Big Data & GIS Articles

Government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private companies all benefit from innovations in Geographic Information Science (GIS). Researchers and entrepreneurs have found a variety of creative ways to use GIS to advance business and technology. The latest GIS technology developments make way for new applications and for the convergence of GIS …

Read more >

On an election night, many voters stay glued to their TV or phone as they wait for the results. They watch districts on the electoral map change color and the balance of political power shift as votes are tallied. That visual representation shows us how powerfully citizens’ choices can affect …

Read more >

Cities are systems of tremendous, ever-evolving complexity. Responsibly guiding an area’s development requires spatial information that’s robust, nuanced and constantly updated, as well as the problem-solving skills to apply that information. This challenge has made geographic information science and technology (GIST) invaluable to urban planners. Spatial data points the way …

Read more >

The big data trend has dramatically impacted every industry, so it is little surprise that big data in GIS has significant implications for how we acquire and leverage spatial information. As we consider the way organizations are using geographic information science and technology, one of the clearest themes is that …

Read more >

High-profile incidents like the Equifax data breach and WannaCry ransomware attack have ensured that cybersecurity is a top priority for organizations of all kinds. Retailers that process payments, hospitals entrusted with confidential patient information and local governments conducting elections are all highly conscious of the threats posed by phishing scams, …

Read more >

At its core, cartography is about the visual representation of a space or place. While this may seem like a simple concept at first glance, it can become infinitely complex when you consider the number of choices that have to be made when creating a map. In addition, modern mapmakers …

Read more >

Digital cartography and GIS have had an impactful history in developing our understanding of the world; as GPS World editor Janice Partyka noted, some of the first digital maps were created by the U.S. Census Bureau, which used GIS and digital mapping to better understand population trends within specific Census …

Read more >

When we think of the tools involved in exploring outer space, images of astronauts collecting mineral samples on the moon may come to mind. However, scientists also depend on more remote methods to deepen our knowledge of the solar system and the universe beyond, like those offered by geographic information …

Read more >

Cloud computing has been one of the dominant trends regarding accessing computing resources such as processing, storage and software. While some have considered that geographic information science (GIS) as a discipline was a late adopter of the cloud, the convergence of GIS technology with cloud computing has had a profound …

Read more >

The application of Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) continues to grow as a global research tool for understanding the world around us. Cartography, the process of making maps, has benefited greatly from advancements in GIS technology in recent years. The number of students earning degrees in cartography has risen 40% in …

Read more >