Thematic Cartography and Geovisualization

Terry A. Slocum currently is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Kansas. He received his B.A. and M.A. from SUNY at Albany, and his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. Professor Slocum has published extensively in numerous refereed outlets, including Cartography and Geographic Information Science,  Cartographica, Journal of Geography, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, The Professional Geographer, and The British Cartographic Journal. He has authored the books Thematic Cartography and Visualization (Prentice-Hall, 1999)  and Thematic Cartography and Geographic Visualization (Pearson Education, Inc., 2005) . From 1999  to 2002 , he served as editor of Cartography and Geographic Information Science. He has been involved in numerous grants, including two from the National Science Foundation, and has received two Teacher Appreciation awards from the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) at the University of Kansas.  From 2003 to the present, he has served as Chair of the Department of Geography at the University of Kansas. Fritz Kessler is currently an Associate Professor at Frostburg State University (FSU) located in Frostburg, MD and has been teaching a variety of geography courses since the fall of 1999. Professor Kessler’s cartographic background has evolved through a variety of cartographic related positions. He began his career in cartography while working in Ohio University’s Cartographic Center as an undergraduate student. After graduating from Ohio University in 1988 with a B.S. in Geography, he worked for the USGS Water Resource Division in Towson, MD as a Cartographic Technician. After receiving his M.S. from Penn State in 1991, he joined Intergraph as a Systems Analyst in Huntsville, AL. Desirous to return to production cartography, he took a position with R. R. Donnelley and Sons as a Cartographer. Although a fascinating experience, he chose to return to pursue his Ph.D. at the University of Kansas, during which time he worked for the Kansas State Geological Survey as a GIS Technician and as a Map Librarian at the T. R. Smith Map Library. In his ninth year of teaching at FSU, Fritz also holds a joint appointment through Penn State where he teaches and online course on map projections, datums, and coordinate systems in the Master of Geographic Information Systems degree program. Fritz has published in Cartographica, Cartography and Geographic Information Science, and American Congress on Surveying and Mapping’s Bulletin. Fritz is currently the Editor of Cartographic Perspectives, a peer-reviewed journal focusing on a broad array of cartographic topics, has served on the North American Cartographic and Information Society’s Board of Directors, and was the Secretary in the International Cartographic Association’s Working Group on Map Projections.

PART I
Introduction

1. Thematic Cartography and Geovisualization
1.1 What is a Thematic Map?     
1.2 How are Thematic Maps Used? 
1.3 Basic Steps for Communicating Map Information 
1.4 Consequences of Technological Change in Cartography 
1.5 Geovisualization 
1.6 Related Techniques 
1.7 Cognitive Issues in Cartography 
1.8 Social and Ethical Issues in Cartography 

2. A Historical Perspective on Thematic Cartography
2.1 A Brief History of Cartography 
2.2 History of Thematic Cartography 
2.3 History of U.S. Academic Cartography 
2.4 The Paradigms of American Cartography 

3. Statistical and Graphical Foundation
3.1 Population and Sample 
3.2 Descriptive Versus Inferential Statistics 
3.3 Methods for Analyzing Spatial Data, Ignoring Location 
3.4 Numerical Summaries in Which Location Is an Integral Component 

PART II
Principles of Cartography

4. Data Classification   
4.1 Common Methods of Data Classification 
4.2 Using Spatial Context to Simplify Choropleth Maps 
4.3 Using Multiple Criteria to Determine Class Intervals 

5. Principles of Symbolization
5.1 Nature of Geographic Phenomena 
5.2 Levels of Measurement 
5.3 Visual Variables 
5.4 Comparison of Choropleth, Proportional Symbol, Isopleth, and Dot Mapping 
5.5 Selecting Visual Variables for Choropleth Maps 

6. Scale and Generalization
6.1 Geographic and Cartographic Scale
6.2 Definitions of Generalization
6.3 Models of Generalization
6.4 The Fundamental Operations of Generalization
6.5 An Example of Generalization
6.6 MapShaper: A Free Web-Based Generalization Service 

7. The Earth and Its Coordinate System
7.1 Basic Characteristics of the Earth’s Graticule 
7.2 A Brief History of Latitude and Longitude 
7.3 Determining the Earth’s Size and Shape 

8. Elements of Map Projections
8.1 The Map Projection Concept 
8.2 The Reference Globe and Developable Surfaces 
8.3 The Mathematics of Map Projections 
8.4 Map Projection Characteristics 
8.5 Distortion on Map Projections 
8.6 Projection Properties 

