Archive for the ‘Geographic’ Category

Refining the Look of Google Maps

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

From a Blog Post:

Today’s changes are intended to keep the same information-rich map while making it easier to pick out the information that is most useful. The changes affect both the ‘Map’ and ‘Hybrid’ styles, and include numerous refinements to color, density, typography, and road styling worldwide. For example, in map view, local and arterial roads have been narrowed at medium zooms to improve legibility, and the overall colours have been optimized to be easier on the eye and conflict less with other things (such as traffic, transit lines and search results) that we overlay onto the map. Hybrid roads have gained a crisp outline to make them easier to follow, and the overall look is now closer to an augmented satellite view instead of a simple overlay.

In some areas the changes are obvious, while in others they are quite subtle. But overall we hope you’ll agree they’re a nice improvement.

The blog post continues with examples of some of the changes.

Source: Google Lat Long Blog

Online Resources: The George Palmer Putnam Collection of Amelia Earhart Papers at Purdue University

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

This Friday (in the U.S.) a new movie opens about the life of aviator, Amelia Earhart.

At Purdue University, the George Palmer Putnam Collection is the world’s largest collection of Amelia Earhart papers, photos, memorabilia and artifacts. Several resources from the collection are available online.

1) Searchable Digital Library (Images, cards, ephemera, newspaper articles, etc.), over 2200 entries

2) Biographical Sketch

3) Map of Second World Flight Attempt, 1937

4) Medals
Note: Some medals require Quicktime to view them.

5) Timeline

6) Learn About the Collection

7) Collection of Web Resources about Amelia Earhart

8) Select Bibliography

9) Bibliography for Children

10) Amelia Earhart at Purdue (Digitized Materials, Over 400 entries)

Source: Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections

CrimeMapper: Interactive Map Lets Users Compare Crime Rates in England and Wales

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

From the Story:

The interactive map allows users to zoom in on to any area of England or Wales they choose and find out about crime levels in their village, town, city or region.

Residents can also use the map to compare one police area with another, while comparing crime figures over a three-month period against the same period for the previous year.

Steve Mortimore, deputy chief executive of the NPIA said: “The national Crime Map is a vital step forward in giving the public more information about crime in their areas to increase confidence in the service they receive from the police.

Source: Sky News

Access CrimeMapper
+ Search for an Area
+ Select a Police Force
+ Choose an Area on the Map

Source: National Policing Improvement Agency & Home Office

Online Satellite Imagery: An Interview with Dr. Walter Scott from DigitalGlobe

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

One of the big players in commercial (as opposed to government) satellite imagery is DigitalGlobe of Longmont, CO. They provide images to Google, Bing, and many other companies. They also provide images to the government and military.

In an extremely interesting 7.5 minute (we wish it was longer) audio interview, Joshua-Michéle Ross from O’Reilly Radar talks with Dr. Walter Scott, Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of DigitalGlobe.

Some of the topics discussed include:

+ Uncommon uses of DigitalGlobe satellite imagery
+ Competitive advantages in the satellite imagery business
+ Tools to get imagery in the hands of users
+ Augmented reality

Source: O’Reilly Radar

See Also: A Small Sample of DigitalGlobe Images

See Also: Primer on the Satellite Imaging Industry (via DigitalGlobe)

See Also: Imagery Search Using DigitalGlobe’s ImageFinder
This material is for sale but you usually see a preview image online. It’s also a good example of a deep/invisible web database.

Better Directions: Bringing Maps and Video Together

Friday, October 16th, 2009

From the Article:

A novel navigation system under development at Microsoft aims to tweak users’ visual memory with carefully chosen video clips of a route. Developed with researchers from the University of Konstanz in Germany, the software creates video using 360-degree panoramic images of the street that are strung together. Such images have already been gathered by several different mapping companies for many roads around the world. The navigation system, called Videomap, adjusts the speed of the video and the picture to highlight key areas along the route.

[Snip]

Videomap still provides written directions and a map with a highlighted route. But unlike existing software, such as Google Maps or MapQuest, the system also allows users to watch a video of their drive.

[Snip]

When given Videomap directions, drivers made the correct turn 80 percent of the time. With a map and text directions, the drivers made the correct turn only 60 percent of the time.

