Modern cartography as a scienceMenno-Jan Kraak

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• Background

• Why maps

• Why Cartography

• Present

• Explore

• Geovisual analytics

Modern cartography as a science

Background

• Chair GeoVisual Analytics and Cartography (GVAC)

Education / Research

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• How to map time (changes)

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• Vice-President of the International Cartographic Association

Why maps?

Why maps?

• Maps are abstractions or models of reality, in which geographic space is represented by map space

• The spatial layout of maps enable users to see:

- patterns

- relationships

- trends

Maps tell stories

http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/snowmap1_1854.html

Maps tell storiesWhy cartography? The art and science of making and using maps

• What is the most suitable graphic representation?‣ design‣ geocomputational support‣ reasoning based on graphics

• What is the best working environment?‣ functionality /visualization strategy ‣ web-based‣ multi resolution data integration

• Does it work?‣ efficiency‣ effectiveness ‣ satisfaction

Task

(Geospatial) DataWorking environment

Graphic representation

Function tools

user tasks

data framework

visualization framework

P R O B L E M

Why cartography? Why cartography?

Why cartography?Why cartography?

Cartography

Geographic Data

visualization process

How do I say What to Whom, and is it effective?

Map

November 26

French troops

Maps to present

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๏ start: facts to be presented are fixed

๏ process: choice of appropriate visualization technique

๏ result: high quality visualization presenting facts, the single best map

๏ emphasize: on map design

Cartography Expectations?

Today, people demand up-to-date, or (near-)real-time, information, about virtually anything, anywhere, and anytime.

Data characteristics

• Most important challenges facing science, business, and society have a fundamental geographic component

• However the data is

- Voluminous

- Heterogene

- Time-space

- Multivariable

Change

Demand-driven mapping, usability issues, mobile applications, Web 2.0, etc…

Data collection and dissemination techniques (Google!), mobile devices, etc.

New representation variables, 3D and dynamic data modeling,

What happens in cartography? (interaction)

[source: New York Times]

What happens in cartography (panic)

Cartographers and map makers (type A)

http://www.visualcomplexity.com/vc/

Flying

Cartographers and map makers (type B) Crowd-sourcing

Maps to explore!

๏ start: data without hypothesis about the data

๏ process: interactive, undirected search for structures and trends

๏ result: visualization that provides hypothesis, different alternative views

๏ emphasize: enabling ‘discoveries’

Data spaces

what?

where? when?

t

t

attribute space

location space time space

Working environment for visual exploration

Time space

Location space Attribute space

M A P D I A G R A M

T I M E G R A P H

Exploratory tools

Beyond Cartography: Visual Analytics

• The science of analytical reasoning facilitated by interactive visual interfaces (Thomas & Cook, 2005)

http://nvac.pnl.gov/agenda.stm

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Detect the expected and discover the unknown

Geovisual analytics

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• Geovisual analytics focuses on visual interfaces to analytical methods that support reasoning with and about geo-information – to enable insights about something for which place matters

(MacEachren, 2012)

Detect the expected and discover the unknown

• Alternative insight in performance

Running

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Running Behavior in the city

Behavior in the city Traffic jam?

a)

Explore Explore

Explore

d)

Does it work?

Opportunity http://www.gem-msc.org/application/general/

Georgia member?