The US Geospatial Data Act (GDA) of 2018, as part of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act (H.R. 302), was signed into law on 5 Oct […]
Reposted from the NSGIC GeoJava News State Geospatial Policy Organization Lauds “Geospatial Data Act” Language Included in FAA Reauthorization Bill By Bronwyn Walls | October 3, 2018 | […]
Communities across the state are working to convert abandoned railway beds to trails as part of the national “rails-to-trails” movement and establishing other bike-walk linear parks and […]
**UPDATED FOR QGIS 2.16 – 07 Oct 2016** QGIS is an impressively powerful open source geographic information system (GIS). In 2010, I reviewed QGIS when it had […]
Mapdiva was founded in 2008 by Graham P. Cox and Jill Saligoe-Simmel to empower people to design custom maps using extraordinary cartography tools on their Mac. We […]
Walkable cities contribute to people’s overall health, safety, and quality of life. This study prioritizes missing pedestrian walkways to help identify where investment should be focused in Indianapolis.
Guest post by Pieter S. Burggraaf, 2015 Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember […]
Indiana Geographic Information Office Hits 100% with Data Sharing Project With a vote of its County Board of Commissioners in early April, Marshall County become the last […]
Central Indiana is the epicenter of an explosion of English language learners (ELL). Where I live in Nora, our neighborhood elementary school is one of those hit hardest by […]
An important letter from the Association of American Geographers (AAG) regarding authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA): [av_hr class=’default’ height=’50’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’ custom_border=’av-border-thin’ custom_width=’50px’ custom_border_color=” […]
UPDATE:S.1253 – Geospatial Data Act of 2017https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1253 ## The Geospatial Data Act of 2015 was introduced in Congress today. This bipartisan bill will go a long way […]
The Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (COGO) announces the release of its Report Card on the U.S. National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) that depicts the condition and performance of the […]
The GIS Inventory is a system maintained by the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) as a tool for the entire GIS Community. It allows users to quickly search for GIS […]
The IndianaMap was awarded first place at the 2014 FOSS4G, September 11, 2014 Portland, Oregon. The IndianaMap is composed of over 300 laters of open geospatial data. It […]
In March, 2014, URISA published the first in what is intended to be a series of occasional GIS Management Institute® discussion papers. “A Distributed Model for Effective […]
If you’ve ever tried to find good, authoritative sources of free, public domain small-scale world map data you know it can be a daunting task. But not […]
Learn more about the Geospatial Revolution Project from Penn State Public Broadcasting. [av_video src=’https://youtu.be/9F7z9LLYxf8′ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′ av_uid=’av-a2zvf’]
Learn more about the Geospatial Revolution Project from Penn State Public Broadcasting. [av_video src=’https://youtu.be/OePOK6nzcaY’ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′ av_uid=’av-7y9ix’]
Learn more about the Geospatial Revolution Project from Penn State Public Broadcasting. [av_video src=’https://youtu.be/GXS0bsR0e7w’ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′ av_uid=’av-70w4v’]
In a world where digital mapping is exploding, Zach Dunn offers an excellent review of different types of web maps and their various purposes. His article, Maps In […]
Population is a complicated topic. There will soon be seven billion people on the planet. By 2045 global population is projected to reach nine billion. Can the […]
If you love older maps for their uniquely hand-crafted style, you are really going to love this new resource – Shaded Relief Archive. Through the advancements of […]
Indiana is participating in the National Broadband Program as a multi-year, multi-agency effort to map areas in the state that are currently served by the state’s 170+ […]
Planning a future with green spaces that enrich lives, energy-friendly transportation networks for accessing work and play, and renovated structures with safe sidewalks and gardens is the […]
Learn more about the Geospatial Revolution Project from Penn State Public Broadcasting. [av_video src=’https://youtu.be/poMGRbfgp38′ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′ av_uid=’av-6yokk’]
Remember those multi-layered images of the human body from middle school science class, showing the body’s skeletal system, nervous system and so on? GIS is similar. It […]
[av_notification title=’UPDATE:’ color=’orange’ border=’dashed’ custom_bg=’#444444′ custom_font=’#ffffff’ size=’large’ icon_select=’no’ icon=’ue800′ font=’entypo-fontello’ av_uid=’av-k5esc’] As of QGIS v. 1.5 (2010) the stand-alone ‘all in one’ bundle for Mac OS X […]
We all followed the crisis that unfolded following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, many of us chose to donate money, a few were flown out and deployed as […]
GOOD/Transparency provides a graphical exploration of the data that surrounds us. This infographic depicts a “map” charting walking, biking, driving, and use of public transportation correlated with state […]
