ArcWatch: GIS News, Views, and Insights
February 2012
Geodesign Gathers Momentum
By Carla Wheeler
Esri Writer
The term geodesign, once hard to define, is becoming part of the vernacular in the design field. That astute observation opened this year's GeoDesign Summit, a gathering of professionals interested in using geospatial technologies to arrive at the best and most sustainable design solutions.
"[An online] search for the term geodesign peaked at 85,000 [mentions] on the web in 2011," said Shannon McElvaney, project manager for GeoDesign Services at Esri and the master of ceremonies for this year's GeoDesign Summit, held January 5-6, in Redlands, California. "That's a meteoric rise in the last three years. For this and a number of other reasons.I firmly believe that geodesign as a concept is here to stay."
The two-day summit covered a lot of territory, focusing on a geodesign framework and concepts, geospatial technology that supports geodesign, and case studies. Read the article. Learn who was named as the summit's Best Lightning Talk winners.
Esri CityEngine technology created this rendering of what a fictional development would look like in the City of Philadelphia, demonstrating the power of rule-based 3D modeling.
Tip of the Month
Create a Flex Web Application with No Programming
Creating an ArcGIS Viewer for Flex web application is easier than ever when you use the new application builder. Zero programming is required. Read this tip and get started customizing ArcGIS Viewer for Flex.
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
Designing Better Web Maps
Creating a great web map takes more than mastering GIS technology. Good maps or geoinformation products should tell an interesting story; to do that, they must be well thought-out and designed. Esri president Jack Dangermond offers his ideas on what to consider when designing geoinformation products. Read the article.ArcGIS Online Goes Global
Italian, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese are just three of the nine languages, in addition to English, that you can now work in when you use ArcGIS Online. Read the article.ArcGIS 10.1 for Desktop: A Look Ahead
In this video workshop, Esri staff highlights the improvements and new capabilities in ArcGIS 10.1 that include giving you the ability to share geoprocessing and tile packages and web services. Also watch the short video Top 10 Improvements in ArcGIS 10.1 for Desktop.
Using GIS on the Border
The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) of the United States and Mexico administers the boundary and water-rights treaties and agreements that have been established between the two nations. It serves as the liaison in any disputes that arise and advises both countries on natural-resource issues along the border, where flood control and water quality are major concerns. "We try to address each issue individually, and GIS has helped us a lot," said Gilbert Anaya, supervisory environmental engineer for the US section of the IBWC (USIBWC). Read the article.
Newsroom
Mapping Top Election Issues
Which election issues do Americans care about most? The budget and the economy? Jobs and unemployment? Health care? This 2012 Election Issues map from Esri lets you cast a vote. Also visit the Election Year Primary Calendar map, where you can see the dates of the primary elections and caucuses, view the number of registered voters in each state, and learn about their political attitudes.Where GIS Will Go
Esri's Bern Szukalski looks ahead at what 2012 will bring to the Esri user community, including the release of ArcGIS 10.1 and ArcGIS Online subscriptions.
Esri UC: Where to Go for Geospatial Inspiration
Cloud platforms, web and mobile mapping, and the new capabilities of ArcGIS 10.1 make this a can't-miss year for attending the Esri International User Conference (Esri UC) in San Diego, California. Get everything you need to know about geospatial technology in one place. Register today.
Esri Releases New Version of ArcGIS for SharePoint
Create and share interactive maps of your organization's data in SharePoint. Learn more. Listen to the podcast too.
Download the Geonames Tools
The new Geonames Tools toolbox is available for download from ArcGIS Online. The Geonames Tools toolbox is an Esri Defense toolbox for intelligence analysis. Learn more.
New Map Template Offers Quick Access to Web Maps
Showcase your web maps and more using the new Public Maps Gallery template. The template lets you set up a map gallery on your own site and manage the content through ArcGIS Online. Read the article.
Learn to Create a Custom Gallery of Web Maps
Join Esri web developer Matt Driscoll as he demonstrates how to create a customizable gallery of web maps using the Public Maps Gallery template and ArcGIS Online. Watch the video.
