GIS in Action 2024

Imagine you were an anthropologist who has always liked maps in an offhand sort of way, but didn’t think all that much about it (crazy, right?). Now imagine one day you find yourself working for Esri: deep in the heartland of “the science of where.” What is this place? Who dwells here? What are their natural habitats, and how do the topographical features, the systems architecture, the various industries shape their respective customs? What distinguishes the denizens of local and regional government from the natural resource consultants? In this talk, with great hubris and foolhardy bravado, I will share my journey of discovery into the world of GIS, and the contours that shape what people do and how they work. I will offer my observations on geological shifts that seem to be changing in ways that might matter and, ultimately, invite you to correct my misperceptions and mislabelings: the dumpster fires mistaken for deities, the shapefiles mistook for parcel fabrics, and the missing fields in my data.