Learn GIS: From Basics to Modern Geospatial Skills - Stop Using Latitude & Longitude (There is a Better Way)

Using Latitude and Longitude for modern spatial analytics is often too messy, too slow, and too hard to scale. If you want to perform lightning-fast spatial joins, create beautiful hexagon visualizations, or build machine learning features that actually work, you need to stop thinking in points and start thinking in grids. 📊 FREE: The Modern GIS Skill Map The 5 skills that actually matter in modern GIS (and what you can stop learning). Based on a survey of 1,400+ geospatial professionals. ➡ Get the free training + PDF guide: https://forrest.nyc/go/training/ In this video: I break down the three major Global Grid Systems that power companies like Uber and Google: H3, S2, and A5. Most people think these are just for making "cool maps," but choosing the wrong one can break your backend engineering or ruin your analysis. I’ll explain exactly which one you should pick for your specific use case. We cover: H3 (The Uber Choice): Why hexagons are the king of visualization and how Uber uses them to optimize rides. S2 (The Google Choice): Why Google Maps uses squares (quads) and why it's better for backend storage than visualization. A5 (The New Contender): The pentagonal grid from Felix Palmer (Deck.gl) that solves the "area distortion" problem. The Pitfalls: When NOT to use grids (floods, precise boundaries, and parcels). 🔗 Resources Mentioned: Podcast with Felix Palmer (Deep Dive on A5): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2zHsqYjRfM My Article on Apache Sedona (When to use Grids): https://sedona.apache.org/latest/blog/2025/09/05/should-you-use-h3-for-geospatial-analytics-a-deep-dive-with-apache-spark-and-sedona/ Foursquare’s H3 Data Studio: https://foursquare.com/products/h3hub/ Documentation: H3 Docs: https://h3geo.org/docs/ S2 Docs: https://s2geometry.io/devguide/ A5 Docs: https://a5geo.org/ --- 📰 Daily modern GIS insights: https://forrest.nyc 00:00 - Stop Using Latitude & Longitude 00:40 - What is a Global Grid System? (DGGS) 02:51 - The 3 Main Contenders (H3, S2, A5) 04:21 - Why You Should Care (Performance & AI) 06:16 - Do You Need This? (Personal vs. Enterprise Workflows) 10:40 - Deep Dive: H3 (Uber's Hexagons) 11:44 - Deep Dive: S2 (Google's Squares) 13:30 - Deep Dive: A5 (The New Pentagon Grid) 15:23 - Critical Pitfalls (Don't Ignore These) 18:50 - When NOT to Use Grids (Floods & Parcels) 20:36 - Resources to Learn More CONNECT WITH ME 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matt_forrest/ 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbforr/ 📧 Newsletter: https://forrest.nyc 🌐 Website: https://forrest.nyc