Geographical Thinking from Esri Canada

Geographical Thinking Caps, our funcast podcast, is back! To celebrate Canada Day, Mark Ho welcomes Dan Mallett and Susie Saliola of Esri Canada to uncover the truths and lies of Canadian geography. From largest islands to bathtub racing, you'll learn more about your country with fun conversation along the way. Bring the sunscreen and wave the maple leaf - it's time to battle for geo-glory! https:...

Spatial literacy doesn’t need to be hard and complex as it sounds. Two parents made it into a fun family activity with their two boys mapping out their Disney World Trip before COVID-19.  Guan talked to Colleen Raymond and Mike Gregotski, both long time GIS professionals, about how they are engaging their small children in geography projects and impressing their sons’ friends!  Looking...

Skills Ontario runs a contest for high school students to practice their spatial analysis skills with the hope that they may use it professionally. Join Guan's conversation with one of the winners - Jaden Noronha, a Grade 12 student who one judges described as doing ‘amazing work’ and the teacher supporting him - Joey Raso from Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School in Dufferin Peel. Res...

Every year more than 40,000 children go missing in Canada. Less than one per cent are broadcast through AMBER Alerts due to its specific criteria and high threshold. With GIS and technology, Missing Children Society of Canada (MCSC) created a search network connecting police and the community in real-time when kids go missing. Amanda Pick, CEO of MCSC talks to Guan about the mobile app MCSC rescu...

When they hear "oh so you make maps", many GIS professionals just quietly agree, though they know it's not close to describing what they do or explaining the ‘Science of Where'. It is a problem if your upper management also thinks you just make maps. That misperception can stall your career. Explaining the many rewards of using GIS software - without having the non GIS person run from the room - i...

Some patients travel more than two hours to spend 15 minutes with their family doctors. That's not unusual in Nova Scotia. How can geospatial technology help people get easier access to medical care? In this episode, Guan talks to Ajantha Jayabarathan, also known as Dr. AJ, a family doctor practicing in Halifax. She shares her stories and vision for how GIS can underpin a more accessible, efficien...

It shouldn't be hard to find information on Indigenous role models or community successes. How about a vast number of them? Denali YoungWolfe, a PhD researcher at the University of British Columbia, collects Indigenous success stories across Turtle Island and maps them to show their presence, abundance and diversity. In this episode, she talks to Guan about her story " We Rise: The Âhkameyihtamowi...

If you could visualize the location of all crimes in your region, would you do anything differently to stay safe or make it safer for others? Debbie Verduga from the Toronto Police Service (TPS) talks to Guan about TPS's Public Safety Data Portal , its evolution and impact, and Debbie's own personal GIS journey to becoming a senior crime analyst.

Caroline Arnouk, founder and CEO of OPA Technologies, decided to challenge the status quo of traffic closure planning while working for the City of Montréal. The civil engineer founded OPA Technologies six years ago to help cities minimize the effects of traffic obstructions using GIS. Caroline speaks to Guan about how to sell to the public sector, the benefits of circulating business ideas and th...

What will the role of GIS be in the future? And what will this mean for GIS professionals? Guan chats with Chris North, director of technology adoption at Esri Canada, about the shift he is seeing in the geospatial business and the opportunities this transformation can bring. Chris shares his views on how the industry is evolving from specialization to mainstream, why organizations need to bring g...

Centraide of Greater Montréal and United Way Greater Toronto released a special edition of their Radar—an innovative mapping tool—in response to increased community needs and an influx of emergency funding during COVID-19. The Radar geospatial tool profiles poverty in Canadian communities and helps local United Way organizations prioritize resource allocation. Listen to Guan's conversation with tw...

Twelve years ago, Dovercourt Recreation Association decided to try something new by mapping the community they serve. What the maps revealed validated their assumptions and provided them with the confidence to take on new challenges. Join Guan and her co-host Emilie Rabeau for an inspiring conversation with John Rapp, the Executive Director of the Dovercourt Recreation Association. John shares wha...

Geography is fun! In that spirit, Mark Ho hosts the first edition of Geographical Thinking Caps - our trivia-based funcast podcast. Join Erica Corbett and Jonathan Nowlan from Esri Canada as they share their geographical journeys and answer holiday-themed questions. Play along and find out who wins the ultimate prize - geo-glory!

How can Artificial Intelligence (AI) be applied to geospatial problem solving? Enter GeoAI. Join Guan as she dives into the power of GeoAI with Esri Canada's Higher Education Developer Tasos Dardas. Tasos shares his thoughts on how we're just at the tip of the iceberg in applying GeoAI and explores its exciting possibilities.

The pandemic has drastically changed personal vehicle use, public transit ridership and the role of curbside spaces in our cities. Join Guan Yue in our inaugural episode as she explores these trends with Esri Canada's Transportation Industry Manager Arif Rafiq. Arif presents an energetic view that will leave you thinking about how transportation planning will evolve during and after the pandemic.

The importance of geography cannot be understated: everything is somewhere. Almost every challenge that our society faces has a spatial component to it. Subscribe to our podcast, where you will get timely stories and insights about how people are making a difference by applying geographical thinking.