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

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 

“Spatial is special.” Every geographer. Ever. 

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 

Tools for Analysis 

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

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 

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

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

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 

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 

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 

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 

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

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 

Tools for Visualization 

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

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 

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

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 

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

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 

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

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... 

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. 

Helpful Resources 

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

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

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

Demo: CartoDB 

Mapping Tools - Analysis and Visualization of Spatial Data 1/11/13 Questions? Joshua Stevens | [email protected] | @jscarto Slides available online at: bit.ly/USMVsI