[Snip]

Arzu Coltekin, a senior researcher at the University of Zurich who works in the Geographic Information Visualization and Analysis Division, finds the work interesting. Some might say that a system such as Videomap isn’t necessary because of the proliferation of GPS receivers in cars, but Coltekin notes that it would still be useful for those who bike or walk, which “is quite common in Europe. And when you are walking or biking, often you don’t have a GPS.” But she says the team needs to come up with a way to automatically identify landmarks.

[Billy] Chen, [a researcher in the MSN Advanced Engineering group], says that Microsoft could use a list of landmarks that is already in its geospatial database, or such a list could perhaps be compiled by users.

Access the Complete Article

Source: Technology Review

See Also: Learn More and Watch a Video About Videomap

See Also: Billy Chen’s Home Page

Access to Information: California County Hoarding Map Data Ordered to Pay $500,000

Friday, October 16th, 2009

From the Article:

A California county’s three-year battle to prevent a nonprofit group from obtaining public mapping data has ended disastrously for the county after it was ordered by a court to pay the group $500,000 in legal costs.

Last February, Santa Clara County, the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, was ordered to hand over the public records to the California First Amendment Coalition for a minimal duplication fee after initially trying to charge $250,000 for the data and then appealing to the federal government to designate the data a national security secret that couldn’t be released. This week the county paid out to the coalition twice the amount in legal fees that it had once hoped to rake in as profit for the data.

[Snip]

In 2006, the coalition used the state’s sunshine law to ask for a digital, data-rich map compiled by the county. Called a geographic information system, or GIS, parcel basemap database, the map shows the boundaries of 450,000 real estate parcels in Silicon Valley, along with overlaid aerial photos, street addresses and other data.

The county demanded $250,000 for the information, along with a signed nondisclosure agreement asserting that the coalition wouldn’t redistribute it, even though other California counties provide the same data for free or charge a minimal duplication fee.

Source: Wired

The Adversity Index: Measuring the Economic Health of 381 Metro Areas in All 50 States

Friday, October 16th, 2009

An entire package of resources from MSNBC.

The current headline: Recession ends in 79 metro areas

+ How the Adversity Index detects trends in local economies

+ Main Article
Contains an interactive map.

The Adversity Index, from msnbc.com and Moody’s Economy.com, measures the economic health of 381 metro areas and all 50 states. Each area is in recession, at risk, recovering or expanding. On this map you can explore changes in the four components of the index: employment, housing starts, housing prices and industrial production, each shown as a percentage change from a year earlier. (The change in housing prices will be updated at the end of the quarter.) Roll over a state to see its numbers. Click on a state to see details for its metro areas. Slide left or right to see data for different months. Click play to see all the months. Use the forward and back buttons to step a month at a time.

+ When the Downturn Hit, Month by Month

+ Recession-resistant areas
Map at bottom of page

+ Boundaries of metro areas in Adversity Index

+ The Areas Rarely Suffer a Recession
Map.

From the Library of Congress: Geography and Maps: An Illustrated Guide

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

This illustrated guide (converted into a web document) offers an interesting read about LC’s map collection. Numerous images are included.

Sections include:

+ Atlases

+ Special Collections

+ General Collections

+ Globes and Terrain Models

+ Aerial Photographs and Remote Sensing Images

+ Digital Data and Geographic Information Systems

+ List of Special Collections

A concordance of images is also available.

See Also: Online Map Collections via the Library of Congress (American Memory)

Source: Geography and Maps Division, Library of Congress

Atlanta Prepares for “Mapathon”

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

From the Article:

Atlanta, the capital of the US state of Georgia will soon be the world’s most digitally mapped city, according to organisers of a massive “mapathon”.

OpenStreetMap, or OSM, is behind the effort to produce a map more accurate than anything else on the market. In addition, all the data will be given away free for others to use. “We aim to map everything from bike paths to emergency phones and police precincts,” said Frank Howell from the Office of Research and Policy Analysis.

Access OpenStreetMap

Access OpenStreetMap Fast Facts (2 pages; PDF)

Access the Complete Article

Source: BBC

Online Maps + Crowdsourcing: Just How Good is Your Cell Signal?

Monday, October 12th, 2009

From the Article:

Until now, cell phone users have had no detailed and impartial way to assess and compare which network offers the best data and voice service where they use their phones.

