What is a Base Map? Barbara P. Buttenfield, CU-Boulder Cynthia A. Brewer, Penn State Charlie Frye and Aileen Buckley, ESRI

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1 What is a Base Map? Barbara P. Buttenfield, CU-Boulder Cynthia A. Brewer, Penn State Charlie Frye and Aileen Buckley, ESRI babs@colorado.edu, cbrewer@psu.edu, cfrye@esri.com, abuckley@esri.com 1 Funding from ESRI (B6345, B6347) is gratefully acknowledged Thursday 11 Oct 07 NACIS 2007 St Louis, Missouri I d like to acknowledge my co-authors (Cindy, Charlie, Aileen) who provided ideas, critique, motivation, and map examples. 1

Overview What this is about Variety / diversity of base map functions proliferating with emerging Internet technologies Reconsider what people expect in a base map What this is not about Recasting

2 Overview What this is about Variety / diversity of base map functions proliferating with emerging Internet technologies Reconsider what people expect in a base map What this is not about Recasting the debate What is a map? 2 AT L3 --- Reconsider what people expect because it s changing and I think it s going to continue to change (click!) Let s not get off track with arguments about what is a map? Nor about which part is the base map, which is overlay info, etc. These may be interesting but I m setting my sights in a different direction. 2

What was: What is: Houghton-Mifflin Education Place http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/ Google Earth http://earth.google.

) to What is a base map From paper to electronic media, yes, but more importantly, consider what the base map can do : scale-based feature display (roads and labels)

3 What was: What is: Houghton-Mifflin Education Place Google Earth 3 What could base maps become in foreseeable future? What was a base map (click!) to What is a base map From paper to electronic media, yes, but more importantly, consider what the base map can do : scale-based feature display (roads and labels) rotate perspective, pan and zoom, fly-throughs posting info with rollovers: notes, images, paths, kml overlays (Click!) from base map as a receptive container, passive georeferencing mechanism to base map as a provider of map services (here, posting static and dynamic info, distributed sharing, ad-hoc data archival) 3

Emphasis on base map functions Supported map services Compatible w/ other info other services Loose coupling w/ other work NACIS 05 panel Map in Your Mind Recent NACIS Map Design Survey Buckley, 2007

4 Emphasis on base map functions Supported map services Compatible w/ other info other services Loose coupling w/ other work NACIS 05 panel Map in Your Mind Recent NACIS Map Design Survey Buckley, 2007 ESRI Mapping Center NACIS 07 panel "How Mapmakers Think" 4 Loose coupling means Let s re-visit the map during conception and design, but this time, let s think about base map services, instead of focusing on content alone 4

5 Base Map Analogies An information framework A context for story-telling A starting point for modeling A collection of services This is not by any means an exhaustive list 5 5

com/ 6 This is the analogy closest to traditional perspective of a base map (Click!

6 Analogy 1 Base Map as Information Framework An information framework Architecture, carpentry Reference mapping Pedagogic tools Microsoft Encarta 6 This is the analogy closest to traditional perspective of a base map (Click!) brings in Encarta talk about functions (pan and zoom, toggle legend, directions) (Click!) brings in drop down menu but so much more is possible! 6

7 Alexandria Digital Library http://clients.

edu/ngda/ Legend info: how many items at

7 7 Alexandria Digital Library Legend info: how many items at each zoom level what sources for some sources, what dates adjust transparency 7

8 8 National Geographic Expeditions (classroom support) Functions are similar, just to change the view location and map type drop downs (Click!) to turn on country borders (Click!) to go to detailed level 8

Analogy 2 Base Map as Context for Story-Telling Journalistic maps Documentaries Atlas maps Travel diaries Fiction http://mappingcenter.esri.

9 Analogy 2 Base Map as Context for Story-Telling Journalistic maps Documentaries Atlas maps Travel diaries Fiction A page from Atlas of Oregon recreated in ArcMap (Buckley, 2007) 9 (Click!) an example of an atlas map, whose story involves seismic activity through time as well as locating the Pacific Rim & Ring of Fire service is that on mapping center you can explore how this map was created 9

Base Map Stories Some stories are so compelling that simply showing the base map brings the story to mind. http://www.nasa.

