilize open data to develop interactive GIS platforms as the needs to citizens evolve. These platforms, built by Esri, have been successful in helping local governments enhance public engagement with open data to create better public service. Popular platforms such as Open Data MinneapolisRead… Read more »