Root Wireless Inc., a Bellevue, Wash., startup, aims to change that. Root’s colorful online map, which debuted last week on CNET.com and is currently usable only by consumers living in the eight U.S. markets analyzed so far, shows voice and data signal strength for each of the four major U.S. carriers. An intriguing plan calls for building out map coverage through 200,000 volunteers nationwide, all armed with a data-gathering app on their smartphones.

[Snip]

Initially, the Root map is accessible only through CNET.com, as part of its library of cell phone reviews. CNET isn’t promoting the map, but it’s available by clicking “check coverage” directly under the reviewed phone’s name. Checking it out is difficult, because it is currently available only within selected cell-phone reviews, and only to CNET visitors in the eight markets — Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. — where Root has done its own mapping.

Another 12 [metro] markets are slated to be mapped by year-end: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Denver, Houston, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, St. Louis and Tampa/St. Petersburg.

Source: MSNBC

The map provides data for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless. It’s easy to move from one provider to another.

To access the map which is a beta release (remember only eight markets are currently available) head to the cell phone review section of CNET and select a smartphone. ) Smartphones are the only phones that will trigger a map link during the beta period. We’re selecting the iPhone 3GS 32GB (in white) from AT&T. Finally, look in the right hand column below the first two boxes for the clickable link, “Check your coverage area.” You should now be viewing a map. The default region on the map is Metro Seattle but simply enter a street address and/or Zip Code for one of the available metro areas and the map will change to that location. At the bottom of the map you can learn more about data collection and methodology and report descriptions.

The MSNBC article also points out that when the beta period is over (sometime in January) you’ll be able to access maps for all phones.

Finally, if you’re interested in helping Root Wireless crowd source other areas, this page is where you register.

Access the Complete MSNBC Article

Google Drops Tele Atlas As Provider of U.S. Maps, Company Now Creating Their Own Maps with the Help of Crowdsourcing

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Greg Sterling at Search Engine Land does a great job discussing the big news that Google’s primary map provider, TeleAtlas, has been dropped and the company is now using their own maps that were created (and will be maintained) using crowdsourcing and other sources (e.g. U.S. Census data) along with StreetView data.

We’re wondering if other data sources like Sandborn Maps will continue to be used by Google.

Tele Atlas will continue to provide maps to Google for many other countries.

On the Directions Magazine web site, Michael Jones from Google, list and discusses the large number of Google tools and services that have a geographic component.

He Writes:

I’ve been saying in keynote talks for years that users are the local experts and that a rich and accurate map of the world must therefore reflect user’s knowledge.

He Adds:

I know that users are now better served with an easily correctable, rapidly updatable, widely usable base-map built from the synthesis of hundreds of data feeds, hundreds of thousands of individual contributors, and potentially, hundreds of millions of local-expert users.

Jones continues and briefly explains how Google got the U.S. maps project started.

Make sure to read both articles.

Access Search Engine Land

Access Directions Magazine

UPDATE (10/13): Map/GIS data experts, Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg, from Directions Magazine have recorded an excellent podcast that discusses the changes with Google Maps in the United States. Below the podcast box, you’ll also find links to several articles. Several point out that parcel data (we don’t know the provider) is now available via Google Maps for several locations in the U.S. Be careful using the parcel data. As of today (this could change at any time), it isn’t as robust as what you find with databases that specialize in this type of data. For example, you can’t click on a parcel and find out the owner of the property and it’s impossible to determine how current it is.

See:
+ Parcel Sightings on Google Maps (All Points Blog)
+ The ENTCHEV GIS Blog: Parcels in Google Maps? Yes!
+ Parcel Data In Google Maps (via GeoChalkboard)

Online Database: Free Access to SAGE Journals Online For the Entire Month of October

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Access SAGE Journals Online

The complete database and all of its content is free for the month of October.

You’ll first need to register. This link should get you started. You’ll be asked for an email address, name, and a few other data points. You will also be asked if SAGE can contact you. Select yes or no.

SAGE Journals Online contains more than 260,000 articles from more than 500 SAGE journals* with content available from 1999-current.

Quick Search and Advanced Search interfaces are available. You can also browse by journal title.

