Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data

Brief introduction and overview of some existing mapping tools, leading up to a demo of CartoDB. Presented to Penn State's Hacking Science group January 11, 2013.

(Download as PDF to access embedded hyperlinks)

Gist for CartoDB demo: https://gist.github.com/4541842

Transcript

1. Hands on session:
   Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data
   Hacking Science
   Joshua Stevens
   Dept. of Geography
   

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2. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
   Topics we’ll cover
   •“Spatial is special”
   •Tools for analysis
   •Tools for visualization
   •Helpful resources
   •Demo: Using CartoDB
   •Q & A
   

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3. “Spatial is special.”
   Every geographer. Ever.
   

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4. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
   What makes spatial data special?
   •“Where?” is relative
   •Distance isn’t so simple
   •Earth isn’t a flat, rectangular surface
   •Scale
   •Topology
   •Modifiable Areal Unit Problem
   •Spatial autocorrelation
   •No perfect spatial data model
   

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5. Tools for Analysis
   

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6. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
   Esri ArcGIS
   rockware.com
   www.esri.com
   

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7. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
   Esri ArcGIS
   •De facto standard GIS
   •10.1 installed in campus labs
   •1-year licenses for students
   •Supports vector and raster analysis
   •Hundreds of tools
   •Model builder
   •Python
   •Many training and certification options
   

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8. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
   Esri ArcGIS Online
   www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html
   

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9. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
   Quantum GIS (QGIS)
   

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10. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    Quantum GIS (QGIS)
    It’s open source!
    Go get it. Right now.
    www.qgis.org
    

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11. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    Quantum GIS (QGIS)
    •Actively developed
    •Supports GRASS, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, OSM...
    •Great vector and raster tools
    •Easy to make your own / DL from others
    •Scriptable: Python
    

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12. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    PostGIS for PostgreSQL
    •“Spatially enabled PostgreSQL”
    •Immensely powerful (and fast!)
    •No direct GUI
    SELECT ST_Extent(geom) FROM places WHERE
    place = 'STATE COLLEGE';
    www.postgis.org
    

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13. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    R (with spatial packages)
    •A stats favorite
    •Great for analysis, so-
    so visualization
    •Point patterns, trends,
    interpolation
    •Recommended
    packages:
    statisfaction.wordpress.com
    ggplot2, maps, splancs, spatstat, mapproj
    www.cran.r-project.org
    www.rstudio.com
    

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14. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    CartoDB
    www.cartodb.com
    

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15. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    CartoDB
    •Analysis, visualization, and sharing
    •Load data -> PostGIS -> Style -> Share
    •Developer APIs: CartoDB.js & SQL API
    •Support for D3, Leaflet, R
    FREE for .edu
    

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16. Tools for Visualization
    

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17. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    TileMill
    www.mapbox.com/tilemill
    

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18. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    TileMill
    •CartoCSS for styling
    •Smart selectors
    •Shapefiles, PostGIS, SQLite, GeoJSON, CSV...
    •Interaction
    •Embed on web / mobile, export tiles, PDF, SVG, PNG
    •Publish on MapBox
    •Open source
    

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19. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    MapBox
    www.mapbox.com
    

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20. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    MapBox
    •Cloud-based map design
    •Add public layers, base
    maps
    •Load your data from
    TileMill
    •Embed or share
    •Free account limited to
    3,000 map views
    •Use in Leaflet via Wax.js
    

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21. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    Leaflet
    www.leafletjs.com
    

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22. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    Leaflet
    •Displays tiles, adds interactivity, markers
    •Very efficient, works well on mobile devices
    •Your tiles can be almost anything
    A Map of Thrones?! That’s Westeros....tiled in Leaflet
    

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23. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    D3
    www.d3js.org
    

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24. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    D3
    •Data Driven Documents
    •JavaScript for HTML+SVG styled with CSS
    •Huge (and growing) set of examples
    •Impressive geographic capability
    •Not for noobs, requires JS proficiency
    •Can use alongside other tools: MapBox, Leaflet,
    CartoDB, Google Maps...
    

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25. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    For an in-depth comparison of these and numerous other
    tools, please see:
    Donohue RG, TR Wallace, RE Roth, and TMA
    Buckingham. 2012. Keeping pace with emerging web
    mapping technologies. North American Cartographic
    Information Society (NACIS). Portland, OR: October
    17-19.
    

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26. Helpful Resources
    

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27. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    ColorBrewer
    www.colorbrewer2.org
    

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28. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    MapShaper
    http://mapshaper.com/test/MapShaper.swf
    

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29. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    GeoCommons
    www.geocommons.com
    

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30. Demo: CartoDB
    

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31. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13
    Questions?
    Joshua Stevens | josh.stevens@psu.edu | @jscarto
    Slides available online at: bit.ly/USMVsI
    

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