At the 2026 Esri User Conference, one theme drew consistent interest across the plenary, technical sessions, and spotlight presentations: the power of connecting spatial and non-spatial data. By fusing data together into knowledge graphs, users can better explore indirect relationships, accelerate network analysis, understand the cascading impacts of decisions and disruptions, and generate smarter recommendations. ArcGIS Knowledge graphs allow teams to unlock insights that go beyond what a traditional map can show and analyze faster than traditional GIS workflows alone enable.
From tracking the effects of a hurricane on critical infrastructure to simulating species extinctions and prioritizing bridge repairs, attendees saw firsthand how graph analytics can reveal connections that traditional maps and tables simply can’t capture. If you missed it, or want a curated look at the most compelling demos, here’s a rundown of the use cases that stood out.
Quick links
- Understanding cascading infrastructure impacts during extreme weather events
- Prioritizing bridge repairs using graph analytics and commuter Data
- Tracing true parcel ownership to improve communication and engagement
- Mapping extinction cascades: how the loss of one species affects an entire ecosystem
- Connecting rail networks for safer operations: positive train control
- Improving healthcare access with spatial and graph Analytics
- More information and resources
1. Understanding cascading infrastructure impacts during extreme weather events
When extreme weather events strike, the immediate question is rarely just “what broke?” It’s “what else will break because of it, and who is affected?” This use case explores how dependency mapping among critical lifelines allows teams to trace the downstream effects of weather events on interconnected infrastructure, from power grids to hospitals, schools, and community services. By connecting these community assets from disparate data sources, using dependencies derived from logical and spatial relationships, teams can better simulate and predict who will be impacted and how, surface critical risks before they escalate, and understand the full severity of a situation in time to act.
Applicable for: Resilience planners, emergency managers, risk managers, network architects, operations managers, GIS analysts
Industries: Electric and gas utilities, water and wastewater, telecommunications, transportation, healthcare, state and local government, emergency management
Presenter: Monica Youngman, Chief Scientist, NOAA National Weather Service
Where it appeared at UC: Plenary and Special Interest Group session
2. Prioritizing bridge repairs using graph analytics and commuter Data
Not all infrastructure is equally critical, and knowing which assets to prioritize for maintenance and repair can save lives and reduce economic disruption. This demo introduces how and graph analytic approach can expedite analysis to identify which structures are most essential. The approach goes beyond simple condition ratings to factor in how connected an asset truly is within a regional transportation network and how vital it is to daily commutes, enabling teams to effectively plan bridge repairs by prioritizing the most critical assets first.
Applicable for: Asset managers, transportation planners, maintenance planners, risk managers, operations analysts, GIS analysts
Industries: Departments of transportation, public works, rail and transit, AEC and transportation engineering, infrastructure owners and operators
Presenter: Alberto Nieto, Principal Product Engineer, Esri
Where it appeared at UC: Plenary
3. Tracing true parcel ownership to improve communication and engagement
Anyone who has managed outreach to parcel owners knows how frustrating it can be to identify the right contact. Beyond individual homeowners, parcels are often held by corporate entities that may own hundreds of properties. Ownership chains are complex, records are fragmented, and reaching out to the wrong contact leads to costly delays. This use case demonstrates how a knowledge graph can connect disparate ownership records to surface the true owner, streamlining communication to inform the right people proactively and efficiently.
The Plenary demonstration highlighted how a local file knowledge graph can be in ArcGIS Pro to help reveal indirect parent corporate ownership relationships to develop more informed, streamlined engagement strategies.
The Data Analytics Spotlight demonstration unpacks this use case to explain
- how datasets get fused to uncover these hidden structures,
- how insights about indirect owners can be surfaced within pop-ups,
- how to find connections through other relationships using the find path tool, and
- how you can share insights with other stakeholders through simple Dashboards.
