ArcWatch: GIS News, Views, and Insights
October 2011
Mapping a Hazard in Hawaii
In the early 1900s, the US Forest Service planted more than 100,000 Molucca Albizia seedlings in the Hawaiian Islands. The aim of introducing the nonnative trees was to reforest and beautify the islands.
But while the trees' canopy provides needed shade for coffee and tea plants in parts of Southeast Asia, in the Hawaiian Islands, Molucca Albizia trees now pose what the state's legislature calls a "significant hazard to people and property in various residential and recreational areas." The wood is weak.
During storms or high winds, the trees sometimes uproot or their branches break off, causing property damage, bringing down power lines, and endangering people's lives.
Logan Berner, a Big Island Invasive Species Committee volunteer, used GPS, ArcGIS software, and QuickBird satellite imagery to better determine the extent of the problem posed by the trees in North Hilo on the Island of Hawaii.
Read this article about the project, which won an honorable mention in the International Conservation Mapping Competition this year.
This map shows the widespread growth of Molucca Albizia trees in Hilo, Hawaii.
Tip of the Month
Make Your Own Social Media Map
In ArcGIS Online, you can make a social media map within minutes that will display Tweets for any search string. Read this tip.
Connect with ArcWatch
ArcWatch is published monthly by Esri and contains GIS news, practical advice, and updates about the company's software and events. To submit article ideas, e-mail editor Carla Wheeler at arcwatch_editor@esri.com.
Join the Conversation
GIS Powers View for Utility
Nova Scotia Power, Inc. (NSPI), recently launched a GIS connectivity project to create an accurate digital representation of its expansive electric distribution system. The utility manages $3.5 billion worth of generation, transmission, and distribution assets across a 15,500-mile system in Canada. Read this article to learn how the utility is creating this digital view of its system and how ArcGIS plays an integral role in the project.See GeoDesign in Practice
GIS and design professionals, academics, and developers interested in using geospatial technology in the design process are invited to the GeoDesign Summit at Esri in Redlands, California. The summit will be held January 5–6, 2012. "Our hope is that you will leave this summit with new ideas, tools, and workflows that will enable you to do your design work in GIS with greater efficiency and effectiveness," said Shannon McElvaney, project manager of GeoDesign Services at Esri. Read the article.Planning for a Catastrophic Quake
Nepal is earthquake prone. A magnitude 6.9 quake struck there just last month. Listen to a podcast with Justin Pummell from the US Army Corps of Engineers as he talks about the role GIS plays in creating an emergency operations plan for a catastrophic earthquake in Nepal and in assessing seismic vulnerability of infrastructure at the airport in Kathmandu.
Map Makeovers Tech Workshop
Charlie Frye, manager of the Cartographic Projects Group, and Jim Herries, cartography project engineer, offer tips and best practices on how to make your maps visually appealing and cartographically accurate.
Newsroom
Urban Policy and the Census
Learn to interpret and maximize the usefulness of decennial census and American Community Survey data with the new Esri Press book Urban Policy and the Census. The book provides an overview of challenges and best practices to consider when using these data sources in spatial analysis of four main areas of urban policy: demographic and social characteristics, housing markets, the local economy, and transportation. Buy the book.Medical Center Uses GIS for Work Force Planning
Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, California, uses ArcGIS to target its recruitment of nurses, study work force retention data, and more. Read the article.
Video Workshop: Esri's Web-Based Redistricting Solution
Ray Hardy and William Isley from Esri outline the data and tools in Esri Redistricting. This online solution for government agencies, legislators, and advocacy groups lets participants collaborate on redistricting plans; create different versions of redistricting scenarios; and then share the final plan with stakeholders, including citizens. Watch the video.
Download Beta for ArcGIS Editor for OpenStreetMap
The free beta for ArcGIS Editor for OpenStreetMap 2.0 is now available. With this new version, which supports ArcGIS for Server, you can create feature services for your web maps to edit and share OpenStreetMap data. Download today.
County in Iowa Offers Property Information Online
A Linn County, Iowa, mapping application, built with ArcGIS Viewer for Flex, lets you view property information, aerial photography, and other layers.
Conference Focuses on Next Generation of Geocoding
The International Geospatial Geocoding Conference will be held December 6-7, 2011, at Esri headquarters in Redlands, California. Keynote speakers will include Tim Trainor, chief of the geography division at the US Census Bureau. Learn more and register to attend.
