Mapping the Nation

Nations strive every day to ensure that their communities are prosperous, secure, and sustainable. Achieving these attributes requires collaboration between local, state, tribal, and federal jurisdictions, with a knowledge that all issues happen somewhere.

Using the common denominator of location, governments rely on the power of geographic information system (GIS) technology to understand the contexts and drive economic, societal, and environmental improvements. GIS integrates knowledge from within, across, and among government partners to map the dimensions of every challenge. Maps, and the stories they tell, raise awareness and guide evidence-informed decision-making. Together, GIS and maps help to reveal patterns and trends, model scenarios, and craft place-based solutions. The geographic approach creates good governance.

GIS  helps agencies and organizations understand enterprise data in its real-world context. GIS uncovers the needs and proclivities of people with socioeconomic and demographic data. Community development can be analyzed for environmental impacts. Ecosystems can be modeled to preserve or restore critical habitats. Department operations, such as managing a fleet of vehicles or a group of people working in the field, can be monitored to find efficiencies and ensure their safety and security. Networks can be optimized, including electricity, water, and transportation. Disaster response can be coordinated with real-time maps that display activities.

This story collection, Mapping the Nation: Guiding Good Governance, documents how thinking geographically guides important governing decisions.
 

New Patterns of Data Sharing


The ultimate awareness that GIS can provide governments is called a digital twin. This combination of reality capture and real-time data inputs shows what’s happening, forecasts what might happen, and models scenarios to mitigate risk. With a GIS-powered digital twin, we gain new insight into how every part of a system interacts with and affects the others.

The Key Bridge Collapse story describes the creation of a digital twin to coordinate the response to a tragic and complex cargo ship collision that cut off the busy Port of Baltimore. A constantly updated map, including a detailed 3D web scene of the bridge pieces, kept everyone informed of progress. The data fed purpose-built apps for use by specialists across federal, state, and local governments. The digital twin eliminated siloed information and broadened interdisciplinary collaboration. Connections between GIS portals gave each agency control of their own data and access to data from collaborators.

This pattern of data sharing was new to these agencies, and it has been repeated in subsequent hurricane responses. As Lt. Commander Ian Hanna, lead of the Coast Guard’s Response GIS Support Team, said: “This is the way we should be doing business. Instead of exchanging things like memory sticks or email attachments, we can connect. It makes it so much faster and more efficient. Everybody could use the data for their mission and be aware of what was happening.”
 

Empowering Transformation


Over the nearly 60 years of GIS use in government, it has guided waves of digital transformations at agencies and organizations that understand the power of geography. I am continuously amazed by how governments are applying GIS and how its use measurably improves their own organizations and the communities they serve. Fundamentally, it facilitates more informed conversations and tighter collaboration, with full transparency that eliminates duplication of effort.

Using GIS, professionals advance science, make communities more livable and efficient, improve public safety, secure nations, protect natural spaces, enhance human health, and mitigate conflicts.

Good governance starts with geography. Now is the time to work together to strengthen our nation and create the world we all want to see.

Warm regards,  

Jack Dangermond

A geographic approach provides a way of thinking and problem-solving that integrates and organizes all relevant information in the crucial context of location. In much the same way that geography integrates the physical, biological, and social sciences, GIS integrates knowledge.

With GIS, layers of data can be draped over maps and modeled to reveal relationships and connections across space and time. GIS provides a means to compartmentalize the dimensions of every challenge, prioritizing what to do where and when based on evidence and analysis.

With GIS, government agencies, companies, and institutions around the globe use the power of geography to guide their course.

Mapping the Nation: Guiding Good Governance serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding the pivotal role of geospatial technologies to enhance governance across various sectors.

At the heart of effective governance is the ability to make informed decisions. Geospatial technologies provide a critical toolset for policymakers, such as Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, who utilizes GIS to analyze and communicate policy decisions. This technology fosters data-driven governance that is transparent and accountable, ensuring that leaders can make decisions that are effective and equitable.

|Geospatial data is indispensable in the fight against climate change. Tools such as the climate data systems in Massachusetts enable governments to plan for and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Maps help prioritize protections for the most vulnerable ecosystems and communities.

In the realm of humanitarian aid, geographic knowledge enhances the effectiveness of aid delivery. GIS users map crisis points and target resources where they are needed most, ensuring timely and efficient aid that saves lives and restores communities.

GIS plays a guiding role in environmental protection and conservation efforts. By monitoring changes in land use, vegetation, and wildlife habitats, conservationists can better manage natural resources and plan for sustainable development, preserving biodiversity and natural habitats for future generations.

For public safety, geospatial technologies help in planning and response management. During incidents, GIS has become instrumental in managing a crisis by facilitating communication and coordination among various state agencies and local governments.

In defense and security, geospatial intelligence is vital for both strategic planning and operational decision-making. GIS supports the security forces by providing detailed situational awareness and helping in the planning of operations.

GIS helps in the planning and execution of infrastructure projects, from roads and bridges to broadband networks, ensuring that developments are sustainable and meet the needs of the population.

Sustainability is a thread that runs through all uses of GIS in governance. Whether it’s through managing urban growth, assessing food insecurity, or planning for clean energy expansion, GIS provides the tools necessary for sustainable development that meets today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own.

Mapping the Nation: Guiding Good Governance highlights the importance of GIS across various critical sectors. By integrating geospatial data into policymaking and strategic planning, leaders can address complex challenges more effectively, making governance more responsive, transparent, and inclusive.