Six months in, and the GIS conversation has already covered more ground than usual. We have walked through budget season, dug into satellite imagery, dissected redistricting, and made the case for taking landscaping companies and churches as seriously as county governments when it comes to mapping needs.
Some posts answered a question someone was probably already asking. Others raised a question readers did not know they had. This roundup pulls the first half of the year together by theme, so you can catch up on what you missed or revisit what stuck.
Budgets, Calendars, and the Rhythm of the Year
A couple of posts tied GIS directly to the calendar that local government already runs on, fiscal years and redistricting cycles included.
- What a New Fiscal Year Means for Your GIS
- Redistricting Is Happening in Virginia. Here’s How GIS Keeps Counties Ready.
Public Trust, Access, and Who GIS Is Really For
A theme that kept resurfacing was the gap between who GIS is built for on paper and who actually needs it to work well. These posts pushed back on outdated assumptions about cost, accessibility, and government exclusivity.
- Five Things People Get Wrong About Web-Based GIS
- When Maps Work for Everyone: How GIS Technology Is Breaking Down Barriers
- Your County Has One GIS Person. Here’s How to Make That Work.
Real-World Use Cases Beyond Government
This was the year we made a deliberate case that iGIS® was never built exclusively for counties and cities. These posts followed organizations most people would not expect to find in a GIS conversation.
- Case Study: How Southern Landscape Group Uses iGIS® to Drive Smarter Routes, Targeted Marketing, and Growth
- Case Study: How Thomas Road Baptist Church Used iGIS® to Knock on Every Door in Lynchburg
- When Seconds Count: How Indoor GIS Mapping Is Changing School Safety
- Three Unexpected Ways iGIS® Is Being Put to Work
Public Works, Infrastructure, and the Unglamorous Work
Some of the most practical posts of the year had nothing to do with new technology and everything to do with the slow, unglamorous work of keeping infrastructure data current before something breaks.
- Mapping Aging Infrastructure: Why Counties Can’t Afford to Wait
- Mapping Summer Recreation Assets for Citizens and Visitors
Data, Technology, and What’s Changing Underneath the Maps
A few posts zoomed out to look at the tools and data sources shaping GIS work this year, from satellite imagery to fresh census releases to the broader pace of change in the industry.
- Fresh Data Just Dropped: Why the 2020-2024 ACS Release Matters for Your GIS Work
- From 15 to 120 Satellites: What Better Imagery Actually Means for Your Community
- 5 GIS Stories Worth Your Attention in 2026 (And What They Mean for You)
Stories, History, and a Few Detours
Not every post this year was about workflows and budgets. Some stepped back to tell a story, mark a moment, or look at GIS through a different lens entirely, including a look at the 1785 land ordinance that unintentionally built the parcel grid GIS still relies on today.
- A Tale of How a Map Can Turn Debate Into Decisions
- When Seeing Clearly Changes the Conversation
- When Winter Storms Move Faster Than Your Planning
- Independence Came First. The Map Came Later.
If there is a thread running through the first half of 2026, it is that GIS keeps showing up in places people did not expect to look for it — budget meetings, church parking lots, satellite launches, even a 240-year-old land grant. The common denominator is not the technology. It is the decision that gets easier once the right information is visible.
We will keep telling those stories through the back half of the year, with a few more case studies and seasonal posts already taking shape. If one of these topics hit close to home, or if you are curious what iGIS® could surface in your own data, we offer a free 90-day demo using your own data, so you can see what is possible before committing to anything.
