{"id":772173,"date":"2026-03-31T19:59:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcnews&p=772173"},"modified":"2026-03-31T15:04:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T22:04:32","slug":"building-communities-beyond-borders","status":"publish","type":"arcnews","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/building-communities-beyond-borders","title":{"rendered":"Building Communities Beyond Borders at the University of Minnesota"},"author":6921,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10432,477162,171],"tags":[425592,276802,192792,476452,170652],"arcnews_issues":[493400],"class_list":["post-772173","arcnews","type-arcnews","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arcgis-enterprise","category-arcgis-knowledge","category-education","tag-arcgis-experience-builder","tag-higher-education","tag-relationship","tag-sdg","tag-sustainable-development-goals","arcnews_issues-spring-2026","arcnews_sections-your-work"],"acf":{"short_description":"Using ArcGIS Knowledge, the GeoCommunities initiative maps shared research questions and educational activities.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"When Dr. Rebecca Cunningham joined the University of Minnesota as its president in 2024, she brought something unusual: extensive GIS experience from her work as a public health professor. Recognizing the university's leadership in spatial analysis, she made GIS central to the institution's strategic plan.\r\n\r\nUniversity of Minnesota professors Thomas Fisher and Len Kne are leveraging that commitment with the GeoCommunities<\/a> initiative, which uses ArcGIS Knowledge to map the shared research questions and educational activities of the university\u2019s faculty, staff, and students."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":772174,"image_position":"right","orientation":"vertical","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

From Infrastructure to Innovation<\/h2>\r\nArcGIS Knowledge allows users to create knowledge graphs\u2014models that simulate real-world systems\u2014in ArcGIS Enterprise. The professors\u2019 team recently used ArcGIS Knowledge to map the university\u2019s 341 research centers and institutes based on how their work relates to the United Nations\u2019 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs. The resultant knowledge graph provides a unified view of the scale and scope of the university\u2019s research activities. By modeling relationships among researchers, topics, places, and goals, it reveals communities of practice, previously unknown connections, and opportunities for collaboration that would not be visible through traditional maps or databases.\r\n\r\nOther applications for ArcGIS Knowledge are more local, such as focusing on faculty members\u2019 goals as they relate to Minnesota\u2019s Hennepin County, where the university\u2019s main campus is located, or mapping university courses as they relate to the SDGs.\r\n

Building Global Communities with Shared Ecosystems<\/h2>\r\nGeoCommunities is also developing tools to help create global communities based on the World Terrestrial Ecosystems maps\u2014available in ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World\u2014that Esri developed with the US Geological Survey, the United States\u2019 largest civilian mapping agency for water, earth, and biological science.\r\n\r\nWith an ArcGIS Experience Builder app that enables users to locate ecosystems on a 3D global map, the GeoCommunities team used ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript to create an app called Connected Through Climate, which helps identify communities around the world that share ecosystems. With data on ecosystem areas, populations, population densities, and average particulate matter, the app\u2019s dashboards allow communities to share common challenges, best practices, and effective policies to protect natural environments."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":772175,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Sharing the Spatial Turn with Higher Education<\/h2>\r\nFisher and Kne have also coauthored a book for Esri Press. Scheduled for release before the 2026 Esri User Conference, the book describes how universities and industries use GIS technology for research, teaching, community engagement, facilities management, workforce preparation, and more.\r\n\r\nSimilar to the Guide to the Geographic Approach\u2014a collaborative effort from educators and the GIS community to develop teaching modules for modern GIS\u2014this book examines how different institutions make GIS available to their communities and what geospatial technology champions can do to expand the use of GIS.\r\n\r\nFor more information on the Guide to the Geographic approach, read the Scientific Currents column<\/a> in this issue. For more information on GeoCommunities, email Len Kne at lenkne@umn.edu<\/a>."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nBuilding Communities Beyond Borders | Spring 2026 | ArcNews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Using ArcGIS Knowledge, the GeoCommunities initiative maps shared research questions and educational activities.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/building-communities-beyond-borders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Building Communities Beyond Borders at the University of Minnesota\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Using ArcGIS Knowledge, the GeoCommunities initiative maps shared research questions and educational activities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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