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New format Announced: The 2013 AGI EnvSIG Conference becomes the AGI March Showcase!!
Traditionally the EnvSIG have held an annual conference, bringing a selection of hot topics in the Environmental and GIS arena to a mixture of delegates from the public, private and voluntary sectors.
This year the AGI have created an exciting new format for their annual events program and are holding 6 showcase events around the UK. Each showcase will have multiple streams and cover the hot topics of the Geographic Information industry.
The 2013 EnvSIG conference entitled "Opening up environmental GI: Opportunities and challenges" forms the ‘Environment’ stream within the March AGI Showcase and is being sponsored by Civica and Scisys. This new format is a fantastic opportunity for delegates to attend a more varied event and a day packed full of papers from the public, private and voluntary sectors.
The call for papers for the environmental stream has now closed and the committee are compiling a programme that looks set to be the best one yet! If you are passionate about presenting a paper but have just missed the deadline then don't despair, there is still time to submit a paper for the second stream or indeed for one of the other showcase events.
The event is taking place on the 21st March 2013 it is a bargain price of only £49 + VAT. Registration is open and you can book your place here.
If you are interested in sponsoring one or more showcase events then please contact Claire Gilmour, the AGI Events Manager directly.
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Environmental SIG Annual Conference 2012
Regeneration and the Environment: The Benefits of Using Geographic Information
The annual conference of the Association of Geographic Information Environmental Special Interest Group (AGI EnvSIG) was held at The Gallery (Alan Baxter Associates LLP), London on 8 March. The conference attracted participants from a diverse background, but with a shared interest in the field of environmental regeneration.
Tim Stonor, Space SyntaxKey note speaker Tim Stonor, Space Syntax, set the scene for the conference with a presentation asking “What is the City for?”. Tim, an internationally recognised expert in the design of spatial layouts, looked at the fundamental role of space and the role of GI to support creativity in the field of urban planning. Case studies from the UK and internationally were used to demonstrate the active use of spatial analysis in regenerating cities.
During the day participants also heard from a range of speakers from across the public and private sector, all involved in GI enabled regeneration projects. This included online technology such as the Home and Communities Agency demonstrating the Spatial Intelligence Geographic Network (SIGnet), and Bristol City Council’s “Know Your Place” portal. The Mersey Forest presented their award winning work in developing a Valuation Analysis Toolkit for use in Green Infrastructure strategies and the British Geological Survey described their use of GIS for regenerating and conserving stone built heritage.
Group Breakout SessionA break-out session invoked an active discussion about further developing spatial technology with both communities and within design professions. The feedback from this session will be collated and available shortly from the AGI EnvSIG website.
The final presentation for the day from Simon Woody, Buro Happold, focused on the use of GIS in the Olympic Park development and the key lessons that could be taken forward for future regeneration projects. The presentation was particularly fitting in 2012 and, in addition, to the lessons learned participants commented that the London 2012 project has led to some notable improvements in GI management processes implemented by both public and private organisations.
The AGI EnvSIG would like to thank all of the speakers and participants of the event for contributions towards an engaging programme and successful event.
We would also like to especially thank the event sponsor Scysis, who have sponsored this event for two years running.
View Presentations from the day
Speaker Biographies and Abstracts (pdf)
Other Past Conferences:
This event was held on 23 March at the School of Economic Science in London, attracting attendees from a range of organisations and backgrounds. Feedback was very postitive: "Excellent event - good presentations and very useful networking opportunities" David Tulett, Marine Scotland "As a 'seasoned GIS practitioner' these events are often 'preaching to the converted'. However, I learned a lot from this event as the subjects covered areas I have not been involved with in the past" Peter Hanson, Infotech Enterprises Europe Presentations: 2010 Conference "Environmental GI: which routes will it take next?" Hosted at the British Geological Survey, Nottingham. Full details of the day are available by clicking the following links: 2011 Conference "Energy and the environment – applications of GI for a sustainable future"
