Updated

This update includes a test of all external links, and a renewal and reformatting of the blogroll.  Overall the resources on the page continue to be useful, and the links haven't changed that much. 

BBC on Maps

http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20161007-why-paper-road-maps-wont-die

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160614-maps-have-north-at-the-top-but-it-couldve-been-different

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32545974

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20141127-the-last-unmapped-places

Death by GPS

http://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/05/death-by-gps/

Uncertain Futures: Spatial Thinking, Digital Maps,

http://www.citylab.com/tech/2014/09/smartphones-and-the-uncertain-future-of-spatial-thinking/379796/


http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/02/how-digital-maps-changing-the-way-we-understand-world

Welcome

This site has evolved into a repository of resources and links to all things related to mapping.  Its not really a blog, and for now I will keep it this way.

Summer 2012

Changes in mapping and in pedagogies of mapping continue at a pace difficult to keep up with.  In order for me to manage these changes and continue to provide a useful site for all things mapping, I will try using this blog in different ways my teaching.  Not sure what these will be, but this post starts the process.

WhatWasThere

http://www.whatwasthere.com/

WhatWasThere is an online application created to merge the software of Google Maps, with historical photographs of a given location. Any user can upload and explore different photos of a location, making it beneficial for studying urban sprawl, city development, or simply watching your favorite locations change throughout history. With the added software of Google Maps, the user can simply type in a location that they are familiar with and view different photographs of that location from different periods in time. The purpose of this application is to clearly show the user how locations have changed over time, and give an idea of how time periods or historical events can generate change of particular locations. The user achieves this by adjusting “the fade bar”, which places a historical photograph layered over a contemporary street view map of the same location,  allowing one to fade the historical photograph in and out of the frame. This application is important because its objective is to educate and inform users of the major changes and development of spaces through time by using photographs to illustrate changes. It lets users know how land use has changed by giving information of historical buildings and landscapes. Another objective of this application is to display surroundings from different eras while providing historical information of architecture and the different land uses.

6 months later ...

Its been more than six months since the last update - I'm wondering what developments there have been in Web 2.0 mapping. 

There are a lot of questions to ask:  Are the geospatial applications previously identified still active?  Have there been changes in functionality?  What new applications can be identified?  What evidence is there of  how these applications are being used?  Who is using the geospatial web?  Are some types of applications more useful than others, and for what purposes?

A brief search of recent literature reveals a surge of scholarly articles on the geospatial web, some of which I have included in the updated Reading List page above.

Once again, students in my cartography course will explore online mapping applications and report their findings on this blog later in the fall term.To help get these investigations going again here are a few new map apps on the scene:

     Mapnificent

     Padmapper

     One Bay Area Maps

     Historypin

     WhatWasThere

     Wild Knowledge

     Camineo

The Geospatial Web and Revolution: a Synopsis

The Geospatial Web and Revolution: a Synopsis

by Bob Sharpe, November, 2011

The geospatial web refers to the convergence of geographic information and geotechnologies with the services and data provided by the Internet.  In essence, the geospatial web enables anyone with access to the Internet to collect, search, share, analyze and display location-based information.  

The unique aspect of the geospatial web is its potential to aggregate multiple, disparate data sets on the basis of their geographic coordinates.  These data can be drawn from government agencies, private industry, and most importantly, from the general public.  

Several observers argue that this powerful new human capability is bringing about revolutionary change (e.g. Penn State Public Broadcasting, 2010; Scharl and Tochtermann, 2007).

Why is the geospatial web revolutionary?

The geospatial web might be characterized as revolutionary for several reasons:

• the rapid adoption of this technology has led to innovation and the widespread disruption of many existing practices;
•  the public has a freely available, comprehensive map of the world, rich in information content;
•  individuals can create and contribute their own information, and engage with others  to this public map of the world

The geospatial revolution was a long time in making and the product of developments in geodesy, geography, cartography and geographic information science.  From these sciences were developed the tools and techniques of remote sensing, global positioning and satellite navigation systems, and geographic information systems, which together form the infrastructure of the geospatial web.  The Internet and the proliferation of a range of mobile devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and smartphones have made this infrastructure available to the public. 

Along with the development of this infrastructure was a rapid expansion of geospatial digital content.  This now includes access to vast libraries of geospatial data, much of it of high quality.  Access to remote imagery for the globe, transportation networks, elevation data, and more enabled the development of online mapping services such as MapQuest and Google Earth.  

