Geospatial Revolution – A Sneak Peek at How GIS is Changing the Way we Think, Behave and Interact

Part two of a four part blog series on The Geospatial Revolution Project. Part one can be found here. As the availability of geospatial information grows, so too do the ways in which public and private sector organizations  rely on these technologies, from fighting climate change to tracking disease; assisting first responders to community planning. Geospatial Revolution (a Penn State Broadcasting initiative) brings these uses to life in their four-part video series: The Geospatial Revolution project. The project is intended as a public service outreach initiative to increase awareness about the world of digital mapping and how it is changing the way we think, behave, and interact. Take, for example, the City of Portland, Oregon. If there were 1,000 ways to use geospatial technology, it seems the Portland would be employing 999 of them. This 14 minute GeoRev Episode 2 video explores the various ways Portland is utilizing geospatial technology to improve both the quality of life of  its residents and long range city planning and development. Mapping applications like Portland’s PDX Bus place computers and GPS on all city busses allowing residents to track busses to a stop in real time. Meanwhile, CivicApps for Greater Portland puts the power of GIS quite literally in its citizens’ hands.  Apps like PDX Reporter allow mobile users to catalog issues around Portland including graffiti giving city government 10s of 1,000s eyes and ears around Portland. GeoRev Episode 2 also showcases the benefits that geospatial technology brings to the private sector with a great case study of how UPS uses mapping technologies to decrease the total number of miles driven, while increasing driver safety.  Episode 2 wraps up with The Food Trust’s work using maps to identify high priority areas for community grocery stores in Philadelphia. Episode Three of Geospatial Revolution is due out March 1, 2011. In the meantime, view Episode Two of the Geospatial Revolution project below or by visiting their page here, http://geospatialrevolution.psu.edu/episode2/complete