Smart Cartographic Symbolization: Bringing Cartographic Knowledge to Online Geoportals
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Author
Date
2017Type
- Doctoral Thesis
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
The democratization of cartography over the last two decades has opened numerous opportunities for the general public to participate in the mapmaking process. However, while simple cartographic tools and geospatial data for creating maps have transitioned beyond the traditional field to the online world, cartographic principles and know-how are not as accessible. We call this discrepancy in availability the cartographic gap and it is the initial drive of this thesis. The main goal of the thesis is to bridge the cartographic gap in order to support a sound and successful neocartographic practice, more specifically by bringing cartographic knowledge to geoportals.
Three shortcomings which participate in keeping the gap open are identified: low quality of user map symbolization; absence of proper cartographic functionality to improve this quality; and insufficient understanding of user interaction design of cartographic functions for opening up cartographic principles. This thesis tackles issues of online cartographic symbolization for casual mapmakers (or neocartographers) by defining three research questions associated with these shortcomings: Which (and how) cartographic conflicts found in user maps on geoportals can be resolved with the help of cartographic principles about symbolization? How to formalize cartographic principles into actionable functionality for their integration within a geoportal? How can interactions and interfaces be designed to support opening up cartographic knowledge in a geoportal?
In the four scientific papers belonging to the core chapters, this thesis answers the research questions by covering aspects pertaining to cartographic conflicts, knowledge formalization, and cartographic interaction design. A novel approach was developed to resolve specific cartographic conflicts in the context of map mashups and user maps in online mapping platforms, such as geoportals. For this purpose, we defined a contextual map model to formalize and open up cartographic principles in the form of smart cartographic functions implemented directly within a geoportal and in relation to actual maps created by users. These functions optimize the drawing order of layers, check for content incompatibilities and improve the visual hierarchy in maps. More specifically, we designed a styling function to improve contrast between back- and foreground layers and compared it to existing methods. We tested different approaches to interaction design for cartographic functions and knowledge by implementing the framework into an existing geoportal. The results of a usability study allowed the definition of valuable guidelines. They demonstrated the importance of providing different ways to access information and to explore the content and actions of the functions. Furthermore, participants displayed a preference for dynamic interaction and on-the-fly visual changes on the map.
Finally, as this thesis only touches parts of the broad topic of online map design by casual mapmakers and open cartography, we provide the framework as an open source library. The framework can be used and expanded to further formalize cartographic principles into functions for the practice of neocartography and for bridging the cartographic gap. Show more
Permanent link
https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000201457Publication status
publishedExternal links
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Publisher
ETH ZurichSubject
geoportal; map design; Web cartography; smart cartographic function; Web mapping; interface design; open geodataOrganisational unit
03466 - Hurni, Lorenz / Hurni, Lorenz
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ETH Bibliography
yes
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