GIS Innovators in Smart Cities and Open Data Recognized at Annual User Conference

REDLANDS, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — July 8, 2019 — Esri, the global leader in geographic information systems (GIS), today announced the recipients of the prestigious President’s Award and Enterprise GIS Award, which were presented during today’s plenary at the 39^th Esri User Conference in San Diego, California.

“This year’s awardees are demonstrating how GIS can be a key tool for governmental organizations to build safer, smarter, and more engaged communities,” said Jack Dangermond, Esri founder and president. “Whether it’s a project to detect and address health issues in the homeless population or creating open data portals to foster citizen engagement and enabling smarter planning for the future, these organizations have shown the good that geospatial technology can be put to in the public sphere.”

Award recipients demonstrated innovative use of GIS to answer challenges and inspire change within their organizations. Award winners included the following:

• President’s Award—City of San Diego, California was recognized with the highest honor given to an organization for both its traditional and innovative use of GIS to make maps, collect data, and change business practices. The City was an early adopter of ArcGIS Pro, and currently has almost 1,400 active ArcGIS Online users. Some of the key projects developed by the City over the years include the use of GIS to locate and plan the City’s Smart City/Smart Streetlight project; a suite of apps to facilitate permit issuance of 5G equipment; the use of Survey123 to coordinate homeless support services among city partners; innovative mobile applications to monitor open water and environmentally sensitive areas; a LiDAR-based tree canopy assessment in support of the City’s Climate Action Plan; civic engagement tools to monitor utilities underground; and route optimization strategies to improve services to residents.

• Enterprise GIS Award—Government of the District of Columbia was recognized for creating a leading model for governments and businesses throughout the world. Through the District’s use of GIS, DC is creating greater efficiency, collaboration across departments, transparent and open government, and citizen engagement. Through a central GIS/IT infrastructure, the District and its Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) is a leader in implementing an enterprise GIS, offering more than 1,200 datasets in its open data portal to share necessary information across departments. OCTO also coordinates a central portal for maps, apps, and data, as well as a secure public safety portal for emergency management, police, and fire department applications.

Later this week, the Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Awards will also be presented to selected institutions from across the globe acknowledging their pioneering use of geospatial technology to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues. Organizations will be recognized this year in fields such as local government, agriculture, environmental analysis, emergency response, retail, and water management for leading the way in location intelligence innovation.

To learn more about the Esri User Conference, visit esriurl.com/PR2019.

About Esri

Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, offers the most powerful geospatial cloud available, to help customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations including 90 of the Fortune 100 companies, all 50 state governments, more than half of all counties (large and small), and 87 of the Forbes Top 100 Colleges in the U.S., as well as all 15 Executive Departments of the U.S. Government and dozens of independent agencies. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most advanced solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. Visit us at esri.com.

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Jo Ann Pruchniewski
Public Relations, Esri
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