Significantly, the development of GML and KML, enabled the further ability for users to share their own geospatial data.  Such data can be collected from coordinates determined by a GPS-enabled smartphone, from coordinates assigned by geotagging an image or text file, and from geoparsing or assigning geographic identifiers to words, phrases, and other media references to place.  

It is probably the involvement of the general public in generating and using geographic information, which fuels the geospatial revolution.  This type of information has been rapidly developing across various domains and includes voluntary geographic information, crowd sourced data, user generated maps, social networking. 

What are the benefits of the geospatial web?

The geospatial web has already demonstrated, through several applications, the potential for revolutionary societal benefit in terms of saving lives, creating efficiencies and business opportunities, and enhancing access to various services.  The most prominent recent examples of such applications are those used to assist in emergency response (e.g. mapping, operations, communication) to natural disasters and crises, such as the aftermath of Katrina, the Gulf oil spill, and the Haiti earthquake. 

A wide range of other types of applications are increasingly popular.  Students in a undergraduate cartography class selected and reviewed over 30 geospatial applications, the summaries of which are posted on the Map Rap Blog (http://scrubbrush-maprap.blogspot.com/).  These applications have been grouped below into categories based on the main function of the application.

•  Find directions, plan routes and map trips, map activities, geotag photos (EveryTrail, TripWiser, MapMyFitness, CapSpotter, Cycling the Alps, EveryTrail, TravelPod, MapMe, WalkJogRun, Picasa Web Albms, TripGeo, MapMyRide)
• Provide a wide range of location-based services to consumers (e.g.  identifying and locating services and friends in proximity to the user)  Facebook Places, Trapster, Foursquare, Gowalla, Poynt, Yellow Pages, SitorSquat)
• Use online tools for manipulating geospatial data (GPS Visualiser)
•  Map and monitor the activities or locations of wildlife (PolarBearTracker), roadkill (California Road kill Observation System), currency (Where’sWilly?), sex offenders (Family WatchDog), and solar energy installations (San Francisco Solar Map).

Note that these applications and their categorization are just a start.

Another benefit of the demand for these geospatial applications is that it reflects increased interest in, and value for, geographic information, geographic literacy and spatial thinking.  It raises new questions for geography educators that relate to:

• the capacity of people to use these services,
• the effect of these services on spatial cognition,
• the means to educate people about these services,
• the longterm effect of these services on geographic literacy

What are some concerns with the geospatial web?

Although geospatial applications clearly are of some benefit, a critical perspective reveals a number of concerns and issues worth further investigation.  Here is an initial list of concerns:

•  The concern mentioned most often is that of personal privacy.  Information uploaded to the Internet is publicly and permanently available and can result in a loss individual privacy and autonomy.  It is interesting to note that most students do not see this as a major problem.
• Although geotechnologies are increasingly pervasive, their uptake has been uneven and characterized by complex geographic and socioeconoimic disparities (i.e. the digital divide).  Social justice issues emerge around inequities in access to these technologies.
• For many individuals, the technologies have become incorporated into everyday life, and have thus influenced their scheduling, workflows and behaviours.  (Again, social justice issues arise around inequities in access and usage).  The implications of the usage of these technologies for some groups are not well researched or understood.
• An increased societal dependence on technologies (including virtual globes)  that are both fallible and controlled by corporate interest.
• An effect on cognitive skills such as a loss of map reading, spatial reasoning and geographic knowledge.  Related to this is the limited perspective to which the public is now conditioned.  Geobrowsers, virtual globes and online mapping services provide a bird’s eye view or street level view.  These are constrained perspectives which are not always the most effective way of seeing the big picture, as would be revealed by casting one’s eye over an entire large-format map.
• Applications vary widely in their user base and geographic coverage.  There seems to be a clear bias for sites originating in large cities, especially in the USA. 
•  There are problems with data on many sites, ranging from too much data – (i.e. how to display and retrieve it), to issues of data accuracy and currency.
• Restrictions on access, for example, personal accounts for some sites can be accessed only by citizens of USA.  
 

Selected References

Elwood, Sarah  2010 Geographic information science:  emerging research on the societal implications of the geospatial web.  Progress in Human Geography 34 (3) pp. 349-357.

