ArcWatch: GIS News, Views, and Insights
April 2012
Do You Live in Canine Country?
By Karen Richardson
Esri Writer
The recent economic downturn never put a dent in pet spending. While the spike in unemployment and home foreclosures put a damper on dining out and buying clothes, Americans continued to pamper their pets. Spending on pets increased from $48.3 billion in 2010 to an estimated $52.8 billion this year.
Treats are a fast-growing category of spending on pets, and businesses that cater to pet owners keep track of these trends, in part to decide where to open new stores. To find where market demand is high and low for dog and cat treats, Esri staff analyzed Market Potential and Consumer Spending data and used ArcGIS to create the maps Do You Live in Canine Country? and Do You Live in Cat Country? Each map shows where the demand is strong or weak for dog and cat treats. Click on any area of the country, and a pie chart also will appear that compares the number of dog households to cat households in the area. Where do dogs dominate and cats rule? Read the article and explore the maps.
See where there's a high, average, or low demand for dog treats using this web map created with ArcGIS.
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Tip of the Month
Use the Snap Geoprocessing Tool to Automate Editing
The Snap geoprocessing tool in ArcGIS for Desktop Standard and ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced can speed up editing tasks, saving you time. Read this tip to learn how to use the tool.
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.
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Steinitz on Geodesign
Professor Carl Steinitz's new book, A Framework for Geodesign, will be published by Esri Press in July 2012. In an interview during this year's GeoDesign Summit, Steinitz talked about his methodology for regional land-use design projects and what that workflow entails. Read the article.ArcGIS Viewer for Silverlight
Esri product manager Derek Law outlines the advantages of using the new ArcGIS Viewer for Silverlight with ArcGIS for Server to manage and share geospatial information on the web. Read the article.A Preview of ArcGIS 10.1
Learn how ArcGIS 10.1 will simplify the creation of interactive, web-based maps in this article, which previews the new release. In this video, Esri president Jack Dangermond outlines other capabilities in 10.1 such as the addition of dozens of new spatial analysis tools and the full integration and management of lidar data.
AAG to Launch Encyclopedia Project
The Association of American Geographers (AAG) will embark on a four-year project to create The International Encyclopedia of Geography, which will be online and in hard copy. The AAG seeks suggestions for candidates to author and edit the encyclopedia. Read the article.
Newsroom
Why We Believe in You
Bring your innovative ideas and feel the power of where at the Esri UC. Watch the Why We Believe in YOU video and register today.Where Innovation Inspires
The latest, most innovative geospatial technology will inspire you in your work. Join 14,000 people like yourself for the Esri International User Conference (Esri UC) for the GIS expertise, best practices, and solutions you seek. Register today for a week in San Diego, California.
Weyerhaeuser Executive to Speak at Esri Forestry GIS Conference
Marvin "Ray" Risco, president of Weyerhaeuser Solutions, Inc., will give the keynote on May 1, 2012, at the Esri Forestry GIS Conference in Redlands, California. The conference will be held May 1–3. Register today.
Register for Esri's Parcel Tools Seminar
Join us for the one-day Implementing the ArcGIS Parcel Tools seminar. Find a seminar near you and register.
From the Cell to the Streets
Learn more about how GIS is used to better manage detention facilities and keep track of people on parole and probation in this new Esri white paper, From the Cell to the Streets: GIS for Probation, Parole, and Corrections.
Maps Steer Voters to Polls
When voters in Harrison County, West Virginia, go to the polls this year, they will be able to quickly and easily determine their polling places and voting precinct locations via a new Election Polling Places interactive map developed using Esri's free web templates. Read the article.
Esri Maps on Kindle FireEsri users can now access ArcGIS data and mapping capabilities on Kindle Fire, Amazon's popular Android tablet. ArcGIS for Android lets users access, edit, and share maps. Download the free application directly from the Amazon Appstore.
Using ArcGIS Online for Geodesign
Bern Szukalski from Esri demonstrates how to create and share intelligent maps using ArcGIS Online and how this is helpful in geodesign. Watch the video.
