Hackathon blog post (#106)

Co-authored-by: Lucia Layritz <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: Ciera Martinez <[email protected]>

Author: 3 people

blog/20250820-inperson-hackathon-and-design-dialog/group-photo.jpg

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+---
+title: "In-person Hackathon and Design Dialog 2025"
+description: |
+  On August 13-14 in Berkeley CA, a group of ~25 dedicated geospatial professionals had a
+  meeting of the minds. We worked together on code, design, and big-picture strategy!
+date: "2025-08-20"
+image: "group-photo.jpg"
+author:
+  - name: "GeoJupyter Hackathon participants (see below)"
+categories:
+  - "Events"
+---
+
+When 25 geospatial professionals gathered in Berkeley for a
+[2-day intensive hackathon event](https://events.geojupyter.org/hackathons/202508-berkeley/),
+we didn't just write code, we reimagined what JupyterGIS could become.
+
+
+![A group photo of the in-person hackathon participants](group-photo.jpg){.lightbox}
+
+
+:rainbow: With backgrounds and skills all over the spectrum, everyone had something to teach and
+something to learn, creating a multiplier effect where our diversity amplified
+each other's contributions.
+
+Four distinct working groups quickly emerged:
+
+* infrastructure developers exploring containers and development environment setup,
+* documentation specialists filling in gaps and testing tutorials with fresh eyes,
+* API developers working on Python integration and data manipulation workflows, and
+* strategists zooming out to question JupyterGIS' fundamental purpose.
+
+Each team made valuable contributions and wrote a summary of their activities:
+
+
+## :building_construction: Development infrastructure team
+
+* Worked together to set up development environments for the first time
+* Explored using devcontainers to reduce startup burden for new contributors
+
+  > This is an interoperable development container that automates the dev environment
+  > setup for JupyterGIS development.
+  > It works both on Hub infrastructure and on VSCode / Codespaces without any
+  > additional tinkering!
+  > This means that users, regardless of their host OS, can build and iterate on
+  > JupyterGIS either locally (using Docker or Docker + VSCode) or in the cloud (on
+  > managed Hub infrastructure or GitHub codespaces).
+  > A byproduct of this work was the development of a
+  > [Dev Container Feature](https://github.com/GondekNP/devcontainer_jupyterhub_interoperator)
+  > that provides a way for Jupyter-based images to play nice with `devcontainer`-based
+  > tools without fuss, something I have been annoyed with for some time.
+
+* Discussed the potential of using a JupyterHub for developing on JupyterLab extensions
+
+
+## :books: Documentation team
+
+> Our hackathon topic brought together a diverse set of backgrounds and personas of
+> potential JupyterGIS users to test out and improve existing documentation and
+> tutorials.
+> Several pull requests, bug reports and feature suggestions were created and the
+> JupyterGIS project gained another 9 testers.
+> Repeating this experiment by giving this task to different types of user working
+> groups is one great way to help build a roadmap and envision the future of this
+> project.
+
+* Tested JupyterGIS and reported bugs
+  ([#869](https://github.com/geojupyter/jupytergis/issues/869))
+* Suggested new features
+  ([#871](https://github.com/geojupyter/jupytergis/issues/871),
+  [#876](https://github.com/geojupyter/jupytergis/issues/876))
+* Updated the structure of the JupyterGIS examples with a "guided tour" feel
+  ([#872](https://github.com/geojupyter/jupytergis/pull/872),
+  [#878](https://github.com/geojupyter/jupytergis/pull/878)
+  [#875](https://github.com/geojupyter/jupytergis/issues/875))
+* Tested JupyterGIS tutorials for accuracy and clarity, and submitted fixes
+  ([#873](https://github.com/geojupyter/jupytergis/pull/873))
+* Reviewed documentation prose and inline documentation (like docstrings) for clarity
+  and errors, and submitted fixes!
+  ([#874](https://github.com/geojupyter/jupytergis/pull/874),
+  [#867](https://github.com/geojupyter/jupytergis/pull/867),
+  [#868](https://github.com/geojupyter/jupytergis/pull/868),
+  [#873](https://github.com/geojupyter/jupytergis/pull/873),
+  [#864](https://github.com/geojupyter/jupytergis/pull/864))
+
+
+## :snake: Python API ergonomics team
+
+> We worked on getting data out of the map layer, manipulating the data and making
