Trailheads, a Collaborative Approach (4 min)

At UGRC, we serve up datasets from a vast array of sources. Some, like municipal boundaries, are created in-house. Others are pulled from a single steward, like the land ownership data maintained by S

Utah Crushes Broadband Challenge through Collaboration (5 min)

Among the many lessons the Covid-19 pandemic taught us, we learned two things about high-speed internet. First, high download upload speeds are necessities in the modern world. Second, figuring out w

Base maps: Out With the Old, In With the New (2 min)

It has been almost a decade since UGRC has updated the look and feel of any of the base maps but changes are on the way! The current suite of base maps were originally authored in ArcMap. These projec

Aggregating and Analyzing Point Data with H3 Hexes and Pandas (10 min)

I recently discovered Uber's open-source H3 geospatial indexing system while working on a project with a lot of point data. This is a great tool for aggregating points into regularly-sized polygon geo

Choosing the Right Transformation (8 min)

Modern GIS software goes to great lengths to automate the mundane tasks and hide the boring stuff from us. As a relative newcomer to the field, I've heard the old-timers talk about how spoiled we are

GIS - Thinking Beyond the Map (8 min)

If you’re reading this post, you’re already aware that geospatial technology (a.k.a. GIS) has become an essential part of our daily lives. Its capabilities extend from small-scale phone applications a

Digital Maps - How Chance, Timing, and Heritage Shaped Modern GIS (24 min)

When you dig into the history of mapping, it's remarkable how certain things come about. If you zoom in far enough, you discover seemingly coincidental occurrences that ended up playing pivotal roles

The SGID - Then and Now (8 min)

Access to high-quality GIS data is a privilege, and the fact that it's open and free is nothing short of amazing. Yes, I’m talking about Utah's SGID. From a local perspective, we’re all accustomed to

The Incredible Shrinking SGID (3 min)

Over the past several months, UGRC has been reviewing the usage of the State Geographic Information Database (SGID) data layers in order to determine how to most effectively be a steward of the state’

25 Years Ago: Laying the Foundation for Utah GIS Success (3 min)

For those of us not in the GIS field at the time, 1991 was a significant year in Utah and beyond...In March of 1991, Governor Norman Bangerter signed into law Senate Bill 21, sponsored by Senator Dixi