10 Some stories are so compelling that simply showing the base map brings the story to mind. (click!) (Click!

10 Base Map Stories Some stories are so compelling that simply showing the base map brings the story to mind. (Aster image, Sept 2000) (Aster image, Sept 2005) Possibly this is the most elegant use of base maps in a story context. 10 Some stories are so compelling that simply showing the base map brings the story to mind. (click!) (Click!) With regularized data capture by remote sensing, it s also possible to to add multiple (albeit static) timeframes Shared base maps of New Orleans captured from multiple agents ASTER (thermal image) same spatial footprint, different spectral res ln (different view) ASTER image 17 days after Katrina, see flooded areas immediately east and west of the 17 th st levee 10

11 National Atlas dynamic maps http://www.nationalatlas.gov/dynamic/dyn_zm.

11 11 National Atlas dynamic maps Animation has opened a lot of opportunities and roles for base maps in story-telling Ask question if reduction in new sightings means zebra mussels have reached habitat limits (by cold temps or arid climate) The fine line between story telling and analysis (modeling) 11

paths in Portland, OR Mei-po Kwan, Ohio State University Space-time travel paths (but add

12 Analogy 3 Base Map as Starting Point in Modeling past/future landscapes environmental design geographic process spatiotemporal pattern Space-Time Prism courtesy Dave Detloff, CU- Boulder, Space-time paths in Portland, OR Mei-po Kwan, Ohio State University Space-time travel paths (but add publish-and-subscribe functions) that permit scaling up from individual report to community trajectories a Wikipedia Time Geography 12

Memphis hub daily air travel patterns Images courtesy of Jochen Wendel

departures 3:00 PM NW traffic Memphis is an interesting airport NW hub

embedded service geocoding (address matching) Jochen s animation tells

commerce (in this case, parcel delivery).

13 Memphis hub daily air travel patterns Images courtesy of Jochen Wendel 3:30 AM FedEx departures 11:00 PM FedEx returns 13 9:00 AM FedEx & NW departures 3:00 PM NW traffic Memphis is an interesting airport NW hub and FedEx central Reason this is possible is that the base map has an embedded service geocoding (address matching) Jochen s animation tells a story, certainly, but also permits analysis of a particular type of commerce (in this case, parcel delivery). Refine analytic capabilities, or add a function to toggle visibility to see one or the other or both. 13

Analogy 4 Base Map as a Collection of Services On babs cell phone!!! http://www.weather.

14 Analogy 4 Base Map as a Collection of Services On babs cell phone!!! Daily decision tool!!! What to wear! Where is? Travel Planner Boulder Turnpike 1:30 pm Tuesday afternoon 14 14

Base map as information refiner(y) Plastic from petroleum add information to original material to increase value Dept Geography, Planning and Recreation Northern Arizona University http://jan.ucc.nau.

15 Base map as information refiner(y) Plastic from petroleum add information to original material to increase value Dept Geography, Planning and Recreation Northern Arizona University 15 Let users add content. Or services. Charlie uses the metaphor of refining petroleum to make plastic refining petroleum creates a product to serve many more uses than the raw material ergo, design the base data to nurture refinement in a map sense, that is, (read it) add info to the base map to increase value overall (Click!) But what about letting users embed their own content (this is possible now) or add their own services and functions. What form might those services take? COTS? Goggle api is a start, but we could go so much farther. 15

16 What if the service is map design? 16 Brewer, Buttenfield, Frye and Acosta ICC Moscow 2007 Another example Cindy s and my work the past few years with ESRI create a multi-scale topographic basemap database incorporate guidelines about when and how to change symbology give the database capabilities to offer generalized versions of some data layers when mapping scale demands it. This is not the same as a Google zoom-in, where images are substituted at a particular viewing scale it involves selected layers, each simplified to different tolerances, with feature displacement and labels adjusted accordingly. That functionality is not autonomous as yet, but it s certainly achievable. 16

17 Summary What is a Base Map? Four analogies Information framework Story-telling context To initiate modeling Collection of basic services I need a base map of this place versus I need a base map to provide these services 17 17

18 Summary what is a base map? What was: (a document) Skeletal view of a location Static, sparse content designed to add on to Form of the base map constrains final design 18 What is: (data plus functionality) Multi-layered, 2D 4D Basic functions (pan, zoom, identify) Advanced functions (mash ups, posting) If you think about it even for a short time, you realize that these functions are quite rudimentary, even crude 18

19 What could a base map become? Intelligent base maps Self-describing data and services Can assimilate new information (not just post it) Industrialized cataloging/indexing properties 19 New data models to support data and services Compatibility (interoperability issues) Usability issues Tailoring existing basemap datasets Self-describing means the base map info can: Guide appropriate use, notify about embedded services, and alert to limits of the data. One immediate functionality is to embed advanced cataloging functions s.t. newly assimilated data doesn t get lost in the archive. For instance, in GoogleMaps tell me media types, posting dates, source of all items in this view. So what will it take to create intelligent base maps? (click!) better data models It s not a utopic vision, there is work to be done in graphic design, user interface development, and data modeling. There are people in this community and in this audience who are also working towards this goal. And there is every reason to work toward it. As a community. Thank-you. 19

Mastering Map Scale: Formalizing Guidelines for Multi-Scale Map Design

Mastering Map Scale: Formalizing Guidelines for Multi-Scale Map Design Cynthia A. Brewer Pennsylvania State University Barbara P. Buttenfield University of Colorado Boulder a.k.a. Cindy and babs Collaborators