GIS-Pro: URISA's Annual Conference for GIS Professionals
Since 1963, URISA members and friends from around the world have convened annually to learn about, share and discuss all things geospatial. Whether you are an established or emerging GIS Professional, the GIS-Pro Conference is for you.
Dig deeper...go beyond basic technology and applications and contemplate issues related to policy, information and technology management. The Conference offers a unique multidisciplinary approach, with participation from all levels and agencies of government, academia, consultants, developers, technology providers...so you receive the benefit of a variety of viewpoints and experiences.
You likely have a preferred provider for technical training...make URISA your preferred provider for GIS professional development and management training.
Join your colleagues, peers, thinkers and doers from around the world at GIS-Pro, URISA's Annual Conference for GIS Professionals.
"This is what I have found by attending URISA. The people are great and are willing to share their knowledge. This is a professional organization with a range of practitioners from newcomers to the technology to some of the "original" thought provokers. These conferences have helped me to form professional networks, as well as life-long personal friendships that span the globe. The URISA conferences provide me with an opportunity to step back from my day-to-day work and look at the big picture. They give me the chance to revitalize my creative energies and I return to my work brimming with new ideas and vision - refreshed, motivated, and with a whole new outlook!"
-Sandi Majewski, GISP, Crime Analyst, City of Las Vegas Metro Police Dept.
Conference Site History
Conference Sites through 2011 - Map prepared by Kris Larson, GISP
URISA emanated from a conference held on August 28, 1963 on the campus of the University of Southern California, organized by Edgar Horwood and attended by 48 people to trade information on developments in regional information systems. This was billed as the ‘First Annual Conference on Urban Planning Information Systems and Programs.’ Additional annual conferences were held from 1964 through 1966 in Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Berkeley. At the 1966 Berkeley Conference, attendees approved a constitution establishing the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA).
The conference held in 1967 in Garden City, New York was the first called the URISA Annual Conference. However, URISA considers that its first conference was the one held in 1963 on the USC Campus in Los Angeles.
| Year | Conference Location |
| 1967 | Garden City, NY |
| 1968 | Clayton, MO |
| 1969 | Los Angeles, CA |
| 1970 | Louisville, KY |
| 1971 | New Orleans, LA |
| 1972 | San Francisco, CA |
| 1973 | Atlantic City, NJ |
| 1974 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada (George Farnsworth, Chair) |
| 1975 | Seattle, WA (Don Luria, Chair) |
| 1976 | Atlanta, GA (Robert Aangeenbrug, Chair) |
| 1977 | Kansas City, MO (Barry Wellar, Chair) |
| 1978 | Washington, DC (Dorothy Bomberger, Chair) |
| 1979 | San Diego, CA (O.E. Dial, Chair) |
| 1980 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada (William DeGroff, Chair) |
| 1981 | New Orleans, LA (Sam Trotter, Chair) |
| 1982 | Minneapolis, MN (Ken Dueker, Chair) |
| 1983 | Atlanta, GA (Thomas Palmerlee, Chair) |
| 1984 | Seattle, WA (William Huxhold, Chair) |
| 1985 | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Robert Hurst, Chair) |
| 1986 | Denver, CO (William Craig, Chair) |
| 1987 | Fort Lauderdale, FL (Charles Kindleberger, Chair) |
| 1988 | Los Angeles, CA (D. David Moyer, Chair) |
| 1989 | Boston, MA (Constance Blackmon, Chair) |
| 1990 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (Gilbert Castle, Chair) |
| 1991 | San Francisco, CA (Libby Clapp, Chair) |
| 1992 | Washington, DC (Ed Crane, Chair) |
| 1993 | Atlanta, GA (Laurel McKay, Chair) |
| 1994 | Milwaukee, WI (Randolf Gschwind, Chair) |
| 1995 | San Antonio, TX (R. Wayne Bannister, Chair) |
| 1996 | Salt Lake City, UT (M. Glenn O'Grady, Chair) |
| 1997 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Pete Croswell & Sandra Crutcher, Co-Chairs) |
| 1998 | Charlotte, NC (Nancy von Meyer, Chair) |
| 1999 | Chicago, IL (Dan Parr, Chair) |
| 2000 | Orlando, FL (Zorica Nedovic-Budic, Chair) |
| 2001 | Long Beach, CA (Hilary Perkins, Chair) |
| 2002 | Chicago, IL (Martha Wells, Chair) |
| 2003 | Atlanta, GA (Thomas Conry, Chair) |
| 2004 | Reno, NV (Allen Ibaugh, Chair) |
| 2005 | Kansas City, MO (Lisa Lubeley, Chair) |
| 2006 | Vancouver, BC Canada (Sandi Majewski, Chair) |
| 2007 | Washington, DC (Mark Sievers, Chair) 2007 Annual Conference Highlights - DC |
| 2008 | New Orleans, LA (David Dubauskas, Chair) 2008 Annual Conference Highlights - New Orleans, LA |
| 2009 | Anaheim, CA (Michael Lovett, Chair) 2009 Annual Conference Highlights - Anaheim, CA |
| 2010 | Orlando, FL (Danielle Ayan, Chair ) GIS-Pro 2010 Annual Conference Highlights - Orlando |
| 2011 | Indianapolis, IN (Geney Terry, Chair) GIS-Pro 2011 Annual Conference Highlights - Indianapolis |
| 2012 | Portland, OR (Claudia Paskauskas, Chair) GIS-Pro 2012 Annual Conference Highlights - Portland |
