The White House Climate Data Initiative is one of the most important and timely initiatives of our times. In its community outreach, Esri plans to focus its initial efforts on 12 large and small communities, including New Orleans, Louisiana; Wake County, North Carolina; and Tamarac, Florida, to develop practical methods and approaches based on GIS technology that address the most critical requirements of the communities. Esri will continue its plan by publishing a series of maps and apps developed in conjunction with these communities that will be shared openly. Communities around the world can use the solutions to make progress toward becoming more resilient.
Esri’s climate-focused geo-collaboration portal is a place where citizens and professionals can go online to discover, contribute, and share resources critical to confronting the impacts of climate change, according to the press release. This website will offer a starting point for open data and ideas. It will evolve over time and grow as more scientists, government entities, and the public use it.
Both the local government focus group project and geo-collaboration portal complement the Esri Climate Resilience App Challenge, which launched last week in front of thousands of GIS developers at the Esri Developer Summit. The app challenge inspires developers to use their expertise for making maps and analytical tools that help communities see, understand, and prepare for climate risks. The event is open to everyone- from independent developers to startups, governments, academia, and NGOs. The resulting apps will be openly shared and Esri will award prizes to the winners. In July, the best of the best will be featured at the Esri International User Conference where more than 15,000 people gather to learn new practices they can use to make a positive difference in their own work.
To extend the reach of these important efforts, Esri has partnered with a variety of organizations that share a commitment for tackling complex climate challenges. Esri’s partners in building resilient communities include the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), National Association of Counties (NACO), National League of Cities (NLC), Tumml, American Public Works Association (APWA), American Planning Association (APA), Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM), American Water Resources Association (AWRA), International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), Local Government Commission (LGC), National Association of Development Organizations (NADO), National Alliance for Public Safety GIS Foundation (NAPSG Foundation), National Information Sharing Consortium (NISC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), Trust for Public Lands (TPL), and Public Technology Institute (PTI).