ESRI UC 2008

The ESRI UC is unlike any other event. As the largest GIS conference in the world, this annual gathering offers innovation at its best. Users from more than 120 countries come to learn new skills, share information, and discover best practices, tips, and tricks that they can use instantly. Be part of this extraordinary experience August 4–8, 2008, in San Diego, California.

Land Use Modeler for ArcGIS

Clark Labs, a member of the ESRI Business Partner Program, is developing its Land Change Modeler for Ecological Sustainability as a new software extension for ArcGIS. The Land Change Modeler offers an extensive suite of tools to assess and predict land cover change and determine the implications of change for ecological sustainability.

“Users will be able to easily perform a variety of change analyses with two land cover maps of different dates. For instance, the user would specify the files and immediately see area gains and losses by land cover category and net change, along with specific category transitions and exchanges in both map and graphical form” explained James Toledano, Executive Director of Clark Labs.

Tools specifically tailored for habitat and biodiversity issues include:
- species-specific habitat assessment to develop maps of primary and secondary habitats
-potential corridors and unsuitable areas
-biodiversity assessment,
-species distribution modeling
-range polygon refinement
-and biological corridor development
-planning tools allow the user to specify infrastructural or other modifications that would impact the change to be modeled

“These features make the Land Change Modeler unique,” said Toledano. “There are many tools on the market for change analysis and prediction, but no software has integrated them in one application. Users who are trying to understand land change and secure biodiversity will obtain great value from the Land Change Modeler. All of the analytical tools are organized into an accessible environment.”

Clark Labs has been working with the Andes Center for Biodiversity Conservation of Conservation International for several years to develop tools for analyzing and projecting land cover change and its effect on habitat and biodiversity. The scope of the project was subsequently broadened to develop a modeling environment (LCM) that could be used for a variety of land change scenarios and contexts. Further integration with the ArcGIS software extends the availability and accessibility of such important tools for users focused on land change, conservation and biodiversity.

“We at ESRI have great respect for Clark Labs and Clark University and their contributions to the advancement of GIS technology. We are excited to support their efforts in creating the Land Change Modeler extension for ArcGIS,” stated Kevin Johnston, Product Engineer at ESRI Inc. “We feel this extension will meet the needs of a variety of ESRI users especially those involved in conservation and land change.”

ESRI and ArcGIS are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of ESRI in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions.

Templates from ArcGIS Server Grant Winners Now Posted Online

ESRI and Stratus Technologies Encourage Governments to Use Publicly Available Resources

Redlands, California—Innovative applications and data delivery templates from the winners of the ESRI and Stratus Technologies ArcGIS Server Demonstration Project Grant Program are now available online at www.esri.com/servertemplates. These reusable applications are based on server GIS technology and can be used by governments with similar projects.

Through these public domain templates, ESRI and Stratus Technologies hope to encourage government agencies to share applications. Exchanging ideas and resources on issues that affect their communities enables governments to meet objectives and better serve the public.

The winners of the ArcGIS Server grant received software, hardware, and training valued at more than $800,000. The recipients were

* Town of Amherst, Massachusetts, Information Technology Department
* State of Texas, Parks and Wildlife Department
* Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska, Information Technology Department
* St. Clair County, Michigan, Road Commission
* Regional Transportation District of Denver, Colorado, Information Technology Department
* City of New York, New York, Fire Department
* Cabell-Huntington Health Department, West Virginia
* St. Johns County, Florida, GIS Division
* State of Missouri, Office of Administration, Information Technology Services Division
* County of Santa Cruz, California, Public Works Department

To learn more about the ESRI and Stratus Technologies ArcGIS Server Demonstration Project Grant, visit www.esri.com/grants and select past grants.

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About Stratus
Stratus Technologies provides customers worldwide with services and systems designed to provide complete, continuous-availability solutions for critical computer-based operations. With its Continuous Processing technology, Stratus serves government, public safety, telecommunications, banking, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, and many other industries in which uptime reliability is important and downtime is not tolerated. Visit Stratus at www.stratus.com.

Press Information:
Emily Vines, ESRI
Tel.: 909-793-2853, extension 1-3571
E-mail (press only): press@esri.com
General Information: info@esri.com

New Data in ArcGIS Business Analyst 9.2 Improves the Accuracy of Marketing Analyses

Redlands, California—ESRI's ArcGIS Business Analyst desktop software now includes ESRI's 2007/2012 demographic data update and segmentation, business, and shopping center data. This data update, available today, is the most current and accurate information about the U.S. population. The software innovations delivered at the 9.2 release, coupled with this update to the industry's best datasets, create the optimal business analysis solution that is ArcGIS Business Analyst.

"This is a major data update from previous versions of ArcGIS Business Analyst," says Mark Berry, ArcGIS Business Analyst product manager, ESRI. "It includes new developments in data sources, methods, and the measurement of continuing population changes in the Gulf Coast communities after the 2005 hurricane season."

The 2007 data updates to ArcGIS Business Analyst 9.2 include

* ESRI's 2007/2012 demographic data estimates and projections
* Segmentation data from Community Tapestry down to the census tract level
* Business data for approximately 12 million U.S. businesses from infoUSA (vintage January 2007)
* Shopping center data for 4,200 major U.S. shopping centers from Directory of Major Malls (vintage January 2007)

ArcGIS Business Analyst is well known as an effective solution for site selection; however, organizations have also realized the benefit of leveraging the product's rich demographic and consumer spending datasets with their own data for targeted marketing and decision making. This new data release takes data-driven analysis to the next level giving organizations the latest data to profile customers and constituents, find similar segments, craft marketing messages, and support analysis for market expansion.

While the solution ships today to new users with the 2007/2012 data update, existing ArcGIS Business Analyst users current on maintenance will automatically receive the data update.

For more information about ArcGIS Business Analyst, visit www.esri.com/ba or call 1-800-447-9778.

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Press Information:
Barbara Shields, ESRI
Tel.: 909-793-2853, extension 1-2641
E-mail (press only): press@esri.com
General Information: info@esri.com

Land Change Modeler for ArcGIS

Clark Labs, a member of the ESRI Business Partner Program, is developing its Land Change Modeler for Ecological Sustainability as a new software extension for ArcGIS. Developed in cooperation with Conservation International, and currently available in IDRISI Andes, the incorporation of the Land Change Modeler for the ArcGIS platform will ensure the broadest possible use of this important tool. The Land Change Modeler offers an extensive suite of tools to assess and predict land cover change and determine the implications of change for ecological sustainability.