Geography is about examining spatial variables and relationships, often to weed out answers to complex problems. America 2050‘s latest report, “Where High Speed Rail Works Best” (pdf) is […]
On May 18, 2010, geographer Joel Kotkin was interviewed on the Charlie Rose Show, discussing his new book The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050 (The Penguin Press). […]
Stunning. Microsoft exceeds expectations with their Bing Map augmented reality demo at TED2010 by Blaise Aguera y Arcas. [av_video src=’https://youtu.be/5F_nHEx8DUY’ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′ av_uid=’av-arida’] Available at TED.com
In an article “Why Geo Will Embrace The Cloud in 2010” in Direction Magazine, Brian Timoney of the The Timoney Group looks at the emerging cloud computing arena and […]
RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute) provides a timeline-based interactive map depicting the U.S.’s historical imports of oil since 1973. Map controls can slide to specific dates and highlight five […]
In their Dec. 30, 2009 post, Slate poises the question “When Did Your County’s Jobs Disappear?” with a nicely done interactive map and timeline. Besides painting a […]
A while back I reported on virtual digital holograms, wondering when they would make their way into the mapping arena. Over the past year ARSights, a project by […]
When the press starts noticing geography, does that mean it is time for a comeback? In his recent article “Is Geography the New History,” Robert Butler poses […]
Who doesn’t love the artistry of a hand-drawn map? I’ve been looking at some fine examples lately and wanted to share a few of my personal favorites. […]
by Ron Shawgo, The Journal Gazette Read the Full Story Here A plan that officials say could save lives and improve economic development, disaster response, transportation, water quality […]
With many partners and large volunteer effort, access to the IndianaMap has historically been a bit disbursed. The new IndianaMap portal helps bring the effort under one […]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” av_uid=’av-kf1k3x2y’ admin_preview_bg=”] When faced with communicating the value of the IndianaMap and the need for established funding, we didn’t want […]
In 2005, Indiana introduced an ambitious Statewide Orthophotography Program provided a “common operating picture” through a seamless, current, accurate photographic base and control network that “ties” all other framework […]
I’m really looking forward to participating in the Indiana Geographic Information Council’s first fund-raising event – Urban Orienteering in Downtown Indianapolis on August 15th. A couple years ago, TrueNorth […]
From transportation to public safety to economic development, the IndianaMap supports hundreds of local, regional and statewide projects each year. The IndianaMap was used for response and […]
National and statewide GIS coordinating bodies have sought for some time to build statewide and nation-wide cadastre, or parcel, frameworks. The Mapping Science Committee – National Research […]
In concert with the 2005 Indiana Orthophotography Project, an education and outreach project was established inviting schools, communities, and youth organizations to create large outdoor artworks to […]
I’m looking forward seeing the first mapping application using virtual digital holograms. What is a virtual digital hologram you ask? It is very cool technology that creates […]
NPR has produced a new interactive map of the U.S. energy grid and power sources. Included are several roll-over maps to see percent energy production by different […]
The e-book “Emotional Cartography” was recently mentioned on CartoTalk under interesting links. I thought it worth a quick glance, and got immediately drawn in by this short-story… […]
Whether you are a lone GIS technician or a large GIS company, education and outreach is an ongoing challenge for everyone in the geospatial industry. The Geospatial […]
Does your mapping software inspire creativity? Ortelius is a new breed of mapping software designed to make your mapping easy, fun and beautiful. Come find out how […]
I’ve been very interested in the news stories I’ve read about neighborhood boundary data and its usefulness. About a year ago Adena Schutzberg, Directions Magazine, wrote about […]
Local government participation (i.e., accommodating data sharing policies) in regional, statewide, and nationwide spatial data infrastructures can be more challenging than the technology and standards required to […]
Kuddo’s to Chick Mappers See http://www.chickmappers.com/100miledietmap/ for a wonderfully deliciously interactive food map. The 100 Mile Food Map The 100 Mile Food Map was inspired by a […]
Typography is the art and methods of arranging type, type design, and modifying type glyphs. In traditional typography, text is composed to create a readable, coherent, and […]
Emergency Response Maps After 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, the lack of coordinated information and interoperable communications had tragic consequences. Citizens around the country demanded that government work together to […]
I’m pleased to announce the launch of Mapdiva, LLC, a partnership among Graham Cox and Jill Saligoe-Simmel, to develop Ortelius™ – powerful map illustration software for Mac OS […]
Hand-drawn sketching plays an important role in the digital arts. The larger a project is, and the more concepts a client will need to see, the more […]
