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The case for using spatial SQL

Why spatial SQL matters and how it can help you accelerate your GIS and geospatial workflows Originally published on Towards Data Science in June 2021 It was the spring of 2012 and I just had my first encounter with a SQL query. I had just moved to New York at the end of 2011 and … Continue reading The case for using spatial SQL

Matt Forrest

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July 3, 2025 Matt Forrest No comments yet

For decades, GIS has lived in a world of its own. Specialized software. Obscure formats. A profession that, despite being critical to everything from climate modeling to logistics, has remained siloed from the rest of the data world. But that’s finally starting to change. In the latest episode of the Spatial Stack podcast, I sat … Continue reading Breaking the GIS Silo: Why GeoParquet and Iceberg are the key to Spatial Analytics at Scale

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TOP OF THE STACK What we need to do with COGs COGs (Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFFs) are one of the most promising tools we have for making raster data truly cloud-native. They let you stream just the pieces you need, work remotely, and plug into modern geospatial systems without downloading giant files. But after working closely with … Continue reading Scaling GIS Workflows with COGs, Airflow, and Apache Iceberg

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From Desktop GIS to Cloud: A Beginner’s Roadmap to Modern GIS Tool

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Modern GIS is changing fast. If you’ve been working with QGIS, ArcGIS, or any other desktop GIS tool, you’ve probably hit some limitations—datasets getting too big, processing times slowing down, and collaboration becoming a challenge. The good news? The cloud offers a way forward. But how do you make that transition? How do you go … Continue reading From Desktop GIS to Cloud: A Beginner’s Roadmap to Modern GIS Tool

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