October 2025
Maps behind the mission
“Geospatial technology quietly shapes our world. Its impact is felt everywhere, even when unseen,” says Amy Steiger, Stantec’s geospatial lead in Australia. “We need to raise its profile and call out the extraordinary things it enables.”
Geospatial data has always shaped the way humans see the world.
Henricus Martellus’ 1491 world map influenced Europe’s age of exploration. John Snow’s cholera map of 1854 revealed how spatial patterns could expose hidden causes. Charles Minard’s 1869 depiction of Napoleon’s retreat from Russia combined geography, time, temperature and troop losses to visualise the human cost of war. And Harry Beck’s 1931 London Tube map simplified London’s tangled rail system into a logical design.
What’s different today is the scale, speed and spread of geospatial data and how deeply it’s embedded in everyday decision-making. Real-time, high-resolution, multi-layered spatial data flows from satellites, drones, smartphones, Internet of Things sensors and digital infrastructure. And it’s not just for scientists and explorers anymore. It’s for everyone.
As Geospatial Discipline Lead for Stantec in Australia and New Zealand, Amy Steiger leads a team of spatial analysts delivering mapping, analytics and data tools across infrastructure, planning and environmental services. Her team designs solutions and workflows that help projects run better, and that help everyone see the same information, at the same time.
“We’re not just visualising data,” Amy says. “We’re building the spatial architecture that make it usable.”
From field to dashboard
Geospatial capabilities at Stantec range from high-accuracy field data collection to custom web mapping and digital twin platforms. Whether feeding real-time inputs into design coordination tools or building public-facing dashboards for community consultation programs, Amy’s team sits at the intersection of data, strategy and communication.
According to modelling by ACIL Allen, geospatial services contributed $39 billion to Australia’s GDP in 2023–24, supporting more than 12,000 jobs and delivering $10.5 billion in consumer value through time savings, improved services and smarter planning.
This economic contribution could reach $90 billion by 2034 – but only if Australia builds the right systems, standards and skills.
Few, if any, sectors operate today without geospatial technologies, Amy notes. Government is one of the largest users, relying on geospatial data for everything from emergency management and environmental planning to property approvals and primary industries. Defence is a significant growth sector, where geospatial intelligence underpins strategic decision-making, mission planning and national security operations.
“Whether it’s planning a new road, assessing environmental impacts, responding to a flood or running Defence operations, geospatial data helps it happen.”
Same map, multiple insights
A map is no longer a static tool; maps are shared decision-making environments. Web-based tools, live dashboards and interactive reports replace statistics with storytelling, Amy observes.
“When I started my career, I’d print out maps and hand them to project managers to mark up with red pen. Now I might still send a PDF, but more often everyone is looking at the same online portal, and using the same data, to make informed decisions.
“It’s a big shift from geospatial being something only specialists managed, to something everyone engages with. Traditional GIS teams were the custodians of the data. Now we’re opening it up through open-source platforms, public datasets and client-facing tools. That improves accuracy and relevance, but it’s a cultural adjustment too.”
The payoff is less duplication, fewer silos and smarter collaboration – themes also championed by Consult Australia in its Enabling Digital by Default white paper.
“If we can capture data once and use it many times, across different users and phases of a project or multiple projects, everyone wins.”
Finding the right path
Geospatial has countless applications, from monitoring environmental change and planning resilient cities to optimising transport networks and supporting Defence operations.
“Geospatial is more than data,” Amy says. “It’s how we help people see and make sense of complexity in a way that’s meaningful to them.”
Outside of work, Amy loves the outdoors and is a geocacher – a GPS-enabled treasure hunter. That passion feeds back into her professional life.
“I love the detail of topographic maps, how you can see the contours and find the best route,” she says. It’s an appropriate metaphor for the work Stantec does every day: helping clients to map complexity, understand the terrain, and choose the right path forward.
Learn more about Stantec’s geospatial services.