Web Maps of Regional Attractiveness

icaci.org

Manual of Geographic …, 2008

A hallmark of modern geographic information system (GIS) software is its capability for user interaction. Interactivity-referring here to the myriad ways that a system, or data represented in a system, can change according to user input-is now ubiquitous enough in computerized information systems that it is often taken for granted. However, interactivity should be examined critically in the context of maps and geographic representations in order to understand how far GIS has come in facilitating data analysis, and what might still be developed in order to examine data sets that are presently difficult to examine given the stateof-the-art of GIS. This chapter explores the design and use of interactive maps for spatial data exploration and analysis, paying particular attention to applications incorporating approaches from cartography, statistics and computer science. We also consider the role of the interactive capabilities and potential of GIS for the burgeoning field of visual analytics, and look ahead to the possibilities of incorporating interaction into future designs of GIS, in particular those that can handle spatiotemporal data. Present GISs, with their unique and highly interactive interfaces, are well-designed for many spatial data exploration tasks. However, developers and users should consider implementing modes of interaction not presently enabled in GIS that would facilitate a wider range of geographic visualization and analysis. We thus advocate the increase of interactive capabilities for map products created in a GIS environment based on the improvements for data exploration that could be gained.

Proceedings of the ICA

With the evolution of technology, maps have changed how they are produced and consumed. In the 1990s, along with the internet uprise, printed and digital maps began to be shared and viewed on the web, which provided more significant user interaction with the map and geographic data. However, the ease of creating interactive maps using computational resources sometimes neglects cartographic concepts, impairing the interpretation of geographic data and the quality of the interaction between user and system. This work presents ten specific Usability Heuristics for Interactive Web Maps to identify and elaborate a set of criteria that help create and evaluate the quality of interactive web maps. For this, we used a methodology to develop domain-specific Usability Heuristics, composed of eight steps. This paper presents the ten heuristics elaborated along with the attributes of the name, ID, category and definition, and an additional checklist. This new set encompasses both the concepts of cartography and usability, contributing to better user interaction with the system and geographic data.

Thematic mapping is one of the most common cartographic methods used to identify spatial interrelated phenomena, which are observed in another form to a limited extent. Cartographic expression helps to identify the exact context in space. Nowadays, there exist a number of specialized products for the creation of thematic maps, in the form of software applications, or applications using services from the World Wide Web. In our paper we will try to explain the possibility of vector format KML and its properties for thematic mapping in Google Earth closer, which is used to display the resulting map outputs. Maps alone are compiled by the client using the Web site browser for transferring input variables to the server, where they are processed and map data is subsequently generated according to client requirements. As well as KML format the application also uses the MySQL database system, which serves for storing the geometry of entities in the form of single points forming the boundaries of administrative units (communities), as well as attributes from the official census of population and housing in 2001 for these spatial units.

International Journal of Health Geographics, 2010

HTML5 is being developed as the next major revision of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), the core markup language of the World Wide Web. It aims at reducing the need for proprietary, plug-in-based rich Internet application (RIA) technologies such as Adobe Flash. The canvas element is part of HTML5 and is used to draw graphics using scripting (e.g., JavaScript). This paper introduces Cartagen, an open-source, vector-based, client-side framework for rendering plug-in-free, offline-capable, interactive maps in native HTML5 on a wide range of Web browsers and mobile phones. Cartagen was developed at MIT Media Lab's Design Ecology group. Potential applications of the technology as an enabler for participatory online mapping include mapping real-time air pollution, citizen reporting, and disaster response, among many other possibilities.

plone.itc.nl

2008

A tool to generate a vector based visualization of geographic information has been developed at the University of Osnabrück. The web mapping application uses SVG and implements some interaction functionalities. In addition, the application can be used to visualize further georeferenced information, such as weather or traffic data. By using vector graphics it is possible to zoom into a region without loss of precision. If necessary, details can be inserted without loading the whole dataset, as would be required in a pixel-based approach. The application offers the possibility to navigate inside the map (two dimensions), zoom, to select additional georeferenced data (one dimension) and to look at different points in time (one dimension). The user is able to interactively observe a geographic chart and to add further georeferenced information. Thus it is possible to interactively control the amount of visualized data and the character of the visualization. Moreover it is possible to ex...

2003

This paper describes an image-based technique that enables highly interactive Web choropleth maps for geo-referenced data publishing and visual exploration. Geographic knowledge is encoded into raster images and delivered to the client, instead of in vector formats.

WebGIS is becoming prominent in spatial decision support applications, as it allows researchers and stakeholders to benefit from sharing, analyzing and visualizing large, up-todate geospatial data sets with minimal effort and cost. This paper addresses the integration of open-source, open-standards software packages and state-of-the-art web technology to develop an interactive web mapping portal for spatial analysis. It demonstrates that, opensource software offers a level of flexibility, availability and lowered cost that is typically unavailable with commercial software, while an architecture and design based on open standards ensures system interoperability and data reusability.