The Power of Where: A Geographic Approach to the World's Greatest Challenges

The Power of Where presents the visionary concepts of Jack Dangermond, cofounder of Esri®, the world’s leading mapping software company. With a foreword by bestselling author and writer for The Atlantic, James Fallows, it’s filled with the latest web maps, illustrations, and real-life stories from a vibrant global community of geographic information systems (GIS) users. If you’ve never heard of GIS, this is the book for you, and if you think you know what GIS is, you’ll discover much more.

From the Ring of Fire to the Fertile Crescent, The Power of Where takes us on a visual and narrative journey into the world of modern GIS and reveals its growing potential to address humanity’s big challenges. The technology is already ubiquitous, from running city governments and performing civic science to conserving open spaces and managing logistics―virtually every human endeavor.

Central to the book is the geographic approach―a way of solving problems that uses spatial location to perceive and understand patterns―from wildlife migration and rising seas to urban planning and food production. Drawing from 60 years of research and experience, the author writes from a fervent conviction that through this approach, we can confront climate change, hunger, water scarcity, inequity, and issues large and small in our everyday lives.

The book describes the methods of the geographic approach―visualization, communication, analysis, collaboration, accounting, and design―and shows how vast amounts of integrated data are propelling spatial applications into the mainstream. A companion website brings interactive maps and stories to life and serves as a starting point for students and educators―and anyone considering joining the GIS user community.

The Power of Where reveals how technologies such as web services, mobile devices, artificial intelligence, extended reality, and 3D visualization intersect with GIS and outlines the new opportunities they are creating. Its maps and stories arise from a passion for the power of place and from the mutually reinforcing revolutions in Earth observation, analysis, and collaboration that GIS and the human spirit make possible.

Explore live examples from the book and learn more about interactive mapping and the tools of modern GIS at powerofwhere.com.

Widely acknowledged as the leading visionary in the field of geographic information system (GIS) technology, Jack Dangermond and his wife, Laura, launched the Environmental Systems Research Institute in 1969 with a shared vision that system thinking along with computer mapping and spatial analysis could help people design a better future. For more than 50 years, their vision has guided Esri’s GIS mapping and analytic technologies worldwide.

Their lifelong involvement in conservation dates to the early years of Esri when they began designing parks and planting trees in their community. In the decades since, they have donated thousands of trees to area schools, parks, and the community to support the local urban forest. More recently, they purchased and donated 25,000 acres of grassland, chaparral, oak woodland, and forest along the Central California coast to The Nature Conservancy to protect a biodiverse landscape known as the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve.

Jack’s life work has brought many honors, including the Planet and Humanity Medal from the International Geographical Union, the Champions of Earth Award from the United Nations, and the Alexander Graham Bell Medal from the National Geographic Society.  Jack and Laura live in their hometown of Redlands, CA, where Esri is based. 

James Fallows is a national bestselling author and writer for The Atlantic.