News Article
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Leading GIS software developer speaks on the evolution of geospatial tech
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By Kelsey Bell, Penn State Student Science Writer
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – Prominent GIS software developer Jack Dangermond assessed the wide ranging applications and future trajectory of geographic information systems technology for an audience at Penn State University on October 2.
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Geographic information systems (GIS) are computer platforms that allow data to be collected, analyzed, and presented in a way that can expose geographic or spatial patterns.
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“Coming from where I have come, my thought about what is next is that it needs to be more guided,” Jack Dangermond expressed regarding the future of GIS technology in his “Geography and Landscape: The Foundations for Geodesign” public lecture. “The vision I want to share with you is the idea that GIS can be a kind of intelligent nervous system for our planet.”
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As the co-founder of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), a leading GIS software company, Dangermond has worked towards building this nervous system through his company’s ArcGIS platform. This product has furthered geospatial research and application around the world by allowing geographic information to be shared in a user-friendly database that can also create interactive maps.
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Esri’s recognition as a GIS industry leader has led Dangermond to receive many acknowledgments throughout the company’s existence as well. In fact, the Penn State Department of Landscape Architecture recognized Dangermond’s contributions to GIS and geodesign by presenting him with the 2019-20 John R. Bracken Fellow award during his public lecture.
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“For over 50 years, Jack Dangermond has espoused the combination of science, design and technology to advance proactive land use problem solving,” stated Eliza Pennypacker, department head and professor of landscape architecture at Penn State and the Stuckeman Chair of Integrative Design.
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Dangermond’s contributions to the GIS and geodesign fields have led experts, from researchers to city planners, to use Esri’s products as a means of intelligently organizing their data. These projects have ranged from monitoring current land use trends to modeling and assessing environmental change.
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“They are looking at, for example, deforestation in Brazil,” stated Dangermond. “Others are doing conservation planning, looking at those hotspots that need protection. They are looking at all of the fabric of geography, modeling it and coming up with plans.”
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Land conservation is another area that continues to rely on GIS technology and Esri’s platforms today.
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“Bringing in new conservation projects requires precise mapping of property boundaries as well as identifying resource values using remotely sensed and field collected data,” stated Matt Bell, GIS coordinator and land steward at Montana Land Reliance.
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“The Montana Land Reliance, the largest state-based land trust in the United States, relies heavily on GIS technology and geospatial data management to accomplish virtually every land conservation goal in the organization’s mission to protect agricultural lands, open space, and wildlife habitat,” Bell explained.
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This relationship with GIS technology has also led land conservation projects to evolve with the technological advancements being made by Esri and other GIS software companies.
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“Like all technology-based professions, GIS/Cartography is a rapidly changing field. In the last 10 years, my experience in adapting to those changes has revolved mostly around vehicles of consumption,” Bell explained. “In the last 5 years, Esri has developed online mapping platforms that have expanded the delivery options to include browser-based and mobile device applications. Designing user friendly digital outlets for mapping consumption has transformed the work I do dramatically.”
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When asked how much of his current work revolves around digital mapping, Bell estimated “at least 30 percent of my daily GIS tasks involve online mapping and supporting data management. Whereas 5 years ago that number was zero.”
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Land conservation’s evolving relationship with GIS technology is one that will expand to other industries as they also recognize how beneficial a spatial perspective can be to tackling many of their complex problems.
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“Geography is a way to organize things. It’s the science of our world,” Dangermond explained. “It helps us see complexity.”
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As the human population continues to expand past sustainable levels, the planet’s capabilities and self-healing abilities are being threatened in very complex ways. GIS technology has the potential to coordinate actions and decisions for a more sustainable future, according to Dangermond.
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“I believe the world needs a kind of nervous system much like the ones in our body, an intelligent and responsive platform,” stated Dangermond. GIS technology can create this virtual nervous system because it has the ability to sense, recognize, and understand patterns for intelligent and sustainable responses.