Those who design maps for use by others engage in a specialized form of communication. They create images to represent physical and phenomena in three-dimensional space, but […]
This study was conducted to determine how mapping departments within local and state government, education, non-profits and private industry use geographic information systems map data every day. […]
The Organic City is an interesting and successful application of community blogging (using WordPress) and flash-based mapping (Worldkit). Created in 2006 by the combined efforts of […]
A classical challenge for the cartographer is how to present and clearly communicate large quantities of information to their intended audience. Web mapping has opened new possibilities […]
Thematic Mapping Engine (TME) enables you to visualise global statistics on Google Earth. The primary data source is UNdata. The engine returns a KMZ file that you […]
MapTube is a free resource for viewing, sharing, mixing and mashing maps online. Created by UCL’s Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, users can select any number of […]
Beautiful example of interactivity – clean map interface and intuitive design. This map was created at the UW-Madison Cartography Lab by Rob Roth, Andy Woodruff, Joel Przybylowski […]
Flex Projector is an interesting new program for anyone who has ever been interested in map projections. The program provides a great hands-on interface for understanding more […]
Thanks Marcel St-Germain for turning me on to gvSIG v1.1. This relatively new open-source GIS software was reviewed by Adena Schutzberg All Points Blog on October 1, […]
UPDATE: My World GIS is no longer being developed and may not work with the latest operating systems. (2007) Earlier this summer I made the switch to […]
Quid pro quo (Latin for “something for something” [1]) indicates a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services. Long time hindrances to the development of […]
Hoping to make it even easier to turn its online maps into collages of local information, Google is introducing tools that will stitch together applications from a […]
MAPPS loses lawsuit… Doug Richardson (Executive Director of the Association of American Geographers) informed the FGDC that a decision has been handed down by the judge presiding […]
Use the new web site “360cities” as your virtual travel guide when you plan your next arm chair vacation. 360 is traveling the world capturing 360-degree images […]
Video produced by WFYI documenting the positive impact that the IndianaMap has made to Hoosier lives Across Indiana. [av_video src=’https://youtu.be/oQu7fSWkoUk’ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′ av_uid=’av-2tu7tq’] Over the past […]
The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) high-resolution map layer is complete for Indiana. “This is a great development, but is only the first phase. We now hope to […]
How do you get kids involved with geography? Check out My Wonderful World for activities, links, and resources for parents and teachers. Geography Is 10 Cool Things […]
In a story in the 3/13/07 edition of the Cape Gazette “Positive Growth Alliance: NEMO lacks balance” Mr. Rich Collins, executive director of the Positive Growth Alliance […]
Years in the making, Indiana passes first comprehensive GIS law. It defines data exchange agreements, identifies framework data as essential elements of a statewide base map, emphasizes […]
Indiana’s 2007 GIS Bill (SB461) is making progress. Yesterday it passed the senate unanimously and has been sent onto the house. Summary: “One map for Indiana. Provides […]
There is a GIS Bill in the Indiana Legislature this year – SB461. Yesterday was the first hearing in the Senate Economic Development and Technology Committee. It […]
New York map combines sound, art, and culture resulting in a remarkable cultural museum piece. This is an excellent example of creative cartography – “folksongs for […]
As mapping professionals, we often want more detail – the more accurate the better. But occasionally we need to simplify our maps (specifically our shapefiles) for presentation […]
The Mapping Science Committee of the National Academy has released the following publication. “Successful Response Starts with a Map: Improving Geospatial Support for Disaster Management Committee on […]
There are a number of models across the US of where the state Geographic Information Office is located/affiliated. I was interested in which states have their Geographic […]
Last week I presented at the Indiana Economic Development Association’s Indianapolis Winter Conference. The speaker right after me, Dr. Buzz Canup of AngelouEconomics, presented an enlightened view […]
A retrospective return on investment study for an spatial data infrastructure (SDI)
The US Geospatial Data Act (GDA) of 2018, as part of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act (H.R. 302), was signed into law on 5 Oct […]
Reposted from the NSGIC GeoJava News State Geospatial Policy Organization Lauds “Geospatial Data Act” Language Included in FAA Reauthorization Bill By Bronwyn Walls | October 3, 2018 | […]
Communities across the state are working to convert abandoned railway beds to trails as part of the national “rails-to-trails” movement and establishing other bike-walk linear parks and […]
A map showing where Indianapolis voters voiced their strong support for the Marion County Transit Plan in the 2016 general election.
