Mapping in a Digital World

Mapping in a Digital World book cover — Mapping in the Modern World MAPPING IN A DIGITAL WORLD James Bow Crabtree Publishing Company www crabtreebooks com

Mapping in a Digital World — page 1 — GATHERING DATA Digital technology enables cartographers to gather huge amounts of data and to display it in different ways for use by governments businesses and individuals As technology develops cartographers use the latest advancements to create innovative maps Cartographers were among the first to develop ways of representing a spherical globe on a flat surface They began to make maps on computers soon after the first computers appeared From the 1980s cartographers began to make maps that existed only in digital form and were stored in computers In 1989 the English computer scientist Timothy Berners-Lee figured out a way to let computers share documents leading to the development of the World Wide Web www Cartographers were quick to use the new technology to develop the maps you use today This map of Helsinki in Finland uses data from mobile sports apps to show routes for runners blue walkers green and cyclists red Mixed colors show where routes are shared by users Gathering such information would not have been possible before the invention of the Internet Popularity of walking running and cycling in Helsinki Metropolitan Area 4

Mapping in a Digital World — page 2 — I Know Where Your Cat Lives This map shows cats living in part of Kuala Lumpur Singapore Owen Mundy created the map which covers the whole world using pictures of people’s cats that are freely available on the Internet New Formats Digital computer technology allowed cartographers to create maps in new formats These formats included interactive maps where users could select different options for display or maps that could be updated in real time Just as importantly digital technology also gave cartographers new ways to access information to use in maps and new ways to store and process it For example a digital media artist named Owen Mundy searches Internet sites for publicly posted images tagged with the word cat He has plotted the locations of more than a million pet cats on a world map Mundy calls his map I Know Where your Cat Lives He wants the map to demonstrate the capacity of the Internet to gather and share any type of information Digital maps can display a huge variety of 5

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