Geog 258: Maps and GIS

March 8, 2006

Maps, geodata and reality

 

Reading: Ch 25

 


Maps and geodata as reality?

 

People tend to see maps and geodata as reality. Maps and geodata are useful ways of representing the world. The usefulness is built around human limitations – current practices of human concepts of the environment and our difficulty in grasping the complexity of the world. Limitations have been overcome throughout human history – navigations, airplane, satellite, and information technology. But still, mapping process (or mapping the reality into geodata), being biased by the tools, reflects the way we view the world.

 


Reality as maps and geodata?

 

Maps and GIS should be seen as tools for extending our ability, rather than something that replaces the reality. Reality is more vivid than maps and GIS. Reality is more than point symbol. Wise map users should be imaginative and never lose the sight of truth in reality, not truth in the map or data in GIS.

 


What this course attempted to cover:

 

1) A technology of representation as it is reconfigured

2) A way to talk about the environment

3) A way to organize data to construct new information

 

Has the digital revolution heralded the death of the map?

Far from it.

 

Has the availability of software tools changed who makes maps?

Certainly

 

Has it lowered standards or just democratized the practice?

Tool early to tell?

 


Future courses

 

Geog 360: principles of cartography – making maps in GIS

Geog 458: Map sources and errors – getting the right data

Geog 460: GIS analysis – raster analysis methods

Geog 461: Urban GIS – vector analysis methods

Geog 463: GIS workshop – doing a GIS project (answering real-world questions)