Penn State Public Broadcasting 2010

http://geospatialrevolution.psu.edu/project/board.html

Scharl, Arno and Klaus Tochtermann (eds.)  2007  The Geopspatial Web:  Social Software and the Web 2.0 are Shaping the Network Society Advanced Information and Knowledge Processing Series 2007, London: Springer, ISBN 1-84628-826-6

Sui, Daniel Z.  (ed.)  2008  Geospatial Technologies and Homeland Security: Research Frontiers and Future Challenges.  The GeoJournal Library, Volume 94, London: Springer, ISBN 978-1-420-8339-6

Turner, Andrew and Brady Forrest 2008  Where 2.0:  The State of the Geospatial Web,  An O’Reilly Radar Report  (see downloadable excerpt)

MapMyTri

http://www.mapmytri.com/

The geospatial web is a relatively new term that represents the merging of geographical and abstract information that is currently dominating the internet (ESRI par. 1). It has had a profound impact on managing knowledge, structuring facts, and communicating with individuals in virtual communities. The concept was first introduced by Dr. Charles Herring in his 1994 paper “An Architecture of Cyberspace: Spatialization of the Internet”, which kick-started the development GIS with new technologies, concepts, and products (Anders par. 18). Today the internet holds a wide array of geospatial applications to explore, which all carry specific themes and objectives. For example, the MapMyFitness corporation which has created geospatial websites such as MapMyRun, MapMyRide, MapMyMountain, MapMyHike, and MapMyWalk, are all fitness-oriented. By using satellite images provided by Google Maps these applications allow individuals to create specific exercise routes around the world. Users also have the ability to view maps created by others, allowing information like the advantages and dangers of their courses to be seen. Overall, the most dynamic and intricate application created by this company has been MapMyTri, which allows individuals to create their own triathlon route “with just a few mouse clicks” (MapMyTri par. 2). However, even though MapMyTri does have clear benefits for avid athletic enthusiasts, it still carries fallbacks such as pop up advertisements, and poor security. It is because of the obvious strengths and weaknesses of this geospatial website that we found it to be best suited for a critical overview.

Laura Curk

Steven Allison

Ashley Gyori

Olivier Leonard

Erin Gouweleeuw

MapMyRun

http://www.mapmyrun.com/site_map

The subject if this report is the geospatial application www.mapmyrun.com. This website uses mapping technology from Google Maps to provide users with a platform in which they can input personal data and receive accurate, tangible numbers to measure the effects of their exercising. From this perspective, it could be used by any level of athlete, from the weekend cyclist so the seasoned marathoner, to help set goals (in distance travelled, avg. speed and lap times) and give oneself measurable feedback, such as the number of calories burned based on one’s Body Mass Index. Say you are a fitness enthusiast travelling out of town. If the settlement you’re in has been mapped by Google, you could draw a route along the streets of the city you’re in, and MapMyRun will update the route distance as you set waypoints. Also, you have access to Google’s satellite imagery, which allows you to view the surface of the earth via aerial photographs. This way the user can be aware of the terrain they will be travelling through.

Samantha Tremmel

Clara Greig

Kayla Jefferson

Thomas Rolf

Cody Bachmann

Foursquare

 http://foursquare.com/

Foursquare is a mobile geospatial application that can be accessed through either a web based browser or a Smartphone. This application allows one to ‘check in’ to specific places, such as restaurants, schools, stores, amusement parks, offices, and much more. By checking in you can automatically get points, tips, and interesting information regarding your location. Upon ‘checking in’ one can see what other friends are at that location, as well as a foursquare history for the location.  When a member ‘checks in’ to a site they can also provide a ‘shout’. A shout is a brief message regarding what is on your mind, it is directed to your foursquare friends. Foursquare is not only a source of geospatial information, but it is also a game in which members can collect points and receive tangible rewards for their dedication. For example if one ‘checks in’ to a place very often, they can become the ‘mayor’ of that place. A mayor can then receive ‘specials’ at their current location; this could include anything from half off drinks to a complimentary gift. Users can also collect badges; they are awarded for following a certain brand and for visiting locations. Foursquare allow members to upload photos whilst at a location. Other friends and members can then view these photos pertaining to a specific location. The purpose of this application is to link social networking with informative geographical data. This application encourages sharing information with your friends, its purpose is to connect people and provide helpful information about the places one frequents.

