Maps and the Geospatial Revolution

Lesson 3 – Lecture 2

Anthony C. Robinson, Ph.D Lead Faculty for Online Geospatial Education John A. Dutton e-Education Institute Assistant Director, GeoVISTA Center Department of Geography The Pennsylvania State University

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Who Makes Spatial Data?

• These days, the answer is: everyone

• Traditionally, spatial data is created by governments

– Mapping has often been driven by defense

concerns

– Organizations like the U.S. Census Bureau create a huge amount of the spatial data we rely upon

Who Makes Spatial Data?

• National mapping efforts like the Census or UK Ordnance Survey provide the basic boundaries and socio-economic attributes that others can build upon

– Esri Tapestry data that you used in Lab 1 is an example

• You are making spatial data all the time, even while taking this

class

– Your IP address location is logged by Coursera

– If you own a mobile phone, you probably agreed to terms that allow the phone company to log your location all the time

Who Makes Spatial Data?

• It’s not all scary – volunteered geographic information is a new (and good) thing

• OpenStreetMap aims to create a free and re-usable basemap for the world using volunteer efforts

• These volunteered contributions have been hugely helpful in recent disasters, like the 2011 Haiti Earthquake

Who Makes Spatial Data?

Source: OpenStreetMap on Vimeo

Describing Spatial Data

• Collecting points, lines, polygons and rasters is important – but all of this stuff has to be adequately described

• You’ll want to add attributes to spatial data in order to make it actionable

Longitude Latitude Username Tweet Text Time

35.6895 139.692 localtimes Good Morning from Tokyo, it is 8:00 am (http://localtimes.info/Japan/Tokyo/) Wed Mar 9 16:00:04 -0500 2011

35.6216 139.741 lahiru 2.05 AM in #tokyo. http://twitpic.com/48i4gd Fri Mar 11 10:06:25 -0500 2011

35.625 139.722 GoodPeopleJapan More shakes, big in #Tokyo! Fri Mar 11 11:13:22 -0500 2011

35.6252 139.723 good_people Big after shake in #tokyo now Fri Mar 11 12:00:50 -0500 2011

35.674 139.754 zakiazigazi #quake alarms on mobile phones just went off around us on the train #japan #Jish Fri Mar 11 14:42:03 -0500 2011

35.6849 139.779 markmatsusaka Doors closed. Packed in tightly and finally on our way. #fb #backchannel #Tokyo Fri Mar 11 15:45:43 -0500 2011

35.413 139.599 colm_smyth Where houses stood this time yesterday, only foundations remain. #tsunami Fri Mar 11 18:41:32 -0500 2011

35.6888 139.786 tcsuliv Update: tlkd w/ police now. Volunteers not needed in Tokyo yet. Fri Mar 11 19:02:50 -0500 2011

35.6578 139.7 ninja_padrino At blood donation center in Shibuya...only seven people here now, no wait. Fri Mar 11 20:37:13 -0500 2011

35.4092 139.596 colm_smyth In times of stress & crisis, the amazing music/lyrics of @joshritter @TheFray Fri Mar 11 21:33:55 -0500 2011

35.6025 139.673 ucchi Thank u 4 helping us!! @RedCross: Txt REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Fri Mar 11 22:32:17 -0500 2011

34.6795 135.179 jlandkev Ok...apparently the thing about the Pokemon creator dying is a rumor #tsunami #Japan Fri Mar 11 22:53:06 -0500 2011

34.6791 135 jlandkev very true! I'll donate, but to a large NGO through their website! Fri Mar 11 22:58:27 -0500 2011

35.6387 139.704 ShootTokyo If you drive a car, gas up. 20 ltr limits just implemented. #japan Fri Mar 11 23:02:05 -0500 2011

35.6516 139.723 ShootTokyo National Market in Hiro is packed! #japan http://t.co/wfPFJRU Fri Mar 11 23:30:31 -0500 2011

35.5442 139.721 japanesewhisper Thank you God for taking care of my friends around the country. So far they are ok. Fri Mar 11 23:41:18 -0500 2011

33.65 135.9 camelive #Myohoji / #Wakayama / #livecam #webcam World Wide Live Cam. http://bit.ly/iikzqM

Sat Mar 12 00:00:07 -0500 2011

35.4091 139.596 colm_smyth Looks like I chose the wrong day to give up sniffing glue. #Japan #airplane Sat Mar 12 00:06:50 -0500 2011

35.4093 139.596 colm_smyth Around 10% of Japanese households with no power. Sat Mar 12 00:16:19 -0500 2011

Describing Spatial Data

• Data about data is called metadata

• Metadata can help you make judgments about data quality

• There’s always uncertainty associated with spatial data (or any other data, for that matter)

• While maps always have some uncertainty, that doesn’t mean they’re useless

– We deal with uncertain weather predictions, we believe the

stupid crap that people share on Facebook, etc…

Maps and the Geospatial Revolution www.coursera.org/course/maps Twitter @MapRevolution Online Geospatial Education @ Penn State www.pennstategis.com

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