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News Roundup – September 2022

How are organizations within the Government of Canada modernizing their data infrastructure using geospatial technology? How can the Community Map of Canada be taken offline for use with ArcGIS Pro? How can operators and build partners in the telecommunications space use GIS to streamline their work? Learn more in the September News Roundup.

Feature Stories

Map of the Month: Barrow’s Goldeneye Habitat Quality Model
September 2022’s Map of the Month is “Barrow’s Goldeneye Habitat Quality Model” by the Centre d’enseignement et de recherche en foresterie (CERFO). It shows which parts of the study area have the highest potential for this precarious species of sea duck. To accompany the map, we’ve curated a number of resources that show how GIS is being used to communicate about habitat restoration projects and biodiversity.

Geographical Thinking: Season 2 | Episode 25: Geographical Thinking Caps: The Domain Game
The funcast podcast returns for some late summer fun! GIS nerds know that a domain is a list or range of valid values. Hear Dawn Price and Arif Rafiq compete for geo-glory as they determine which geographic landmarks fall within this game’s domain: UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Is the Great Barrier Reef a world heritage site? The Rideau Canal? The White House? Play along to find out which famous locations are UNESCO and which are UNES-NO!

Listen to the latest episode of Geographical Thinking here. 

Modernizing Information Management in the Government of Canada
Treating data as a strategic asset to improve the services provided to Canadians is a key theme of the Government of Canada data strategy. Modernizing how this information is collected, shared and managed, while balancing the need for privacy, will be a key priority for years to come. Learn how different organizations within the Government of Canada are modernizing their data infrastructure using Esri technology.

Growing Housing Supply: A Study with The Infrastructure Institute at the School of Cities
In light of challenges with housing supply and the increasing cost of financing in Canada, one solution to ensure housing affordability has been to build homes on publicly owned land. However, privately-owned land shows untapped potential for redevelopment. Esri Canada recently worked with the Infrastructure Institute at the School of Cities, University of Toronto, on a study to generate hypothetical development scenarios for the underutilized sites of six large private companies running retail operations.

Community Map of Canada offline in your pocket (part 3: ArcGIS Pro)
The Community Map of Canada is now available offline for different ArcGIS environments—and it takes less than 10 steps to use it in ArcGIS Pro. Read this blog post for step-by-step instructions.

How to leverage GIS for telecommunication network construction
The COVID-19 pandemic has put our connected world to the test. While many have been able to keep a communication lifeline through their high-speed Internet connections, many rural communities in Canada have not been as lucky, specifically where bandwidth access is lower or nonexistent. Now, operators and build partners responding to the digital divide can use GIS to help streamline the construction process. Read this blog post to learn how.

Esri News

Esri Collaborates with RB Rail AS to Build Sustainable Rail Infrastructure in EU
August 18, 2022

New Esri Initiative Provides Free Geospatial Software for Nonprofits
August 17, 2022

Esri Book Reflects on COVID-19 Lessons and How GIS Technology Helped
August 16, 2022

Esri Young Professionals Network Updates Website
August 15, 2022

Esri Renews NTIS Partnership Supporting White House Priorities with Access to Geographic Data
August 10, 2022

Resources

ArcUser: Identifying the Solar Potential Next to America’s Highways
A movement is under way to transform certain shade-free highway rights-of-way into sites for generating solar power. The Ray, an Atlanta-based nonprofit, estimates that many states have enough federal interstate freeway right-of-way land to support thousands of acres of solar arrays. Learn how geospatial technology is being used to identify rights-of-way that would be candidates for solar panel installation.

Read the latest issue of ArcUser online. 

ArcNews: Extending Renewable Energy Resources While Protecting Wildlife
Tackling the immense challenge of climate change will require enormous investments in renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power. But building out utility-scale wind parks and solar farms requires a lot of land. So where can all these facilities go? And how can they be installed without harming wildlife habitats and other treasured places? Esri technology is helping answer these questions.

Read the latest issue of ArcNews online. 

WhereNext: A “Second Skin” for Buildings Aims for a Net-Zero Future
Buildings create significant carbon emissions, and we’re stuck with two-thirds of our existing buildings for at least the next two decades. Fitting some with a “second skin” might help, and a geographic approach could increase the benefits.

Esri & The Science of Where Podcast: Finding Resilience in Public Transportation
Anne Shaw, executive director at Transport for West Midlands, discusses the impact of geospatial technology in meeting the challenges of public transportation. Esri international business development lead for transportation in Europe Ian Koeppel investigates how a major transportation organization manages its infrastructure and operations as it prepares for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the UK.

Video: Can GIS Keep Dutch Trains on Track?
Rail passengers in the Netherlands are expected to increase 30% by 2030, but there’s no open space to build new lines. To prepare for the next generation of riders, ProRail, the organization that manages the state’s rail infrastructure, used Esri software to accommodate millions of new passengers without adding a single track.

This post was translated to French and can be viewed here.

About the Author

Dani Pacey is a Marketing Specialist for Esri Canada. She digitized her first map at the tender age of 10 and has been fascinated by the relationships between people and places ever since. An avid technical communicator with degrees in Science & Technology Studies from York University and History of Science & Technology from the University of King's College, Dani has always blended science, social science and the humanities and loves bringing them all together to tell great stories about human life.

Profile Photo of Dani Pacey