Esri Book Demonstrates How Maps Enable Cross-Sector Civic Collaboration

January 11, 2022 at 15:09 PM EST

Geospatial Technology Can Bring Leaders from Different Perspectives Together to Address Community Challenges

American communities today face difficult issues—climate change, access to health care, homelessness, and more—which are tangled, complicated, and constantly evolving. Coined "wicked problems" more than 40 years ago by University of California, Berkeley professors Horst Rittel and C. West Churchman, these issues exceed the capacity of any one sector but instead demand the kind of creative thinking, democratized engagement, and integrated action produced by governments, nonprofits, businesses, and residents working in concert.

To help address these challenges, Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, is releasing Collaborative Cities: Mapping Solutions to Wicked Problems. Written for residents and city leaders, this new book guides readers into using location intelligence to derive public value from action.

When different stakeholders don't agree on the best approach, strategy, or goals, how do they find commonality? According to coauthors Stephen Goldsmith and Kate Markin Coleman, they should turn to maps. Geography is essential to determining where problems are happening and where people need assistance defining the issues. When used with technological developments in data analytics, visualization, connectivity, and the Internet of Things (IoT), mapping can promote effective cross-sector collaboration.

In Collaborative Cities: Mapping Solutions to Wicked Problems, Goldsmith (former mayor of Indianapolis and deputy mayor of New York City) and Coleman (former executive vice president for branding and strategy at the YMCA) use their combined years of experience to analyze the best civic examples of geospatial technology working in cross-sector networks, including public safety, homelessness, and sustainability.

Collaborative Cities: Mapping Solutions to Wicked Problems is available in print (ISBN: 9781589485396, 250 pages, US$24.99) and as an e-book (ISBN: 9781589485402, US$24.99) from most online retailers worldwide. The print edition is also available for purchase at esri.com/esripress or by calling 1-800-447-9778. If outside the United States, visit esri.com/distributors to contact your local Esri distributor. Interested retailers can contact Esri Press book distributor Ingram Publisher Services.

About Esri

Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, helps customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969 in Redlands, California, USA, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations globally and in over 200,000 institutions in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofits, and universities. Esri has regional offices, international distributors, and partners providing local support in over 100 countries on six continents. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most innovative solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. Visit us at esri.com.

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