Design Better Maps
Esri Press has a catalog of new and recently republished cartographic titles relevant to GIS users, professionals, and scholars studying or making maps with modern geospatial technology. These include Jacques Bertin's Semiology of Graphics, which synthesizes principles of graphic communication, and Cynthia Brewer's Designed Maps: A Sourcebook for GIS Users, which offers several visual examples of good map design using ArcGIS. Shop all Esri Press cartography titles.Reserve Your Spot Early for ArcGIS 10.1 Instructor-Led Courses
Updates to ArcGIS Online
What's Coming Next in ArcGIS Explorer Desktop?
Technical Talk
Label Your European Roads
Need to label European highways? Try using the European road shield symbols, which were used to enhance the Esri World Street Map and World Transportation reference maps. Just download the European road shield symbols from the Map Templates Gallery on the ArcGIS Resource Center website.Download Vegetation Map Colors
The stunning colors in the vegetation map in The National Atlas of the United States of America inspired an Esri cartographer to compile this set of colors so you can use them in your maps, too.
Customize with the Community Analyst API
Use the Community Analyst API to build custom web, desktop, and mobile applications that access the detailed data and color-coded maps available within web applications and have a customized user interface and user experience. Try the Community Analyst API free for 30 days.
Providing Feedback on the Esri World Topographic Map
Tim Ormsby from Esri shows you how to report issues or possible errors you see in the Esri World Topographic Map. Read his blog post. See how to provide topographic map feedback.
Fonts in ArcGIS Symbols
Find a Dev Meet Up Near You
Spatial Roundtable
Meeting a Titanic Challenge for the Oceans
Esri chief scientist Dawn Wright discusses how GIS is needed to make better, more informed decisions about the health and stewardship of our oceans. Comment on her observations at the Spatial Roundtable.Join the #EsriJobChat
Have questions about career opportunities at Esri? Wonder what the culture and work environment are like? Looking for some resum� or interview tips? Follow @EsriCareers on Twitter and join us for #EsriJobChat, held at 1:00 p.m. Thursdays (Pacific daylight time). Chats are hosted by members of the Human Resources team and staff from different areas throughout the company.Web Resources and More
Embrace the Power of Place
Simon Thompson, director of commercial solutions for Esri, blogs about how location analysis and GIS help retailers drive sales and provide customer satisfaction in a tech-savvy world where consumers use smartphones to help make purchasing decisions. Read the post.Share Your GIS Work
Showcase your best digital or printed static maps in the Map Gallery at the Esri UC. Submit your map by June 15, 2012.
Attend Two New Free Live Training Seminars
Esri will host the live training seminars Esri Maps for Microsoft Office, SharePoint, and IBM Cognos on May 10, 2012, and Working with Lidar Data in ArcGIS 10.1 on May 24, 2012. Learn more and subscribe to receive reminders.
Take the New Hazus-MH 2.0 Web Courses
Learn how to use the free United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazus-MH 2.0 software with ArcGIS 10. Hazus-MH is FEMA's loss estimation tool for earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and windstorms. View the courses and register.
Search the GIS Bibliography
Need to find a paper, journal article, or other literature related to geographic information systems, science, and technology? First check the GIS Bibliography maintained by Esri. The bibliography now contains more than 121,600 entries.
Expanding the Use of GIS in Educational Institutions
Dozens of administrators, educators, and GIS professionals weigh in on how to incorporate GIS into educational administration topics such as strategic planning. Visit the Spatial Roundtable discussion started by George Dailey, manager of the Esri Education Program.
White Paper: Importing and Using Your Own Data in Esri Business Analyst
Story Map: A Walk on the High Line
Hardware Offers
US customers can take advantage of a special promotional offer of Esri CityEngine Advanced packaged with a Dell Precision T5500 Workstation. Esri CityEngine is a stand-alone software product that provides professional users in architecture, urban planning, entertainment, GIS, and general 3D content production with a unique conceptual design and modeling solution for the efficient creation of 3D cities and buildings.
Visit the Esri Store to find more software and extensions, upgrades, data, books, and hardware bundles.