* Some of the many disciplines include:

+ Communication & Media Studies
+ Engineering & Computing
+ Geography
+ Information Science
+ Management & Organization Studies
+ Pharmacology & Toxicology
+ Politics & International Relations
+ Research Methods & Evaluation
+ Sociology

A complete list of disciplines that Sage Journals Online covers is located on the opening registration page.

Access SAGE Journals Online

Source: SAGE

Online Database: Mapping Languages in the United States and More Research Tools

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

From the Introduction:

The MLA [Modern Language Association] Language Map is intended for use by students, teachers, and anyone interested in learning about the linguistic and cultural composition of the United States. The MLA Language Map uses data from the 2000 United States census to display the locations and numbers of speakers of thirty languages and three groups of less commonly spoken languages in the United States. The census data are based on responses to the question, “Does this person speak a language other than English at home?” The Language Map illustrates the concentration of language speakers in zip codes and counties. The Language Map Data Center provides data from Census 2000 about over three hundred languages spoken in the United States, including actual numbers and percentages of speakers. Data from the 2005 American Community Survey about the thirty languages most commonly spoken in the United States provide a snapshot of recent changes in American language communities.

This web tool allows users to map and illustrate what languages are spoken in the United States.

Begin by selecting a language and then selecting a state. A national map is also available.

Then, select one of three data points to view on the map:

+ Percentage by County
+ Number by County
+ Number by Zip Code

Users can zoom in/out and add extra data layers (e.g. county names) to the map.

At the bottom of the map there is a numerical or alphabetical listing of all languages spoken in area you’ve selected.

The Modern Language Association also provides the MLA Language Map Data Center

Here, users will find specific numbers of language speakers by:

+ US, State, Region, or Division (Pie Chart)
+ Languages by State (Ranking)
+ Languages by County (Ranking)
Researchers can also enter a city name, Zip Code or county subdivision and get back rankings.

Finally, MLA provides a map comparison tool where users can view two maps side by side.

Like the primary mapping tool, it’s possible to choose one of three data points to view on the map:

+ Percentage by County
+ Number by County
+ Number by Zip Code

Source: Modern Language Association

Cool! New Online Map Draws on Population

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

From the Article:

A new world atlas which concentrates on population rather than land mass has been published.

Researchers from the University of Sheffield created the online atlas of 200 maps that have been redrawn to show, at a glance, which cities are the largest, how all urban areas compare, and whether many or few people live in the countryside.

The images, which were created as part of a Leverhulme Trust project to remap the world and extend the Worldmapper project, have been created using population distribution data so viewers can understand how many people make up each nation.

The new world guides break with the 500-year tradition of conventional cartography which shows compass directions as straight lines.

Source: The Press Association (UK)

See Also: Access the New Maps using Worldmapper

We added a new series of maps which show grid-based cartograms showing each territory shape according to its population distribution. Those can be found at our new Country Cartograms. The territories can be selected via an interactive map or over a list of the new maps.

See Also: Worldmapper Home Page
Spend some time here, plenty of interesting and potentially useful resources.

From the “About” Worldmapper Page (Worth Reading)

This website contains 696 maps, with associated information and PDF ‘poster’ file. Each map relates to a particular subject. Click on the ‘Thumbnail Index’ which gives thumbnail previews of the maps, ‘Map Categories’ which is classified to see the choice, or a new option ‘A-Z Map Index’, and view a map and associated information. There is also a Site Map and Help page. The country cartograms contain 171 maps showing a population grid for each covered territory/region projected on a cartogram. More information on the country cartograms are explained on this info page.

Google Earth Application Maps Carbon’s Course

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

From the Article:

Google Earth — the digital globe on which computer users can fly around the planet and zoom in on key features — is attracting attention in scientific communities and aiding public communication about carbon dioxide. Recently Google held a contest to present scientific results using KML, a data format used by Google Earth.

“I tried to think of a complex data set that would have public relevance,” said Tyler Erickson, a geospatial researcher at the Michigan Tech Research Institute in Ann Arbor.

[Snap]

The application is designed to educate the public and even scientists about how carbon dioxide emissions can be traced. A network of 1,000-foot towers across the United States is equipped with instruments by NOAA to measure the carbon dioxide content of parcels of air at single locations.

At the bottom of the article (in the related resources section) you’ll find more information including the actual Google KML file and a few videos.

Source: NASA News

New from Google: “Place Pages”

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Another day and more new/updated resources from Google. Yesterday, it was a video project with the Wharton School of Business and Sidewiki.

