From Prague to Berkeley to Nairobi to Kyiv, location data is being collected and analyzed through Geographic Information Systems technology to map a better future. GIS is a powerful tool.
Pulitzer Prize-winning editor and former National Audubon Society CEO David Yarnold was on stage at CHM Live to discuss his new book, The Geography of Hope: Real-Life Stories of Optimists Mapping a Better World. Dawn Garcia, director of the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University moderated the discussion.
"You start with a photo or map and you layer data on top of it," says Yarnold to explain GIS. Although the technology is ubiquitous, most people aren’t aware of it, and that’s what prompted him to write the book.
Almost every government, police and fire department, big business and big nonprofit, and any environmental organization uses GIS. User conferences attract thousands of GIS enthusiasts who share stories about how the technology is deployed in ways that affect us all. Despite coming from a wide variety of fields, they find common ground in their love of a good map.
David Yarnold describes the power of maps.
To organize the book, Yarnold selected market verticals defined by ESRI (the Environmental Systems Research Institute). He described the chapters in his book and the stories they tell, including surprising connections between them. For instance, a tool first created to map the spread of Ebola in West Africa was being used in other countries to help with policing and the removal of explosives.
The most surprising story to Yarnold, however, was in the city of Prague, where the Institute for Planning and Development attempts to be transparent about how decisions are made by sharing map data with the public. Unfortunately, because of a political system plagued by corruption, their efforts were viewed with suspicion and people tried to shut them down. Despite fearing for their jobs, they continue to work to help citizens learn to trust their government more, and their maps are a key tool.
Community engagement is another unifying theme throughout the book. When GIS moved from a techie niche to the internet 15 years ago, it became a shareable tool that anyone could use to map their own communities. This had a profound impact, including in Bakersfield, California, where community mapping exposed gerrymandered voting districts that had kept minority populations underrepresented and underserved for decades.
David Yarnold unpacks voting redistricting in Bakersfield.
In addition to using maps to change voting districts and for other public projects, Yarnold explained that GIS mapping is used extensively by corporations to understand their customers, select locations, monitor supply chains, and more. It’s been a gamechanger for the insurance industry, which uses photos taken of nearly every inch of America to assess homes virtually. Without having to send appraisers into the field, they’ve cut their costs from $13,000 to $8 per appraisal.
Yarnold described how teaching GIS as a compulsory subject for K-12 education in Britain has opened up new avenues to reach children. Lesson plans can use data to help students explore more deeply, and in some cases the technology can engage those who were struggling to connect in class. Yarnold noted that Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz was a former geography teacher and an avid old-school GIS user.
Walz (and running mate Kamala Harris) may have appropriated the theme of optimism for their campaign, but Yarnold makes a strong case that people who are drawn to and work with GIS (a great field that’s hiring, by the way) tend to be optimists, which inspired the title of his book.
David Yarnold describes GIS experts as optimists.
If visualizing what change looks like is one of the most powerful reasons that those who work with GIS tend to be optimists, reading Yarnold’s refreshing stories, illustrated with his own stunning photographs, is a great way to feel better about where the world is headed.
See the book.
The Geography of Hope | CHM Live, October 8, 2024
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