The MapScaping Podcast - GIS, Geospatial, Remote Sensing, earth observation and digital geography

E250 - A5 Pentagons Are the New Bestagons

Published: January 19, 2026

Duration: 37:21

How can you accurately aggregate and compare point-based data from different parts of the world? When analyzing crime rates, population, or environmental factors, how do you divide the entire globe into equal, comparable units for analysis?   For data scientists and geospatial analysts, these are fundamental challenges. The solution lies in a powerful class of tools called Discrete Global Grid Systems (DGGS). These systems provide a consistent framework for partitioning the Earth's surface into a hierarchy of cells, each with a unique identifier. The most well-known systems, Google's S2 and Uber's H3, have become industry standards for everything from database optimization t...