WhatsMyLot.com

A presentation to the Canadian Cartographic Association's annual conference in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on May 28, 2015.

Transcript

1. What’s My Lot? An open web app that seeks to increase 
 Prince Edward Island “township lot literacy” Peter Rukavina Hacker in Residence Robertson Library, University of Prince Edward Island
2. I am an untrained cartographic hacker. “I know a little bit about a lot of things But I don’t know enough about you…” – Peggy Lee
3. What’s My Lot? “Behind the Music”
7. Metadata Issues • Lot 50 was mislabelled as Lot 66. • Lot 66 was unlabelled. • Georgetown Royalty was mislabelled as Lot 73 • Princetown Royalty was missing.
8. Complexity Issues • Very detailed map. • ESRI Shapefiles aren’t that useful for web apps. • Large file size (16.6 MB) for a web application.
17. GeoJSON Holland Map • 1.3 MB file size • Detailed enough for many applications. • JSON is the lingua franca of web applications. • Easy to use with Leaflet.
18. var layer = L.geoJson(lots).addTo(map);
19. Let’s Build an App! • My device (laptop, phone, tablet) can return my location. • All I need is a way of taking that location and finding out what township lot it’s inside…
21. WhatsMyLot.com
24. The lot (or royalty) that you’re in.
25. How well your device did at locating you.
26. Something about the lot you’re in.
28. A map
30. Help!
31. Open Web Apps • HTML, CSS and JavaScript. • Can be run in any web browser, on any device. • Open source by their very nature. • Can be packaged up and distributed through “app stores” (iOS, Google Play, Amazon, Firefox).
32. • Lot layer GeoJSON • Lot metadata as JSON • OpenStreetMap base layer • jQuery JavaScript library • jQuery Mobile framework • Leaflet JavaScript library • Leaflet Label library • Leaflet PIP library Web App Ingredients
34. In the wild… • Phones are good at returning an accurate location, but computers and tablets, especially in rural areas, are not. Hi, There seems to be a mistake in your "What's my Lot" section. I know this for a fact because I live in Lot 28, in the original Holland homestead, where Holland's wife and children lived on Tryon Point Road. Your app says I'm in Lot 17, when I know I'm in Lot 28.
35. In the wild… • What about people using
 the app who aren’t on 
 Prince Edward Island? • Just tell them to come here!
36. In the wild… • Should the app be able to be used to explore lots when you’re not standing inside them? • No! • You must be in a lot to learn about it. • It’s not a “reference tool,” it’s a “field tool.”
37. In the wild… • My own “township lot literacy” has increased! • Swimming in the lots for 6 months has outfitted me with a new toolset that allows me to build other apps… • And to answer questions for myself using the data layers I’ve refined…
38. The Confederation Trail passes 
 through 47 lots and 2 royalties.
39. I visited 52 lots and 2 royalties over the last year.
40. What’s My Lot? Peter Rukavina prukavina@upei.ca http://hacker.vre.upei.ca/ Hacker in Residence Robertson Library, University of Prince Edward Island Presented to Canadian Cartographic Association, May 28, 2015 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island