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Making Sense of Maps

TED Talks Map designer Aris Venetikidis is fascinated by the maps we draw in our minds as we move around a city — less like street maps, more like schematics or wiring diagrams, abstract images of relationships between places.

This video touches on numerous themes that are crucial to geographers including: 1) how our minds arrange spatial information, 2) how to best graphically represent spatial information in a useful manner for your audience and 3) how mapping a place can be the impetus for changing outdated systems. This is the story of how a cartographer working to improve a local transportation system map, which in turn, started city projects to improve the infrastructure and public utilities in Dublin, Ireland. This cartographer argues that the best map design for a transport system needs to conform to how on cognitive mental mapping works more so than geographic accuracy (like so many subway maps do).

Tags: transportation, urban, mapping, cartography, planning, TED, video, unit 7 cities.

See on www.ted.com

October 4, 2012 1

Martin Luther King Street

A teaser trailer for the MLK Streets Project, a documentary film examining the state of the many avenues, boulevards and thoroughfares named after the slain …

This video echoes much of what the authors of the fantastic book “Civil Rights Memorials and the Geography of Memory” say (in fact one of the authors is shown in this video). Throughout America, streets that are named after Martin Luther King Jr. frequently are in poor, crime-ridden neighborhoods. This video highlights the irony between the historical memory of Martin Luther King Jr. and places of memorialization that bear his name.

Questions to ponder: If Matin Luther King Jr. represents non-violence, then why are streets bearing his name often in ‘violent’ neighborhoods? Where should Martin Luther King be memorialized in the United States? Only in the South? Only in predominantly African-American communities? Do the geography of the spaces where he is memorialized say something about the United States?

Tags: historical, culture, landscape, place, race, unit 3 culture, USA, urban, poverty, unit 7 cities, book review.

See on www.youtube.com

October 1, 2012 2

Apple Maps Wreak Havoc on NYC

This is not nice, but it is still very funny.

Tags: mapping, NYC, cartography.

See on www.madmagazine.com

October 1, 2012 0

Hiking Preikestolen in Norway

Hiking to the top of Preikestolen (the Pulpit Rock) near Stavanger, Norway. An amazing and wondrous hike.

For the inner explorer in all of us, this is a geographic dream. Click here to read more about this fantastic climb from a National Geographic explorer.

Tags: Europe, landforms, NationalGeographic.

See on www.youtube.com

October 1, 2012 0

Beautiful Data Visualizations from the 19th Century

Do you want some inspiration to create a visually stunning – yet fully optimized – data graphic? Well, let’s go back about a 140 years… Handsome Atlas developed by Jonathan Soma of Brooklyn Brainery, provides a stunning new online interface to a large collection of beautiful data visualizations from the 19th century.

TR: Taking into account the age of these visualizations, one has to wonder if they intended them to be used by our generation in this way. I see potential for a “web 2.0” update of these charts to make them interactive . . .

Tags: infographic, historical, visualization, statistics.

See on infosthetics.com

October 1, 2012 0

Iceland’s Volcanic Rivers

Time and time again, we’re reminded of nature’s beauty. It’s hard to believe, but these photos of real landscapes, not abstract paintings.

Andre Ermolaev, through his photography has captured the beauty of Iceland’s geomorphology. Being on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Iceland has abundant volcanic ash which adds rich color to the fluvial systems.

Tags: geomorphology, physical, Europe, fluvial, water, landforms, images.

See on www.mymodernmet.com

October 1, 2012 0

Remote Sensing and Land Cover Change

By moving the slider, the user can compare 1990 false-color Landsat views (left) with recent true-color imagery (right). Humans are increasingly transforming Earth’s surface—through direct activities such as farming, mining, and building, and indirectly by altering its climate.

This interactive feature includes 12 places that have experienced significant change since 1990. This is an user-friendly way to compare remote sensing images over time. Pictured above is the Aral Sea, which is and under-the-radar environmental catastrophe in Central Asia that has its roots in the Soviet era’s (mis)management policies.

Tags: remote sensing, land use, environment, geospatial, environment modify, esri, unit 1 Geoprinciples, zbestofzbest.

See on storymaps.esri.com

September 30, 2012 2

61 Amazing Manhole Covers from Japan

Manhole covers are ubiquitous in the modern urban fabric; they are typically drab and purely utilitarian. In Japan, municipalities take pride in the this ordinary piece of the landscape and convert them into extraordinary works of art that reflect the local people, place and culture.

Tags: book review, landscape, art, urban, culture, place, EastAsia.

See on www.gwarlingo.com

September 30, 2012 0

Bridges For Animals – Wildlife Overpasses

Our modern society depends on greater connectivity between places. Regionalized economies, politics and transportation networks are increasingly integrated with far-flung places now more than ever before. Our biosphere and natural environments are exceptions to this pattern. Wilderness areas are ‘islands’ in an ocean of human controlled environments. We create transportation linkages that unite people economies and cities, but separate herds from there extended habitat.

We’ve all seen road kill on major highways. Species like deer, elk, and grizzly bears and other large-bodied animals need a wide range for numerous ecological reasons. These bridges are an attempt to ameliorate some of the problems that our roads pose for the non-human species that still call Earth home. From a purely economic standpoint, many argue that these bridges save society money given the accidents and property damage that can be avoided.

Tags: biogeography, transportation, environment, land use, sustainability, environment adapt.

See on www.theworldgeography.com

UPDATE: and here is a painful/hilarious video of someone who clearly doesn’t understand these principles.