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Building a City in 16 Years: Kelowna's Digital Twin Revolution

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When wildfire embers jumped 5km across Okanagan Lake, Kelowna's newly transformed GIS team faced their ultimate test. This is how strategic planning and location intelligence saved homes and transformed a city facing 40% growth.

Trapped between a lake, mountains, protected agriculture land reserves, and wildfire zones, Kelowna must accommodate 6000 new people a year by 2041. This case study reveals how a comprehensive geospatial strategy and Enterprise License Agreement prepared them for both crisis response and sustainable growth.

The Story Unfolds:

  • Geographic constraints force vertical growth - "building half a city in 16 years"
  • Geospatial strategy sessions create a unified GIS roadmap
  • From 5 shared licenses to unlimited access with an Enterprise License Agreement
  • Model City predicts infrastructure costs 16 years ahead
  • Wildfire tests everything - embers cross "impossible" 5km lake gap
  • Fire staff and GIS professionals team up to find thermal hotspots using drones
  • Residents return home 3-4 days early thanks to rapid GIS response

The Science of Where® in action: esri.ca

Chapters:

00:00 West Kelowna Wildfires
01:05 Population growth challenges
02:31 Enterprise License Agreement
04:17 Geospatial Strategy
05:45 Digital Twin
07:42 Explore3D Kelowna
08:27 West Kelowna Fires jump the lake & GIS to the rescue
10:21 From Hunger Games to innovation – anything is possible

#SmartCities #GIS #UrbanPlanning #WildfireResponse #CityPlanning #Kelowna #EsriCanada #LocalGovernment #PublicSafety #Esri