New Public Maps Gallery Template Available
Try ArcGIS for Desktop 10 Free for 60 Days
Best Practices for Working with Map Templates
New Templates for Facilities
The new Campus Basemap and Campus Editing templates on ArcGIS Online will help facilities managers create and publish high-quality basemaps for school campuses, business parks, military installations, and more. Read the article.Korean Forest Portal
Using Esri technology, Korea Forest Service created the Forest Spatial Data Information portal, which lets the public view maps and data about the nation's forests. It includes a section for forest landowners about the regulations that apply to their land. Read the article.Make a Radial Flow Map
Esri design cartographer Mamata Akella explains how you can use ArcGIS to create a radial flow map that shows the path of how objects, goods, or people flow into or toward a common destination. As an example, she uses a map she made that shows the movement of people who traveled to the 2011 Esri International User Conference in San Diego, California. It's similar to airline route maps commonly published in airline magazines. Read the article.
Technical Talk
Mapping the Crisis in Japan
In this video, Professor Haruo Hayashi of Kyoto University in Japan uses maps and charts to illustrate what he and other researchers learned about the impacts of the magnitude 9 earthquake in Japan last March and the tsunami and nuclear plant accident that followed. For his work, Hayashi received a Making a Difference Award at the 2011 Esri International User Conference.ArcGIS Online Updates
You can now open your maps using bookmarks and do measurements using the arcgis.com map viewer in ArcGIS Online. You can also publish web mapping applications from map viewer templates, without having to download the application, and host it from your own servers. Learn more.
ArcGIS Data Reviewer: An Introduction
If you perform quality control on data, attend this video workshop on ArcGIS Data Reviewer by Esri's Jay Cary and Michelle Johnson. This ArcGIS for Desktop extension provides a complete system to automate and simplify your data quality control process.
Demonstrate Your App at a Dev Meet Up
Present a new application to other developers or give a Lightning Talk at Esri-hosted Dev Meet Ups, scheduled for November in Indianapolis, Indiana; Atlanta, Georgia; New York, New York; and several other US cities. Register today.
Geodata.gov Data Moves to Data.gov
Geospatial data that has been on geodata.gov was migrated to data.gov last month. Learn more.
Tip: Create an Embossed Cartographic Effect for Polygons
Web Course: Creating Data Collection Apps Using the ArcGIS API for iOS
Spatial RoundtableFacing the Aging Infrastructure Challenge
David Totman, Esri's public works industry manager, asks if GIS can make a difference in how the government plans to upgrade the nation's infrastructure and prevent another dismal report card for America's infrastructure from being issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Join the discussion at Spatial Roundtable.Esri Insider: GeoDesign Services
Esri recently created a new group called GeoDesign Services. Its mission? Continue to develop capabilities of GIS technology for the emerging field of geodesign and apply GIS to geodesign projects. In this Esri Insider blog post, Esri's Matt Artz interviews Shannon McElvaney from GeoDesign Services to find out what's new in the geodesign realm and talk about the GeoDesign Summit, scheduled for January 5-6, 2012, at Esri in Redlands, California.Web Resources and More
Mapping Horror Movie Rentals
This Best Areas to Get Spooked map, released by Esri just in time for Halloween, shows where most people rent horror movies in the United States. Darker colors represent areas with higher rentals; lighter colors illustrate areas with fewer rentals. The map was based on Esri's Market Potential data.Explore Population Change
See where the US population soared or tumbled over the last 10 years, using the new Esri US Population Change Map. Legislative districts bordered in red lost population, while those in blue gained population. Click on the districts to see the statistics.Try Out Esri's No-Travel, Self-Paced Training Options
More than three dozen self-paced web courses are now available for ArcGIS 10 on a variety of topics. Web courses offer a rich, interactive learning environment and are available 24/7. Read more about web training and watch a sample demonstration from one of the courses.
Attend Free Live Training Seminar
Esri will host the live training seminar Using ArcGIS for Land Records Management on November 10, 2011. Learn more and subscribe for reminders.
Papers from Esri UC Posted Online
You can peruse and read dozens of papers that were presented at the 2011 Esri International User Conference (Esri UC). Download now.
Submit a Map for Esri Map Book, Volume 27
Register Your GIS Day Celebration
Hardware Offers
US customers can take advantage of a special offer of a TruPulse 360, 360 B, or the new 360 R laser range finder and LaserGIS extension for ArcPad. When integrated with a GPS unit, the TruPulse Series provides quick and easy positioning on remote objects, making field data collection more efficient. Adding the LaserGIS extension makes laser integration faster and easier because it works seamlessly with the current ArcPad platform. This offer will be available until November 30, 2011.Visit the Esri Store to find more software and extensions, upgrades, data, books, and hardware bundles.
Blog Spotlight
Plug into the Electric & Gas Blog to stay current on GIS-related events, templates, software releases, and news for the utilities industry.