Attend Esri Developer Summit
The Esri Developer Summit (DevSummit), March 26-29, 2012, will offer more than 60 technical sessions, direct access to the teams that build ArcGIS, a preview of ArcGIS 10.1, a dodgeball tournament, and much more. Read this article to learn what else the event will have in store.Sun Glints Add Map Realism
You can give your maps a more realistic flair by adding sun glints to bodies of water such as lakes and rivers. "We rarely see flat tones in nature, so using sun glints simulates the subtle tonal variations caused by the reflection of sunlight off a water surface," writes Esri's Aileen Buckley in this tip she wrote about how to achieve this effect using ArcGIS.Build Students' Spatial Skills
SpatiaLABS, new from Esri Press, is a set of higher-education computer lab activities that introduce, develop, and reinforce students' spatial reasoning and analysis skills. Mapping technology and visualization tools help students see real-world applications of the concepts they are studying. There are more than 50 topics, which can be applied to a wide variety of arts and sciences or business courses. View the sample labs and learn more.
Technical Talk
Try Community Analyst API
You can build custom web, desktop, and mobile applications that include demographic, health, crime, and business data reporting capabilities with Community Analyst API. Use the API to better understand particular population characteristics in a specific neighborhood, determine the impact of a proposed project on households in an area, and more. Data can be aggregated and summarized at 10 geography levels or specified by polygon, drive time, or distance. Reports are provided as PDFs, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, or XML streams. Try Community Analyst API free for 30 days.Making a Large-Scale 3D Map
Esri research cartographer Kenneth Field provides a three-part tutorial on how to create a large-scale 3D map. Read part 2 and part 3.
Rule-Based 3D Mapping with CityEngine
Many GIS problems, particularly those in urban development, can only be solved in 3D. Esri CityEngine 2011 generates 3D urban environments for city planners, architects, military users, and those in film and entertainment. Read the article.
Tapping into ArcGIS for Tsunami Evacuation Information
In the wake of last year's magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan, the systems staff for the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, created a tsunami evacuation zone application built with Esri's ArcGIS Runtime SDK for Android. Users who download the application can see whether they live in a tsunami evacuation zone. Read the article.
Web Course: Using Lidar Data in ArcGIS 10
Take this low-cost, three-hour web course to learn the essential concepts you need to know to efficiently use lidar data for visualization and analysis in ArcGIS.
Get the Updated ArcGIS APIs for WPF and Silverlight
ArcGIS Mapping APIs help you build and embed interactive maps in your website. Learn more.
Books for Your Library
Read about three new books geared toward people interested in cartography, geoinformation science, and the use of 3D in planning.
Tutorial: Make Real-Time Updates of ArcSDE through SQL
Spatial Roundtable
GIS in Education: Moving Beyond Instruction
George Dailey, GIS in Schools program manager for Esri, has a vision that he hopes will move from ideal to real. He imagines a world where the leaders of educational institutions recognize and harness the power of geography and GIS to support the learning milieu-the physical environment of university campuses, schools, and school districts. Contribute your thoughts at the Spatial Roundtable.Teaching and Learning with GIS
Taking GIS and GPS into national parks to do fieldwork and teaching GIS by using cell phones are just two of the many innovative ways that educators around the world spark students' interest in GIS. These ideas are featured in the new book International Perspectives on Teaching and Learning with GIS in Secondary Schools, coedited by Andrew J. Milson, Ali Demirci, and Esri's Joseph J. Kerski. Authors from 33 countries contributed, describing how they teach with GIS. Read the article.Web Resources and More
GIS Day around the World
People in more than 60 countries, including the United States, Canada, China, Croatia, Nepal, Ecuador, and Kenya, celebrate GIS Day. Get the story about some of the celebrations and find out what people have learned about the power of geography and geospatial technology.Ask a Cartographer
You have questions and we have answers about rasters, polygons, ArcGIS, labels, and much more. Send your questions to Ask a Cartographer.
Esri Insider: Traveling through Time with GIS
Instead of asking what the world might look like in the future, people should start asking what we want the world to look like and how we can make it happen. Read the Esri Insider blog post by Matt Artz.
Ready Your Data
When it comes to doing GIS analysis, planning pays off. Read this blog post at Esri Training Matters.
Video: Using Community Analyst to Assess Impact of Disasters
Try Community Analyst for Free
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Hardware Offers
Esri offers to US customers cost-effective solutions to configure or upgrade your GIS. Esri has server, desktop, mobile, and data products that are prepackaged with ArcGIS software. Custom hardware-only configurations are also available for existing Esri customers. Search for a hardware solution.
Visit the Esri Store to find more software and extensions, upgrades, data, books, and hardware bundles.
Blog Spotlight
Find the latest news and tips about hydrology and ArcGIS on the Hydro Blog.
