I grew up hating maps. On every road trip we took (and there
were too many to count), even if my mom knew exactly where we were going she
made me show her on the map. It was torture.
But as I've gotten older and explored the world on my own, I
am grateful for my compulsory map education. I don't own a GPS and
would rather pull out my awkward, folded maps than type in my destination
online and get directions.However, I realize that the vast majority of the world is increasingly relying on more technologically advanced forms of maps. Last week the wonderful people at the NG Maps division offered a crash course on GIS, geographic information systems. Put very simply, GIS is a combination of traditional cartography and database technology.
But GIS is anything but simple. It allows users to integrate, store, edit, analyze, share and display custom geographic information and merge that customized map with any information stored in a database, from the regions that grow the most Thanksgiving-oriented foods to the tracks of tornadoes in the D.C. metropolitan area in the past three years. Any variable that can be located spatially can be fed into a GIS and represented on a map.
I will be the first to admit that this all seemed a little overwhelming, and sure, special training might be necessary to really learn to use GIS to its full potential. But what is so exciting about this technology is that it really isn't incomprehensible to non-cartographers like you and me. For example, the GPS in your car is a type of GIS system.
This concept of creating our own maps has begun to catch on
in recent years, with the emergence of MapQuest, Google Maps, Google Earth and
other similar programs. Last week the New York Times reported on the growing reliance
on these online atlases and the importance of user feedback in updating and
maintaining the information's accuracy. In comparing online atlases and maps to
Wikipedia, the Times reporter claims "they are democratizing a field that used
to be the exclusive domain of professionals and specialists...putting mapping
where it should be, in the hands of local people who know an area well."
Critics argue that user-generated maps are not reliable enough for services
such as deliveries or emergency response.
Whether or not this new technology will usurp the creased
and tattered maps I grew up learning to read remains to be seen. But it
certainly offers a new way to view the world and explore the dynamics within
it.
What mapping tools do you use when you travel? Do you create your own maps or rely on someone else's?
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Oooohhh. GIS :)
I've been a GIS developer/programmer/architect for the last 14+ years and absolutely love it.
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Great article, very interesting!
Local knowledge and local expertise can't be beaten when you're on the ground in a place. It's great to have the options available as a traveller.