Applicable for: Land records managers, assessors, real estate analysts, community engagement teams, planners, investigators, GIS analysts
Industries: Local government, land administration, real estate, AEC, utilities, insurance, economic development, environmental and conservation organizations
Presenters: Peter Erlenbach, Sr. Solution Engineer, Esri
Where it appeared: Plenary
Presenters: Adam Martin, Sr. Product Manager, Esri
Where it appeared: Analytics and Data Science and ArcGIS Spotlight Session
4. Mapping extinction cascades: how the loss of one species affects an entire ecosystem
Conservation teams need more than observation data to protect at-risk species. They need to understand how those species depend on one another. This demo shows how ArcGIS Knowledge provides the foundation to connect disparate biodiversity datasets — from community driven species observations to cataloged species interactions gathered from scientific literature. All this eventually turning into an ecological networkpossible of simulating the loss of a keystone species, tracing cascading effects across the food web, and pinpointing exactly where on the landscape intervention is needed most. Drawing on hundreds of thousands of real-world observations and thousands of documented biotic interactions, the knowledge graph captures relationships that no map or spreadsheet could reveal on its own, enabling understanding of how biodiversity functions as a system and where it is most vulnerable.
This example also demonstrates how a custom web application can be tailored to the specific visualization needs of your community, all powered by an ArcGIS Knowledge Graph service that is designed and explore using ArcGIS desktop applications.
Applicable for: Ecologists, conservation planners, biodiversity researchers, natural resource managers, environmental analysts, GIS analysts
Industries: Conservation, environmental management, forestry, agriculture, natural resources, parks and wildlife, research and academia, national and local government
Presenter: Hannah Nisonson, Solution Engineer, Esri
Where it appeared: Conservation for Good Demo Theater Presentation
5. Connecting rail networks for safer operations: positive train control
Rail safety depends on knowing exactly where every train is, what track conditions are, and how the broader network is configured at any given moment. Positive Train Control (PTC) is a federally mandated safety system created in response to devastating incidents, including derailments, head-on collisions, and crew incursions, that caused injuries, fatalities, and billions of dollars in damage.
While PTC excels at automatically applying brakes in real time, the data it generates holds another layer of value that has gone largely untapped. This demo showed how combining spatial and graph analysis in ArcGIS Knowledge can unlock patterns within PTC output logs that no map layer could surface alone, identifying high-risk track segments, engineers with above-average incident rates, and locomotives whose maintenance history correlates with operational anomalies. The result is a shift from reactive incident response to proactive risk management, finding the causes of problems and modeling solutions before they reach the field.
Applicable for: Rail operations managers, safety managers, network engineers, maintenance planners, risk analysts, data scientists, GIS analysts
Industries: Freight rail, passenger rail, transit agencies, transportation regulators, AEC and rail engineering, infrastructure operators
Presenter: Jim Barry, Sr. Solution Engineer, Esri
Where it appeared: Rail Special Interest Group Meeting
6. Improving healthcare access with spatial and graph analytics
In healthcare, critical relationships rarely surface in a spreadsheet. Patient journeys span networks of providers, facilities, referrals, and events. These connections are nearly invisible in tabular data but become immediately apparent when visualized and analyzed as a graph. This use case demonstrates how a sequence of spatial and relational analytical questions can uncover important patterns across the healthcare system that drive actions.
In this example, the analyst uses spatial analytics to quickly find drive times for each patient to health providers, then uses graph analytics to quickly calculate average drive times to specific providers that match their specific medical conditions and preferences. Then, the analysis uses spatial analytics to find outlier groups of patients with higher average drive times and graph analytics to identify their most commonly shared medical specialties. The interplay of these analytic tools can more quickly give health providers or insurers common-sense insights needed to improve their coverage network. For example, they can decide whether to add specific providers or provider types to their network to improve customer service and health outcomes.
Applicable for: Provider network managers, health data analysts, care coordinators, public health analysts, epidemiologists, fraud investigators, data scientists, GIS analysts
Industries: Health insurance, hospital and health systems, public health, government health agencies, social services, healthcare regulation and research
Presenter: Megan Banaski, Sr. Product Engineer, Esri
Where it appeared: ArcGIS Knowledge: Connecting Data and Analyzing Relationships Technical session
More information and resources
What’s clear from this year’s conference is that the problems being solved with knowledge graphs are as diverse as the communities they serve, from railroad operators and ecologists to utilities and fraud investigators. The common thread is connected data: the ability to see not just where things are, but how they relate, depend on, and affect one another. These are just a few of the ways ArcGIS Knowledge is making an impact. If you’re curious about what it could mean for your organization, join the Esri Community or explore the resources below.
- Introduction to ArcGIS Knowledge (video)
You can find these resources and more on the ArcGIS Knowledge “Resources” page.
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