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
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
3. “Spatial is special.” Every geographer. Ever.
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
5. Tools for Analysis
6. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13 Esri ArcGIS rockware.com www.esri.com
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
8. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13 Esri ArcGIS Online www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html
9. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13 Quantum GIS (QGIS)
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
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
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
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
14. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13 CartoDB www.cartodb.com
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
16. Tools for Visualization
17. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13 TileMill www.mapbox.com/tilemill
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
19. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13 MapBox www.mapbox.com
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
21. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13 Leaflet www.leafletjs.com
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
23. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13 D3 www.d3js.org
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...
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.
26. Helpful Resources
27. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13 ColorBrewer www.colorbrewer2.org
28. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13 MapShaper http://mapshaper.com/test/MapShaper.swf
29. Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13 GeoCommons www.geocommons.com
30. Demo: CartoDB
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