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News Roundup—June 2025

How is the new Spatial Modelling Analytics and Real-Time Tracking (SMART) project changing how the technologies forming today’s intelligent transportation systems (ITS) integrate with one another? What are the essential things to know about the new CLDXF-CA standard for civic addressing data? What’s open data, why does it matter and what are some of the key considerations for avoiding legal headaches when using it? Learn more in the News Roundup for June 2025.

Feature Stories

Share your best maps with the GIS Success Stories program
Have you created a beautiful map using Esri technology? Share it with the GIS Success Stories program and we’ll share it with our audience of more than 70,000 GIS enthusiasts. No deadline; submit as many stories as you’d like. Submit today!

Imagine: your GIS Success Stories featured by Esri Canada. esri.ca/stories

Geographical Thinking: Episode 102—Map It, Share It—But First, Read the License
Open data is meant to be shared, but it can quickly become a legal headache without a clear license. On this episode of the Geographical Thinking podcast, host Michelle Brake is joined by Paul Heersink, program manager of Roads & Addresses at Esri Canada and chair of the Overture Maps Foundation’s addressing task force. Together, they dive into the world of open data licensing: what it is, why it matters and how even small oversights can lead to big problems.

Listen to the latest episode of Geographical Thinking here. 

Prevent errors, reduce rework: GIS as a tool for AEC project collaboration
Often, when multidisciplinary architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) teams work on projects together, different capabilities can end up working in isolation from one another. That can lead to issues with communication and timeliness, which can in turn lead to costly rework and delays. In this blog post, discover how to create seamless data sharing and workflows using powerful GIS technology.

DRPS Enhances Bail Compliance with GIS-Powered Dashboard
Tracking bail compliance used to be manual and time-consuming at Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS). Officers relied on static spreadsheets, leading to delays, redundant checks and inefficiencies. But with the GIS-powered Bail Compliance Dashboard, built on Esri’s mapping technology, DRPS has increased compliance checks by over 400%, improved data-sharing with Toronto Police Service and enhanced officer safety in the field.

The ABCs of CLDXF-CA: A FAQ for the newly published CLDXFCA Standard
The CLDXF-CA standard has been published! The new standard provides a common, unified and standardized civic addressing data structure accommodating all provinces and territories, to help with information exchange. In this blog post, we answer common questions about the new standard and its impact on GIS data providers in Canada.

SMART mobility project signals enhanced intelligent transportation systems
Today’s intelligent transportation systems (ITS) have made significant progress in using technology, such as Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and vehicle-to-everything communication, to ease traffic congestion, reduce emissions and increase safety. But there’s been a lack of integration between different systems. The Spatial Modelling Analytics and Real-time Tracking (SMART) project is changing this.

A living map of the Bow River watershed
The Bow River Basin Council has developed an interactive version of their State of the Watershed report that’s influencing thousands of Albertans to connect with their environment.

City of Kingston takes simple, systematic approach to ArcMap retirement
In this blog post from Esri Canada Advantage Program practice manager Julie Roebotham, discover the triage method the City of Kingston’s GIS team used to simplify their migration from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro.

Case study: How to optimize grass cutting routes using network analysis
In the City of Sarnia, a municipality with 75,000 residents, grass cutting during the summer months presents a strategic challenge: given limited crew capacity, how can all the city’s parks and pathways get the mowing coverage they need? Geographic information system (GIS) technology has the answers.

The Power of Pivoting – A Chat with Aaron Yick of BlackTusk Group
“We look at dozens, if not hundreds, of sites before we actually hone in and try to acquire one. The quicker we are able to assess and say yes or no, the better we are able to operate. From a time perspective, these tools allow us to look at way more properties than we ever could have 10 years ago.”

5 differences between the geometric network and the Utility Network
Journey with Esri Canada certified ArcGIS instructor Oli Helm as he writes about what he learned while researching the ArcGIS Utility Network.

Make better decisions on critical local government issues
Introducing the GIS Playbook for Local Government Leaders, featuring 70+ innovative ways to navigate today’s municipal, county-level and regional challenges using a geographic approach.

Esri Canada News

Esri Canada to make Intelligent Transportation Systems smarter with GIS
May 14, 2025

Esri News

Esri to Showcase AI Advancements in ArcGIS at GEOINT Symposium 2025
May 15, 2025

Resources

ArcUser: GIS and Drones Bring a New Dimension to Land Surveying
When heavy rainfall caused mud and trees to slide down the Pali Highway on Oahu in December 2023, access to roads in and out of town was blocked. Dudek, an environmental and engineering consulting firm, was able to jump into action, using drones and GIS technology to quickly collect and share road conditions with government agencies.

Read the latest issue of ArcUser online.

ArcNews: Tennessee Pioneers GeoAI-Based Wetland Screening Tool
Wetlands, ranging from bogs and marshes to wooded swamps, are distinct ecosystems that define the natural landscape of Tennessee. Protecting and managing wetlands falls on the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), a mission that is carried out by the Division of Water Resources. TDEC staff now have access to an innovative tool that uses GIS technology to solve an old problem: locating all the potential wetlands in the state.

Read the latest issue of ArcNews online.

WhereNext Magazine: WhereNext Confidential: Three Business Professionals Reveal the Inside Story of Psychographics
Three insiders explain how their companies go beyond demographics to leverage psychographics as they connect with customers, improve site selection and adjust store merchandise.

Video: EDF Renewables | 2025 Esri Energy Resources GIS Conference
EDF Renewables is an independent power producer and service provider, delivering wind (onshore and offshore), solar photovoltaic, storage and electrical vehicle charging. In this recording from the 2025 Esri Energy Resources GIS Conference, Craig Weber, geospatial product owner at EDF Renewables, explains the importance of land management to the company’s operations.

Video: GIS for Effective Winter Operations
With an average of 46 winter snow events to deal with each season, the City of Barrie needed a way to track their winter maintenance activities that could be updated as needed to reflect changing conditions. To do this, Barrie is processing their GeoTab automatic vehicle location (AVL) data for city and contractor plows using ArcGIS GeoEvent Server, then feeding that data to a simple, customizable, interactive webmap made in ArcGIS Experience Builder.

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