Matt Polley

Jamie Stewart

Royce Ellis,

Kelsey Pettit

David Paone

Gowalla

http://gowalla.com/

Gowalla Inc. is a geolocation application that functions as a website and mobile service. By using the Gowalla application, users are able to “check in” (see figure 1) to locations and build a passport of all the places they have been. Users can also create trips and follow trips that others have created. Through travelling to different locations and completing trips, users collect pins and build an overall profile where they can upload pictures and other information about their life. Gowalla is mainly used as a location-based social networking site to connect real people to real locations. It can be accessed through Twitter and Facebook. Gowalla’s main purpose is to act as a geospatial web application to connect friends and family. Most users of the application use it mainly for its entertainment value rather than the geospatial function. The Gowalla application is not only useful for social networking for users, but also for geospatial analysis by third-parties. Businesses can analyze the information in order to see patterns and trends among users, including locations and interests. Gowalla is applied on an individual level to create personal projects, such as trips (see figures 2 and 3), so that other users can follow their paths and activities. Larger-scale projects created by third-parties allow users to follow trips that take them to their business locations in order to market their company to a larger audience.  

(Brandon) Scott Conzelmann

Chelsea Deakin

Aishwarya Muralidhar

Rachel Schaus

Polar Bear Tracker

 http://polarbears.wwf.ca/

The WWF-Canada Polar Bear Tracker is a project created by the Canadian World Wildlife Fund that tracks polar bears through the Arctic. Radio collars are placed on the bears’ necks, and their positions are recorded and sent via satellites to researchers, who then plot the movement of the bears on Google Maps.

The Polar Bear Tracker is an important geospatial application for a number of reasons. Firstly, the tracker provides information on how the polar bears are adapting to the changes in sea ice volume. Polar bears are considered indicators of an ecosystem’s health because they are at the apex of the arctic food chain. Thus, a polar bear at risk is an indication that there is something wrong elsewhere in the ecosystem (“Polar Bear Tracker”). Secondly, the tracker provides scientists with information that can be used to improve conservation and management efforts, and also allows them to further understand the global impacts of phenomena such as climate change and habitat loss (“Polar Bear Tracker project areas”). There are several application projects associated with the data provided by the Polar Bear Tracker. For example, using the collected data, the World Wildlife Fund is gaining an understanding of where the polar bears travel, monitoring the health of the bears, and determining their average lifespan (“Tracking Polar Bears”). Organizations outside of the World Wildlife Fund are also using polar bear tracking in predictive science and strategy development regarding arctic wildlife. The Alaska Science Center is using the information concerning the adaptation of polar bears to changes in ice quality and quantity to predict how future polar bear generations will be affected by ice changes. These predictions will allow for the development of strategies to ensure the long-term survival of polar bears in an environment that is vulnerable to changes in sea ice (“Polar Bear-Sea Ice Relationships”).

Erik Paige

Lauren Knowles

Brett Mullen

Dallas Cotterell

Karli Allen

Cabspotting in San Francisco

http://cabspotting.org/

For our geospatial web application case study we have chosen to examine a project called Cabspotting. It is a part of San Francisco Exploratorium’s Invisible Dynamics initiative. Cabspotting traces San Francisco’s taxi cabs as they travel throughout the Bay area. The collected data is used to create live and constantly changing maps of city life.

This initiative is attempting to investigate alternate views of the Bay area’s infrastructure. The maps created expose economic, social, and cultural trends and relationships that are otherwise invisible. Artists and researchers use Cabspotting data to create projects to reveal larger trends or focus on specific events.

Cabspotting data can be used in many projects, examples include:

- correlating cab rides with zip codes and average income to show the relationship between socioeconomic status and use of cabs

- tracking individual rides and documenting it with photos, drawings, sound recordings, or video

- examine points where cabs rarely or never visit and investigate why this is

- examine places most frequently visited and investigate why this is - showing all cab rides that pass in front of a specific place during one day or time period

- using data to warp Bay area mapto show a ‘cab-centric’ view by distorting the landscape

- highlighting the most eccentric paths, such as very short, long, or circuitous

 

 Alyson C

Amy M

Chanel F

Hilary B

Kaileigh B

California Road Kill Observation System

http://www.wildlifecrossing.net/california/

California Road kill observation system (CROS) is a program for storing information on road kill in California. Currently over 300 volunteers scour the California landscape looking for incidents of collisions with animals, they fill out a species identification form (Taking a picture to be double checked by a professional later) this picture is also geotagged, with a time and date so information is stored for timing, seasonality and location of the animal. The creator is looking to put together an iPhone application to allow further ease of access to uploading information for volunteers. These volunteers could then just download the application onto their phone and take geotagged pictures with their smart phones. The program was created in response to the millions of animals are struck down by vehicles in the United States a week, the purpose being to create more known hotspots for animal activity. This is in hopes of preventing collisions by using mitigation techniques like fences and sings to warn drivers.

