Alex Miller of ESRI Canada opened the GeoWeb 2009 conference, held all week at the Simon J Wosk Centre for Dialogue in downtown Vancouver, with a holistic summary of what the fields of geodesign and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are progressing and how they work together to produce the “Geoweb.” In fact, the merging of design with more technical disciplines has real world consequences, such as increased acceptance of large projects such as wind power and other complex systems.
By leveraging web 2.0 advances, Miller said, maps are changing from static items that are printed and are morphing into a highly interactive tool that can be implemented in different arenas. The emergence of cloud computng means maps can be shared, remixed and deployed into enterprise as well as published on the open internet. Rich internet applications are also providing a powerful way to access and incorporate GIS services. In effect, large masses of data, some of which is citizen generated, is contributing to more and better information sharing for GIS.
Another role of the Geoweb is to mine the data held in government and academic databases, sift through it, and produce useable information. Sharing that info has never been easy, but new technology like ArcGIS does make map sharing easier between individuals and groups.
Ad-hoc sites such as Wikimapia, which has more than 10 million entries, have revolutionized the field, Miller said. While the information isn’t authoritative, the amount of work being done through collaboration is a staggering acceleration in the amount of work being done.
The relatively unglamorous subject of addresses is also improved by the collaboration of the GeoWeb, Miller said. Problems include different digital formats and incomplete data, but progress is being made.
Miller closed by addressing GIS in education. A few years ago, GIS was an unknown quantity, but advances have meant students can access more and better data, as well as using mobile devices to contribute to GIS themselves.
Geography matters to all industries and businesses. ESRI Canada Limited is a progressive and growing Canadian owned company with 15 offices across... [more]
Warren Frey
Warren Frey is a writer, editor, blogger and podcaster based out of Vancouver, BC. After working for six years in the Canadian broadcasting industry, he switched to print and has since covered varied assignments from plumbing conferences to star-studded film galas. But he’s never lost his love for the internet and interactive media, from his teens...[more]
