geospatial revolution: transforming how we map our world

The Geospatial Revolution: Transforming How We Map Our

World

Jim LacyAssociate State Cartographer

Wisconsin State Cartographer’s office

www.sco.wisc.edu

GEOGeography. People, places or things in our world.

SPATIALOrientation of objects in space.

SPATIALBroadly refers to the tools, techniques, data, and skills used to inventory and

analyze the relationship of people, places, and things in our world.

GEO

OR IF YOU PREFER…

Geospatial technologies let us use digital maps to make better-informed decisions.

GIS

GPSSatellite Remote Sensing

Aerial photography

Land surveying

EsriQGIS

PostGISLeaflet

APIs

ArcMap

Javascript

Cartography

Google

Bing

LiDAR

Geographic Information

System

GIS

A GIS combines layers of information about a place to enable a better understanding of that place.

Database: Not easy to interpret

Visualization: “Worth a thousand words”

Spatial Analysis

Real power of GIS is the ability to model features of our world and analyze information across many different data layers that represent those features.

McFarland site selection example

McFarland site selection example

McFarland site selection example

McFarland site selection example

McFarland site selection example

McFarland site selection example

McFarland site selection example

McFarland site selection example

Geospatial tech is more than just GIS…

Aerometric slides

“EVERYDAY” USES OF GEOSPATIAL TECH…

GEOSPATIAL CAREERS

Skills Desired by Employers

First, do you want to be an “-ologist” or a “mapper?”

Attention to detail, problem solver Communication (written and verbal) Project management

Skills Desired by Employers

Real experience in geospatial tech• Intern or volunteer (please!)

Programming skills in very high demand• Python, Javascript

Web design and development Database management

Where can you study Geospatial Tech?

UW Colleges – GEO 106 (online) Most, if not all, public Universities in WI have

some type of geospatial program available to students

GIS Certificates growing in popularity (Madison, Milwaukee, Stevens Point)

Do you want to be an “-ologist” or a “mapper?”

Questions?Jim LacyState Cartographer’s OfficeUniversity of Wisconsin-MadisonLacy@wisc.eduWWW.SCO.WISC.EDU