Today, Greg Sterling at Search Engine Land introduces a change to Google Maps named “Place Pages” that replace the “info window” that previously appeared when doing some map searches. Sterling says the changes present the information “much more effectively.”

Sterling writes:

The new “Place Pages” offer a more user friendly presentation of the same information. Also launching today are Place Pages that cover cities, neighborhoods, points of interest and transit stops, in addition to business locations. (The Place Pages are accessible from the “more info” link associated with the listing or result.)

Greg’s post is full of screenshots that illustrate the changes.

The idea behind Place Pages, according to Google is to “give you all the info about a place, in one place.”

Source: Search Engine Land

Online Databases and Maps: Profiles on Naturalized Citizens and Legal Permanent Residents

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

From the Web Site/Database:

Naturalized citizens are foreign nationals who have become citizens of the United States after fulfilling requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act.

…generate a profile of selected demographic characteristics of immigrants who naturalized during the fiscal year. Profiles are available by country of birth, state of residence, and metropolitan area of residence.

Statistics Available for the Years: 2003-2008

Stats Available:
+ Country of Birth
+ State of Residence
+ Core Based Statistical Area of Residence
+ Metropolitan Statistical Area of Residence (for Some Years)

Note: Result sets are available in .XLS format.

See Also: Profiles on Legal Permanent Residents Database

Legal permanent residents (LPRs) are foreign nationals who have been granted the right to reside permanently in the United States. LPRs are often referred to simply as “immigrants,” but they are also known as “permanent resident aliens” and “green card holders.”

Years Available: 2003-2008

Stats Available:
+ Country of Birth
+ State of Residence
+ Core-Based Statistical Area of Residence

Note: Result sets are available in .XLS format.

See Also: Mapping Immigration
1) Mapping Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs)
2) Mapping Naturalized Citizens

Source: Department of Homeland Security
Hat Tip: IWS Documented News Service

Tweets Will Soon Come With a Dateline

Friday, August 21st, 2009

From the Post:

Twitter is getting ready to unveil a new feature that will add longitude and latitude to any tweet. Individual Twitter users will have the choice to activate this feature and Twitter promises it won’t store exact location data for a long period of time.

Source: Bits Blog (NY Times)

See Also: Read the Original Blog Post from Biz Stone, Twitter Co-Founder

Online Digital Maps: Getting Ready for 3-D Street Maps from Tele Atlas

Monday, August 17th, 2009

A very interesting read. The article focuses on a company named Tele Atlas.

From the Article:

Meet the people at Tele Atlas, the company that provides so-called “base maps” to such high-profile clients as Google, MapQuest and RIM, the maker of the BlackBerry. Tele Atlas also provides digital-mapping services for its corporate owner, the portable-navigation company TomTom.

It goes on…

Images collected by the vans’ cameras don’t make it to the public because Tele Atlas doesn’t have an application like Google Street View. But it soon may have something that’s arguably even better.

That brings us to the vans’ side-sweeping lasers. As the vans drive, their lasers constantly scan the road and everything around it, recording information that Tele Atlas calls the “first reflective surface.” This includes the width, height and contours of every building the van passes.

This data, when combined with the images captured by the cameras, will help Tele Atlas create a 3-D world.

Three-dimensional digital maps already are common in Japan and Western Europe. But 3-D maps are still in their primitive stages in the U.S., where their quality depends on the type of device they’re displayed on.

[Snip]

Within 18 months, Tele Atlas hopes to develop a powerful navigation system whose images will look almost identical to the surroundings through which we travel.

Source: CNN

Follow Tele Atlas on Twitter

Cool! More New Imagery and Maps Comes to Bing

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

Word on the Bing Community Blog that the folks in Redmond have just added 41TB of new aerial, birds eye (super cool), and vector data to Bing Maps (formerly Virtual Earth) covering 189,000+ square kilometers of Earth including 12,000+ square kilometers of Bird’s Eye photography.

This post has a list of what countries where the new data can be found including the cities where you’ll find the Bird’s Eye imagery.

For example (just a few), you’ll find Bird’s Eye imagery for:

+ Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra, Australia

+ Halifax, Montreal, and Quebec City, Canada

+ Amsterdam and Rotterdam, Netherlands

Source: Bing