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Editor's Picks

SDI Interesting Reads – May 2016

Published Date
Author Gordon Plunkett

How much is the federal government contributing to new satellite technology R&D? Why is a tough, smart grid critical to smart communities? Find out these and more in this month’s compilation of SDI Interesting Reads.

Get inspiration for your projects from this compilation of interesting articles, blog posts and other resources related to spatial data infrastructure (SDI).

Putting map making back into the hands of the community

The NSCC Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS) recently hosted a community mapping showcase which featured web maps delivered in both ArcGIS Online and Google. Check out the website at mapannapolis.ca. This project is a collaboration between the Age Advantage Association, a not-for-profit group of seniors in the Annapolis Valley and the instructors and students in the Diploma of Geographic Sciences, Community and Environmental Planning program. The inter-generational project allows seniors to bring their local knowledge of the landscape to the map, and COGS students to bring their GIS and cartographic expertise to the table. Shown above is an ArcGIS Online story map displaying amenities at the Town of Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia.

About the Author

Gordon Plunkett is the Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) Director at Esri Canada. He has more than 30 years of experience in GIS and Remote Sensing in both the public and private sectors. He currently sits as a member of the Community Map of Canada Steering Committee, GeoAlliance Canada Interim Board of Directors, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Technical Committee, the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) Committee on Geomatics, the University of Laval Convergence Network Advisory Committee and the Advisory Board to the Carleton University Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre. During his career, Gordon has worked on projects in more than 20 countries and has contributed to numerous scientific conferences and publications. At Esri Canada, he is responsible for developing and supporting the company’s SDI vision, initiatives and outreach, including producing content for the SDI blog.

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