**UPDATED FOR QGIS 2.16 – 07 Oct 2016** QGIS is an impressively powerful open source geographic information system (GIS). In 2010, I reviewed QGIS when it had […]
Mapdiva was founded in 2008 by Graham P. Cox and Jill Saligoe-Simmel to empower people to design custom maps using extraordinary cartography tools on their Mac. We […]
Walkable cities contribute to people’s overall health, safety, and quality of life. This study prioritizes missing pedestrian walkways to help identify where investment should be focused in Indianapolis.
Guest post by Pieter S. Burggraaf, 2015 Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember […]
Edgy or elegant, I always enjoy seeing examples of street art as a form of placemaking. In many areas of the world (e.g., Paris, Berlin, New York) […]
Indiana Geographic Information Office Hits 100% with Data Sharing Project With a vote of its County Board of Commissioners in early April, Marshall County become the last […]
Central Indiana is the epicenter of an explosion of English language learners (ELL). Where I live in Nora, our neighborhood elementary school is one of those hit hardest by […]
An important letter from the Association of American Geographers (AAG) regarding authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA): [av_hr class=’default’ height=’50’ shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’ custom_border=’av-border-thin’ custom_width=’50px’ custom_border_color=” […]
The Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (COGO) announces the release of its Report Card on the U.S. National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) that depicts the condition and performance of the […]
The GIS Inventory is a system maintained by the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) as a tool for the entire GIS Community. It allows users to quickly search for GIS […]
If you’ve ever tried to find good, authoritative sources of free, public domain small-scale world map data you know it can be a daunting task. But not […]
Learn more about the Geospatial Revolution Project from Penn State Public Broadcasting. [av_video src=’https://youtu.be/9F7z9LLYxf8′ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′ av_uid=’av-a2zvf’]
Learn more about the Geospatial Revolution Project from Penn State Public Broadcasting. [av_video src=’https://youtu.be/OePOK6nzcaY’ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′ av_uid=’av-7y9ix’]
Learn more about the Geospatial Revolution Project from Penn State Public Broadcasting. [av_video src=’https://youtu.be/GXS0bsR0e7w’ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′ av_uid=’av-70w4v’]
In a world where digital mapping is exploding, Zach Dunn offers an excellent review of different types of web maps and their various purposes. His article, Maps In […]
Population is a complicated topic. There will soon be seven billion people on the planet. By 2045 global population is projected to reach nine billion. Can the […]
If you love older maps for their uniquely hand-crafted style, you are really going to love this new resource – Shaded Relief Archive. Through the advancements of […]
Indiana is participating in the National Broadband Program as a multi-year, multi-agency effort to map areas in the state that are currently served by the state’s 170+ […]
Learn more about the Geospatial Revolution Project from Penn State Public Broadcasting. [av_video src=’https://youtu.be/poMGRbfgp38′ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′ av_uid=’av-6yokk’]
Remember those multi-layered images of the human body from middle school science class, showing the body’s skeletal system, nervous system and so on? GIS is similar. It […]
[av_notification title=’UPDATE:’ color=’orange’ border=’dashed’ custom_bg=’#444444′ custom_font=’#ffffff’ size=’large’ icon_select=’no’ icon=’ue800′ font=’entypo-fontello’ av_uid=’av-k5esc’] As of QGIS v. 1.5 (2010) the stand-alone ‘all in one’ bundle for Mac OS X […]
We all followed the crisis that unfolded following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, many of us chose to donate money, a few were flown out and deployed as […]
GOOD/Transparency provides a graphical exploration of the data that surrounds us. This infographic depicts a “map” charting walking, biking, driving, and use of public transportation correlated with state […]
Geography is about examining spatial variables and relationships, often to weed out answers to complex problems. America 2050‘s latest report, “Where High Speed Rail Works Best” (pdf) is […]
An all-time favorite site of mine is the Hand Drawn Map Association. As I dole out love for the hand drawn map, I’d be remiss not to […]
On May 18, 2010, geographer Joel Kotkin was interviewed on the Charlie Rose Show, discussing his new book The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050 (The Penguin Press). […]
Stunning. Microsoft exceeds expectations with their Bing Map augmented reality demo at TED2010 by Blaise Aguera y Arcas. [av_video src=’https://youtu.be/5F_nHEx8DUY’ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′ av_uid=’av-arida’] Available at TED.com
RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute) provides a timeline-based interactive map depicting the U.S.’s historical imports of oil since 1973. Map controls can slide to specific dates and highlight five […]
