Geospatial

As the St. Louis region moves toward being a hub for the geospatial industry, leaders are looking at K-12 schools to help build the workforce.

“St. Louis put in the effort years ago to have this new facility built here and then recognized that that was not the end of the journey, that was the beginning of the journey,” said the former leader of the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation.

“If you want to attract economic development to the area, one of the selling points is that we have talent for you to bring whatever your respective business, industry here,” one expert said.

The roughly 3,100 people who work for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in St. Louis will likely start moving into new space in late 2025, with that move completed in early 2026.

A $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation will fund the project, a collaboration among eight partner institutions in Missouri and Illinois.

The Globe Building’s new “sensitive compartmented information facility” brings new opportunities to St. Louis-based geospatial intelligence firms that require a classified environment to conduct business.

A career services nonprofit will launch a geospatial careers program to increase the number of women, particularly women of color, in the industry.

By studying bedrock river erosion, researchers at Wash U hope to develop a better understanding of how rivers may react to future flooding events.

Developed by Lindenwood University and the St. Louis Zoo, the GeoZoo curriculum received a grant.

The 2021 GEOINT Symposium is taking place in downtown St. Louis this week, and local leaders say it’s an opportunity to showcase the region's emerging geospatial industry.