Most people think geospatial technology begins and ends with the apps on their phones. A blue dot on a map, a voice telling you to turn left, satellites hovering quietly above. It feels simple, frictionless, even automatic. But nothing about it is automatic. Every map is a product of politics. Every dataset is contested. Every decision about who gets access,
Category: GIS
Mention the years 1905, 1939, and 1959 in the opening lines of a geography paper and most readers will roll their eyes, expecting some crusty old theory from the 1960s gathering dust in the archives. But Pattison’s Four Traditions of Geography refuses to be a relic. It is the skeleton that still props up the flesh of the discipline. And
Look, I’m not here to sell you anything. I’m not sponsored. I don’t get a commission. In fact, if Esri ever sent me a free sticker, I’d frame it out of shock. But here’s the deal: we use Esri. Not because it’s cheap. Not because it’s perfect. But because when you’re running GIS for a public utility, local government, or
Introduction When the Earth decides to shift, slide, and tumble, we get what the USGS politely calls a “landslide”—a down-slope movement of rock, debris, or earth. Triggered by gravity and exacerbated by factors like rainfall, earthquakes, and yes, human meddling, landslides are the ultimate uninvited guests in California’s rugged terrain. One major culprit behind increased landslide risks? Wildfires. And in
When I created this earthquake risk map for Assignment 4 of my GIS course, I wasn’t just pushing polygons—I was illustrating potential disaster zones. Using data from heavy hitters like USGS, Esri, and NOAA, I mapped out where the United States literally stands on shaky ground. What’s On the Map? This map, titled “Earthquake Risks in the United States,” visualizes
When the world shut down in 2020, most people were panic-buying toilet paper. I, on the other hand, was busy making maps. Not just any maps—quantitative thematic maps that could tell a story more compelling than any infographic ever could. Armed with ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, and a nerdy love for cartographic detail, I created a visual narrative of California’s
Let me take you back to the Before Times—specifically December 2019. I was at a Cityworks user conference, not expecting much beyond some coffee, vendor booths, and maybe a few maps. But then it hit me: We could be doing way more with GIS. Like, actually use it to improve operations—not just stare at dashboards. That moment changed everything. I
Intro: You ever open a map app, zoom around a bit, and think, “This is cool—I could do this for a living”? Well, guess what? You can! But if you’re dreaming of becoming a GIS Administrator, let me pop that bubble of easy-breezy cartography and introduce you to the spicy world of GIS infrastructure. Spoiler: It’s less Indiana Jones with
So, you’ve decided to dive into GIS. Welcome to the realm of spatial joins, polygons that don’t behave, and shapefiles that somehow still exist in 2025. It’s exciting, overwhelming, and occasionally soul-crushing. But don’t worry—there’s a beacon in the geospatial fog, and his name is Matt Forrest. This guy? He’s the real deal. GIS pro, Field CTO at CARTO, and
So, you’ve decided to enter the magical world of GIS—Geographic Information Systems. Welcome! You’re either here because your boss threw a spreadsheet at you and said “make it a map,” or because you saw someone on TikTok making colorful maps and thought, “I could do that.” Well, buckle up, buttercup. Let me introduce you to your new best friend: QGIS.