Who doesn’t love the artistry of a hand-drawn map? I’ve been looking at some fine examples lately and wanted to share a few of my personal favorites. […]
Today I’m getting on my soapbox. I’ve long been a vocal advocate of open public data in the geospatial arena. The “open” provides us all the […]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” av_uid=’av-kf1k3x2y’ admin_preview_bg=”] When faced with communicating the value of the IndianaMap and the need for established funding, we didn’t want […]
In 2005, Indiana introduced an ambitious Statewide Orthophotography Program provided a “common operating picture” through a seamless, current, accurate photographic base and control network that “ties” all other framework […]
A big thank-you to all of our testers and reviewers – we’ve made it! Check out our new web site for all the details on Ortelius, including […]
From transportation to public safety to economic development, the IndianaMap supports hundreds of local, regional and statewide projects each year. The IndianaMap was used for response and […]
In concert with the 2005 Indiana Orthophotography Project, an education and outreach project was established inviting schools, communities, and youth organizations to create large outdoor artworks to […]
I’ve been very interested in the news stories I’ve read about neighborhood boundary data and its usefulness. About a year ago Adena Schutzberg, Directions Magazine, wrote about […]
Kuddo’s to Chick Mappers See http://www.chickmappers.com/100miledietmap/ for a wonderfully deliciously interactive food map. The 100 Mile Food Map The 100 Mile Food Map was inspired by a […]
Typography is the art and methods of arranging type, type design, and modifying type glyphs. In traditional typography, text is composed to create a readable, coherent, and […]
Emergency Response Maps After 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, the lack of coordinated information and interoperable communications had tragic consequences. Citizens around the country demanded that government work together to […]
I’m pleased to announce the launch of Mapdiva, LLC, a partnership among Graham Cox and Jill Saligoe-Simmel, to develop Ortelius™ – powerful map illustration software for Mac OS […]
Hand-drawn sketching plays an important role in the digital arts. The larger a project is, and the more concepts a client will need to see, the more […]
Those who design maps for use by others engage in a specialized form of communication. They create images to represent physical and phenomena in three-dimensional space, but […]
This study was conducted to determine how mapping departments within local and state government, education, non-profits and private industry use geographic information systems map data every day. […]
[av_image src=’http://drjill.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/scapetoad_sidebar.jpeg’ attachment=’1671′ attachment_size=’full’ align=’right’ styling=” hover=” link=” target=” caption=” font_size=” appearance=” overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’ admin_preview_bg=” av_uid=’av-27b6az’][/av_image] ScapeToad is an interesting, free, stand-alone cartogram software for […]
The Organic City is an interesting and successful application of community blogging (using WordPress) and flash-based mapping (Worldkit). Created in 2006 by the combined efforts of […]
A classical challenge for the cartographer is how to present and clearly communicate large quantities of information to their intended audience. Web mapping has opened new possibilities […]
Thematic Mapping Engine (TME) enables you to visualise global statistics on Google Earth. The primary data source is UNdata. The engine returns a KMZ file that you […]
MapTube is a free resource for viewing, sharing, mixing and mashing maps online. Created by UCL’s Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, users can select any number of […]
Beautiful example of interactivity – clean map interface and intuitive design. This map was created at the UW-Madison Cartography Lab by Rob Roth, Andy Woodruff, Joel Przybylowski […]
Flex Projector is an interesting new program for anyone who has ever been interested in map projections. The program provides a great hands-on interface for understanding more […]
I can’t wait for my next road trip to Chicago (which will definitely be soon). Festival of Maps Chicago opens this weekend and runs all the way […]
Video produced by WFYI documenting the positive impact that the IndianaMap has made to Hoosier lives Across Indiana. [av_video src=’https://youtu.be/oQu7fSWkoUk’ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′ av_uid=’av-2tu7tq’] Over the past […]
Social Explorer is a web service designed to help people easily map Census data from 1940 – 2000. The site has a friendly user interface and is […]
New York map combines sound, art, and culture resulting in a remarkable cultural museum piece. This is an excellent example of creative cartography – “folksongs for […]
As mapping professionals, we often want more detail – the more accurate the better. But occasionally we need to simplify our maps (specifically our shapefiles) for presentation […]