Thursday, June 19th, 2008
Imagine a scenario in which street centerlines are stored in a GIS database with an accuracy of ±5 feet. In the same database, parcel data are stored with an accuracy of ±0.10 feet. And what if environmental data are stored at ±50 feet? Is that doable? As a matter of fact, presently this scenario is
Sunday, June 8th, 2008
How do we retrace our ecological footprints? Where will the footprints lead? Scientists at the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) are tracking carbon footprints across the globe starting with U.S. forests. One ongoing study, using geographic information system (GIS) technology, is measuring the carbon-rich biomass in heavily wooded areas to indicate the effect that deforestation and
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008
When I picked up this book I did not know what to expect. It is not a topic that is often discussed or written about. Authors Rosario C. Giusti de Perez and Ramon A. Perez take us on a journey inside the world of urban development for developing nations. As two of the earliest users
Sunday, June 1st, 2008
While we know and understand that the Earth’s climate undergoes natural cycles of glacial and inter-glacial events, there is widely accepted and mounting evidence to suggest that we are accelerating this natural phenomenon and that the changes in global climate are largely due to the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. Human activities,
Sunday, May 25th, 2008
The GI2008 Symposium took place recently in Dresden, Germany. The symposium brought together a wide range of public, private and educational people, all interested in the pursuit of geoinformation and geospatial applications for sustainability purposes. As an educational and capacity building event, GI2008 featured many unique cross-border applications. Vector1 Media editor Jeff Thurston attended the
Sunday, May 18th, 2008
Soon, if it has not already happened, the majority of the human species will live in sprawling cities. As urban density moves forward, the need to understand the dynamics of a particular urban region, the interrelationships between population, land use, transportation, economics, environment, and other factors is crucial to effectively develop policies and determine where
Sunday, May 11th, 2008
You do not have to be in the geospatial industry to be amazed at images of recognizable locations. Everyone is curious to see a satellite image of his or her home or other areas of interest. In addition, an increasing number of organizations are also realizing the value of imagery, when combined with other geospatial
Saturday, May 3rd, 2008
Geographical information systems (GIS) can offer tangible benefits for those charged with the management of our transport network. However, even with sophisticated spatial analysis tools, advanced display options and compatibility with other systems GIS is just another piece of software if proper consideration is not given to the data held and accessed by the system.
Saturday, April 19th, 2008
Much has been written about the product adoption cycles of new technologies, such as the automobile, and more recently the cell phone, the Internet, and broadband. The book “The Next Great Bubble Boom” by Harry S. Dent, Jr. uses standard “S-Curve” diagrams to map the status of a certain technologies. This article extrapolates Mr. Dent’s
Sunday, April 13th, 2008
Last week media were invited to Barcelona, Spain for the HP ‘Behind the Scenes’ event – A Celebration of 20 Years of Innovation and Leadership for Large Format in Barcelona. This was a unique event because it also included a tour of the HP facilities together with stops at other interesting locations in the City