+> updates to the map.
+> We showed this was possible through two different workflows: toggling layer visibility
+> and getting GeoJSON from the layer source and turning it into a geopandas object.
+
+Please see [#877](https://github.com/geojupyter/jupytergis/pull/877) for this team's
+prototype!
+
+
+## :world_map: Strategy team
+
+> We followed a detailed user story focused on biodiversity and identified some gaps and
+> opportunities.
+> We thought about what problems JupyterGIS should and should not try to solve and
+> identified overlap with things Notebooks are good at and many researchers are
+> comfortable doing in Notebooks -- analysis.
+> By focusing more on visualization, an area where many practitioners already struggle
+> and a reason they open QGIS, we feel we can more quickly deliver a product that can be
+> used in daily work.
+> We also identified a robust STAC search implementation and GUI as something
+> alternatives do not excel at, and a possible "killer feature".
+
+
+* What should JupyterGIS be? What should JupyterGIS _not be_?
+    * Should focus on the areas where users need the most help.
+      For example, visual exploration is the most broadly-reported challenge.
+    * Should not focus on drawing users away from Jupyter Notebook analysis workflows
+      that are working for them and are well-served by Notebooks.
+      For example, providing utilities in the visual environment that serve Notebook
+      workflows: drawing or calculating areas of interest and moving those back over to
+      the Notebook, synchronizing changes in Python data objects over to the map.
+      **Not** trying to reimplement the QGIS/ArcGIS model builders unless we have a
+      strong value-add.
+
+    ![A Venn diagram illustrating overlap with Jupyter Notebooks](jupytergis-notebook-venn.jpg)
+
+* Why do people leave QGIS?
+    * Scaling analyses or performing analysis on big datasets
+    * Repeatability & reproducibility with a Notebook or script
+* Why do people come back to QGIS?
+    * Exploring results
+    * Making a map to share or tell a story
+
+
+## :heart: Thank you :bow:
+
+Thank you _so much_ to our wonderful hackathon participants for bringing a collaborative
+energy and creating a supportive atmosphere that made it fun and safe to take on hard
+problems!
+
+Infinite thanks to our fantastic team of facilitators from the
+[Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS)](https://bids.berkeley.edu) and the
+[Schmidt Center for Data Science and Environment (DSE)](https://dse.berkeley.edu)
+who curated equipment and a comfortable environment, solved problems, provided delicious
+caffeine and meals, expertly facilitated discussions, and more.
+
+Finally, thanks to the [Berkeley Institute for Data Science
+(BIDS)](https://bids.berkeley.edu) for hosting us at their wonderful
+[AI Futures Lab](https://bids.berkeley.edu/news/announcing-ai-futures-lab-visionary-partnership-between-bids-and-uc-investments)
+space on day 1!
+What a view :star_struck: :bridge_at_night:
+
+
+## :mega: Call to join the community
+
+We want to work with :index_pointing_at_the_viewer: **you**!
+With your collaboration, we can build less frustrating and more joyful and rewarding
+ways of working with geospatial data.
+Here's how:
+
+:open_book: [Share a story about a workflow that needs improvement](https://github.com/geojupyter/jupytergis/issues/new?template=0-user-story.yml)!
+
+:calendar: [Join a hackathon or community meeting](https://geojupyter.org/calendar)!
+
+:left_speech_bubble: [Chat with us on Zulip](https://jupyter.zulipchat.com/#narrow/channel/471314-geojupyter)!
+
+:test_tube: [Try JupyterGIS](https://jupytergis.readthedocs.io/)! Where does it (not)
+meet your needs?
+
+:sunglasses: Share your rad vibes and leadership!
+
+:love_letter: Get in touch with our community manager:
+[Zulip](https://jupyter.zulipchat.com/#narrow/channel/471314-geojupyter),
+[GitHub](https://github.com/mfisher87), [email](mailto:[email protected])
+
+
+---
+
+_This post co-created by hackathon participants:
+  Arjun Verma,
+  Brianna Pagan,
+  Brookie Guzder-Williams,
+  Ciera Martinez,
+  Fernando Pérez,
+  James Colliander,
+  Jason Grout,
+  Jon Atkins,
+  Kevin Koy,
+  Kirstie Whitaker,
+  Kristin Davis,
+  Lucia Layritz,
+  Maryam Hosseini,
+  Maryam Vareth,
+  Matt Fisher,
+  Maxwell Taniguchi-King,
+  Maya Weltman-Fahs,
+  Maya Zomer,
+  Michele Tobias,
+  Min RK,
+  Nick Gondek,
+  Qiusheng Wu,
+  Shane Grigsby,
+  Stace Maples,
+  Tyler Marino_