The Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS) and the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) are pleased to announce a joint CaGIS conference and UCGIS symposium in Columbus, Ohio, on June 3-6, 2024. The theme of the joint event will be Climate Smart GIScience: Mapping a Sustainable Future.
The climate crisis is the defining event of our time, and perhaps of the entire span of human civilization. As the globe continues to heat due to anthropogenic climate change, we will experience more extreme weather events, disruptions to our infrastructures and lives, human displacement and strains on society, governance and security. We will also witness increasing harms to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, including species migration and extinction. The geographic dimension of these events and impacts will not be uniform, and will depend on factors such as geography, demographics, resources and societal organization, with people of color and disadvantaged communities bearing the largest burdens.
Major questions for the conference include:
- How can geographic information science, spatial analysis, cartography and geovisualization help us to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis at all geographic scales?
- How can novel geospatial data and GeoAI help us understand the behavior of complex human-environmental systems and shape these systems towards more sustainable and resilient outcomes in a time of intensifying disruptions?
- What are the best practices for science, industry and governmental collaboration in a climate emergency, including educating and training the next generation of researchers, practitioners and policy analysis, and development of GeoAI standards?
- How do we conduct research, education and outreach in a climate-friendly way, including the activities of professional organizations? How do we help our universities become more climate smart?
- How do we leverage the power of the map in climate change communication, for outreach and engagement to communities impacted by climate change and extreme weather?