9. Selecting an Appropriate Map Projection
9.1 Potential Selection Guidelines 
9.2 Examples of Selecting Projections 

10. Principles of Color
10.1 How Color Is Processed by the Human Visual System 
10.2 Hardware Considerations in Producing Color Maps for Graphics Displays 
10.3 Models for Specifying Color 

11. Map Elements and Typography
11.1 Alignment and Centering 
11.2 Map Elements 
11.3 Typography 

12. Cartographic Design
12.1 Cartographic Design 
12.2 Case Study: Real Estate Site Suitability Map 

13. Map Reproduction
13.1 Reproduction Versus Dissemination 
13.2 Planning Ahead 
13.3 Map Editing 
13.4 Raster Image Processing for Print Reproduction 
13.5 Screening for Print Reproduction 
13.6 Aspects of Color Printing 
13.7 High-Volume Print Reproduction 
13.8 Nonprint Reproduction and Dissemination 
   
PART III   
Mapping Techniques

14. Choropleth Mapping
14.1 Selecting Appropriate Data 
14.2 Data Classification 
14.3 Factors for Selecting a Color Scheme 
14.4 Details of Color Specification 
14.5 Legend Design 
14.6 Classed Versus Unclassed Mapping 

15. Dasymetric Mapping
15.1 Selecting Appropriate Data and Ancillary Information 
15.2 Eicher and Brewer’s Work 
15.3 Mennis and Hultgren’s Intelligent Dasymetric Mapping (IDM) 
15.4 LandScan     
15.5 Langford and Unwin’s Generalized Dasymetric Approach 

16. Isarithmic Mapping
16.1 Selecting Appropriate Data 
16.2 Manual Interpolation 
16.3 Automated Interpolation for True Point Data 
16.4 Criteria for Selecting an Interpolation Method for True Point Data 
16.5 Limitations of Automated Interpolation Approaches 
16.6 Tobler’s Pycnophylactic Approach: An Interpolation Method for Conceptual Point Data 
16.7 Symbolization 

17. Proportional Symbol and Dot Mapping
17.1 Selecting Appropriate Data For Proportional Symbol Maps 
17.2 Kinds of Proportional Symbols 
17.3 Scaling Proportional Symbols 
17.4 Legend Design for Proportional Symbol Maps 
17.5 Handling Overlap on Proportional Symbol Maps 
17.6 Redundant Symbols 
17.7 Selecting Appropriate Data for Dot Maps 
17.8 Creating a Dot Map 
   
18. Multivariate Mapping
18.1 Bivariate Mapping 
18.2 Multivariate Mapping Involving Three or More Attributes 
18.3 Cluster Analysis 

19. Cartograms and Flow Maps
19.1 Cartograms 
19.2 Flow Mapping 

Part IV   
Geovisualization

20. Visualizing Terrain
20.1 Nature of the Data 
20.2 Vertical Views 
20.3 Oblique Views 
20.4 Physical Models 

21. Map Animation
21.1 Early Developments 
21.2 Visual Variables and Categories of Animation 
21.3 Examples of Animations 
21.4 Using 3-D Space to Display Temporal Data 
21.5 Does Animation Work? 

22. Data Exploration
22.1 Goals of Data Exploration 
22.2 Methods of Data Exploration 
22.3 Examples of Data Exploration Software 

23. Visualizing Uncertainty   
23.1 Basic Elements of Uncertainty 
23.2 General Methods for Depicting Uncertainty 
23.3 Visual Variables for Depicting Uncertainty 
23.4 Applications of Visualizing Uncertainty 
23.5 Studies of the Effectiveness of Methods for Visualizing Uncertainty 

24. Web Mapping   
24.1 A Brief History of Web Mapping 
24.2 Cartographic Web Sites: A Classification 
24.3 Tying Together the Five Continua 

25. Virtual Environments   
25.1 Defining Virtual and Mixed Environments 
25.2 Technologies for Creating Virtual Environments 
25.3 The Four “I” Factors of Virtual Environments 
25.4 Applications of Geospatial Virtual Environments 
25.5 Research Issues in Geospatial Virtual Environments 
25.6 Developments in Mixed Environments 
25.7 Health, Safety, and Social Issues 

26. Trends in Research and Development
26.1 Linked Micromap Plots and Conditioned Choropleth Maps 
26.2 Using Senses Other Than Vision to Interpret Spatial Patterns 
26.3 Collaborative Geovisualization 
26.4 Multimodal Interfaces 
26.5 Information Visualization and Spatialization 
26.6 Spatial Data Mining 
26.7 Visual Analytics 
26.8 Mobile Mapping and Location-Based Services 
26.9 Keeping Pace with Recent Developments 

Appendix: Lengths of One Degree Latitude and Longitude
Glossary
References
Index