GIS Cafe Editor Susan Smith interviews
Robert Welch, president of Synergos Technologies, Inc. (STI) about the
GIS-based models his company is using to estimate the New Orleans
population after Katrina. Welch's models are of interest and also
underscore the importance of “ground-proofing.” (When you reach
the page below, scroll down to read the interview.)
Estimating Post-Katrina Populations with STI: PopStats
By Susan Smith
As we move into 2006, we are well aware that entire populations have
regrouped or moved as a result of Hurricane Katrina and Rita. With the
loss of homes, businesses and schools, not only an entire way of life,
but an extraordinary amount of data was also lost.
In an interview with Robert Welch, president of Synergos Technologies,
Inc. (STI) this week, I learned about the company's STI: PopStats
product, which is the market research industry's only quarterly
population estimating product. The first 2006 release of STI: PopStats
will include population estimates for those areas impacted by Hurricane
Katrina and Rita.
How is Synergos able to come out with population estimates every three
months? “Our STI: PopStats product is radically different from every
other population estimating product,” claimed Welch. “We're the only
the only company that can do an estimate every three months.”
