GIS pioneer explores "The Power of Where" in new interactive book

Esri co-founder Jack Dangermond introduced his new book "The Power of Where: A Geographic Approach to the World's Greatest Challenges" at a recent Redlands Forum, highlighting the company's 50-year history and the importance of geographic thinking in addressing global challenges.

Dangermond sat down with his friend and historian Larry Burgess to kick off the 2024-25 Redlands Forum season on Thursday, Sept. 5, at the Esri Auditorium.

The book, which combines traditional print with interactive digital elements, explores how Geographic Information System (GIS) technology can be applied to solve complex problems across various fields.

"This book has my name on the front, but it was actually authored by about 50 people," Dangermond said. "It's really a body of knowledge that brings together 50 years or so of what we've been doing here in this organization."

The book focuses on the geographic approach to solving problems and the potential of modern GIS to address humanity's great challenges.

The book, which was years in the making, contains more than 500 maps, many created by Esri users. It also provides a unique look at the early days of Esri, which Dangermond co-founded with his wife Laura Dangermond in 1969. 

During the Redlands Forum presentation, Dangermond briefly overviewed how geography, cartography and technology work together. He highlighted the widespread application of GIS technology across various sectors, including urban planning, environmental conservation, national security and disaster response.

"Today, its mission, as we describe it, is to create useful technology that other people can use," Dangermond explained. "Not just technology, but useful technology that helps people do their work better."

After Dangermond introduced the book, he and Burgess sat down together and chatted as old friends a bit more about how Esri started, the future of GIS and the value of finding purpose and meaning in life. 

Finding the way to geography

Burgess started the conservation by asking Dangermond when he first found an interest in geography.

Dangermond shared a pivotal experience during his time at Cal Poly Pomona that sparked his lifelong interest in geography and mapping. He explained his senior project as a landscape architecture student was to understand why people preferred specific shopping centers over others. He distributed 3,000 questionnaires expecting to find preferences based on features like trees, benches, or architecture. However, he found no correlation among these factors.

In what he called a "serendipitous" move, Dangermond had asked respondents to include their addresses on the questionnaires. Plotting these addresses on a large paper map, he discovered that proximity was the primary factor influencing shopping center choice—the closer people lived, the more likely they were to visit. This realization led him to central place theory, which he later studied in graduate school.

"I had this realization that geography matters. It's quite intuitive to everyone, but it started me on this adventure," said Dangermond.

This experience opened his eyes to the importance of geography and the power of mapping as a way to understand complex systems, eventually leading to his career in GIS and his passion for using technology to explore geographic patterns.

As a graduate student, he said he began to see the world differently. One example he gives in the book is on an airplane ride, he sees an overview of the landscape with connecting systems and everything his professor spoke about comes into focus. 

"The world is a big interconnected system and maps turn out to be the language of understanding all of that."

Dangermond said experiencing these fundamental discoveries first-hand allowed him to "understand the power of geography." The next step of computing map data opened yet another world of discoveries.

"We became fanatics," recalls Dangermond, in harnessing the emerging technology of combining computers and quantitative geography.

Returning to Redlands

After completing a Master's degree in Landscape Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, he and Laura Dangermond made the decision together to return home to Redlands.

Reflecting on that pivotal decision, Dangermond said, "We wanted to be back with our family and also back in a community, well, our community."

That decision, Dangermond said, turned out to be beneficial.

"It was not expensive to live. It wasn't expensive to start it. And we found a nurturing community, people that actually knew us and we had the support system of our families."

When asked during Q & A about starting a business with his wife, Dangermond provided an honest reaction to mixing business and marriage.

"She's been a major contributor to making this ecosystem of Esri work and also my life work. That's a simple way to say it. And it's true of all relationships, you know, it's hard to make it work. It's hard to make the world work."

Why 'where' matters

After some banter about book titles and the daunting task of naming a work, Dangermond prodded Burgess to ask him the meaning behind the title, "The Power of Where."

Dangermond explained that while the book could have been titled "The Power of Geography," this might have alienated some readers. Instead, "where" is a word that everyone can relate to, as it connects with personal experiences and memories—where you were born, where you had your first date, or where significant historical events happened.

Dangermond highlights that "where" serves as a bridge between individual experiences and the broader field of geography. He references Aristotle's idea that the human brain is wired with a special "where" index, making spatial memory far more powerful than other forms of memory.

This deep connection to "where" makes the geographic approach more relatable and intuitive for people.

He also points out that maps have become a new language of understanding, with billions of maps created daily on the web, underscoring the growing importance of spatial thinking in everyday life.

"So between, four to five billion maps are made by by users every day, and it's growing at 30 to 40%. So it's a new language. It's a new language of understanding, and it's all about where in reference to, in other words, it's very personal."

The future of GIS

Dangermond discusses the impact of GIS and Esri's future initiatives, highlighting the company's MapMaker tool for K-12 education. He notes that MapMaker aims to enhance spatial literacy among students by integrating mapping into various curriculum areas like science, history, and the environment. He envisions this as part of a broader movement where young people will "play with geography," fostering a revolution in project-based learning and helping them understand the world through maps.

Another project, dubbed "a map for that" would provide open resources for addressing critical challenges like climate change by exposing environmental damage and countering misinformation.

He also acknowledges concerns about GIS being used for potentially negative purposes but emphasizes that the technology can also democratize information by providing free mapping tools to the public.

Looking ahead, Dangermond sees maps becoming a universal language, leading to a world where geography plays a key role in understanding and solving complex issues.

He positions GIS as a counterbalance to "evil forces" by making information transparent and accessible.

In pursuit of meaning

Dangermond closed the forum by reflecting on the importance of living a life filled with purpose and meaning. He asked the audience: "Don't you think that you have been living a purposeful life? A meaningful life?"

Dangermond expressed gratitude for the opportunity to pursue his life's work passionately, emphasizing the value of dedicating oneself fully to a cause.

He remarked, "It's worth closing this session by just reminding ourselves that we are here for a purpose. I've had the great opportunity to do that. And I play hard at it... I mean, what else is there, being able to have an opportunity to live a meaningful and purposeful life? Gosh, I've had that opportunity, and I love it."

About Redlands Forum: Throughout the year, presenters and attendees come to the Esri campus for discussions that bring awareness to issues and offer practical action items. Attend talks from anthropologists, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, filmmakers, journalists, performers, and more. Redlands Forum is sponsored by Esri, the University of Redlands and Town & Gown. More information here.