Identifying Economic Vitality through Freight Movement in the Sun Corridor

Ryan Cook, GISP
Parsons Brinckerhoff
Tempe, AZ

The Sun Corridor megaregion stretches from Nogales, Mexico, to Prescott, Arizona. Approximately 85% of the population in Arizona resides within the Sun Corridor. The Sun Corridor's population is projected to reach approximately 8 million people by 2030, which would place a significant strain on the transportation network that connects Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima counties not only from a commuter perspective, but also from a freight operations and safety perspective.

The project is identifying freight related economic development opportunities to improve mobility and access for freight movements throughout the Sun Corridor. The team is using GIS to support the analysis of freight movement, as sixty-two percent of all freight movement in the US travels through Arizona.

Examine GIS utilization as it identifies new opportunities to unite cities, counties, transportation authorities, freight entities, and businesses to protect, maximize, and expand commerce and economic vitality. Learn the direct and indirect benefits of GIS utilization on the project to uncover better insights which will inform policy and decisions. Explore how the GIS professional can benchmark the investment in GIS within a project to identify economic development opportunities.