Michael Goddard-Duncan

Kristen McGeown

Lindsay Taylor

Sarah Hardholt

Chris Barth

Facebook Places

http://www.facebook.com/places/

Facebook Places is an application designed to keep users connected with their social networks on a geospatial scale. It provides users with the time-stamped locations of their Facebook friends who have the application as well, and mutually provides friends with the user’s own location. Places can be downloaded onto iPhones, Blackberries, and other smart phones equipped with GIS software. It is especially relevant to the geospatial revolution because it allows people to stay spatially aware of one another and electronically connected constantly, which is of utmost importance in modern times (Green 2003). Simply checking one`s cell phone enables users to see where their friends are in order to connect with them. Places aids in planning such get-togethers by cross-referencing the users’ locations. If a friend is nearby, one can follow a map designating their two relative locations, or send an electronic message to alert friends of their proximity to plan a meeting place together. Places removes the barriers that had prevented people from being able to locate their friends instantly in relation to themselves. The application is also helpful in capturing and preserving memories, by archiving the places and events attended by users and recording them on a timeline. People can view their past locations, remembering each place and the people that were there, and review the comments that were made about that particular event. People are now able to share a critical component of their lives through this application and can feel closer than ever to their friends on Facebook by using Places (Michael, “The Facebook Blog”). The following is a descriptive video created by Facebook which illustrates the idea behind the application: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfX_ZQag1BM

Christine Jennings

Leslie Chamberlain

Erin O’Neill

Erin White

Shelby Betschel

Google Maps bike routes

http://maps.google.com/

The geospatial web application we have chosen to examine is bike routes on Google maps. A bike route is a section in the Google maps application that allows users to locate a bike route or path. This is an important aspect of the application because in towns with universities especially, students use bikes as a major method of transportation. This allows users to ensure there is a safe bike route that can take them to their destination and tell them how long it should take from the starting point to their destination. This is not only important for students as more and more people everyday are using bikes as a method of short distance transportation because it is the greener option of travel. As an example of this application, below is a photo showing popular bike routes right here in Waterloo.

Ashley Kennedy

Alexander Troop

Drew Melnyk

Gabriella Gomes

Matthew Salsbury  

Family Watchdog

http://www.familywatchdog.us/

The Family Watchdog application is used as a means to view registered sex offenders all over the United States. There are multiple ways to search for offenders one being by name and the other by neighbourhood. The neighbourhood view is displayed on Yahoo Maps. According to US law all sex offenders residing in any state must be registered with that particular state. Family Watchdog is a website that allows anyone with internet access to view locations and information of every registered sex offender. This application is important because it helps members of society to be aware of the dangers in and around their neighbourhoods. The objective of Family Watchdog is simply put on their ‘about us’ link, “Our goal at Family Watchdog is to provide you with the information you need to protect your loved ones.” (familywatchdog.us). This website exists because of The Sexual Offender Act of 1994 and Meghan’s Law. The Sexual Offender Act of 1994 requires sex offenders to register with a national and state database while Meghan’s Law requires that this information be available to the public. Due to Meghan’s Law, applications similar to Family Watchdog are able to exist for the purpose of informing the American public on the issue of sex offenders.  

Nicole Berube

Meghan McIntosh

Robert Quinlan

Jackie Smith

Poynt

 http://www.poynt.com/

Poynt is an easy to use all-in-one geospatial application for the Blackberry smart-phone, Iphone,  Ipod touch and Android. The free application utilizes GPS and WiFi (or 3G network) capabilities to give accurate and relevant connections to the outside world. This highly advanced technological application connects the user to businesses, retailers, and services while providing various amounts of information regarding movie information and guides, restaurant locations and reviews, gas stations in close proximity and best prices available and is even able to track and locate friends, colleagues or relatives. Images of Poynt are shown in Appendix A. Overall Poynt’s easy accessibility to the geospatial network gives the user a variety of options to make everyday activities much easier.

Sarah Williams

Jasmine Folger-Laronde

Jordan Drexler

Michael Finn

Dustin Dubiel