notes to come

1. Siddharth Hande June
25th 2015
IGCS | Introduction to mapping

2. Distinction between mapping and
maps

4. ✤ J.H Andrews- ‘ wordle’- 321 definitions of the word ‘map’ collected
from 1649 to 1996.

5. Maps are not merely
representations of the earths
surface- maps are expressions of
power

14. Maps as a series of propositions
✤ Maps are artifacts born from different political contexts- roots in
military applications and navigation- political instruments
✤ Maps should be read as text- question the mapmakers- question what
has not been made visible or been made deliberately invisible
✤ Maps get normalized- black boxed- read as truth
✤ Maps are not representations of the earths surface but a series of
propositions about it
✤ Maps tend to reflect the views and visions of the dominant hegemonic
class

15. Maps and the State
✤ Wood (2010) argues that the importance of maps in newly forming states was
because officials began to realize that maps helped in giving form to the
state. That is, maps had the ability to help construct the state.
✤ Talking about the reason behind newly forming state’s fascination with maps
he comments (2010: 33) ‘…it certainly cannot be the maps putative ability to
‘represent a part of the earth’s surface’. After all, it was the maps that conjured
up borders where none had existed (especially well documented for the United
States, Russia and Thailand); the maps that summoned unity from chaos (like
Japan and Russia); the maps that enrobed the shapeless (as in the case of
China)…maps that endowed with form what from the beginning had been
no more than a dream… “We no more show what exists” said the maps
(even today they say this about the borders of India and Pakistan, Israel and
Palestine, India and China). What maps thereby avoided saying was, “Exists,
yes, but only on these maps which, in fact create and affirm their
existence,”…maps created and affirmed their own existence, most
effectively by hiding their own recent origins…in the state itself’.

18. Counter-Mapping- re-deploying
the power of maps
✤ Counter mapping- “...mapping against dominant power structures, to
further seemingly progressive goals”- Nancy Peluso(1995)
✤ An artifact of protest and resistance to dominant power structures-
resistance cartography

19. Distinction between mapping and
maps
✤ Thinking about mapping as a continuous process, embedded in a
social context and leveraged strategically.
✤ Mapping as dynamic, political, participatory, reflexive and
collaborative project.

20. Mapping- new modes of action,
learning and urban research
✤ It has never been easier to create, collect and visualize spatial
information- Neo-geography/Volunteered Geographic Information
(VGI) - enabled by Web 2.0 and open source mapping technologies.
✤ Google Earth (not open!), OpenStreet Map, Fieldpapers
✤ OpenStreet map data, LANDSAT, ASTER and SRTM satellite imagery
✤ Connect to traditional PRA and community mapping methodologies
✤ Citizen Voice- Ushahidi, Kibera News Network
✤ Unpacking and re-imagining space- MapKibera, myblockNYC,
mappingmainstreet, aboriginalmapping

27. Community mapping at Urur and
Olcott Kuppam

78. Strahler Stream Order- Amanda Briney
When using stream order to classify a stream, the sizes range from a first order stream
all the way to the largest, a 12th order stream.
A first order stream is the smallest of the world's streams and consists of small
tributaries. These are the streams that flow into and "feed" larger streams but do not
normally have any water flowing into them. In addition, first and second order streams
generally form on steep slopes and flow quickly until they slow down and meet the next
order waterway.
First through third order streams are also called headwater streams and constitute
any waterways in the upper reaches of the watershed. It is estimated that over 80% of
the world’s waterways are these first through third order, or headwater streams.
Going up in size and strength, streams that are classified as fourth through sixth
order are medium streams while anything larger (up to 12th order) is considered a
river.
Unlike the smaller order streams, these medium and large rivers are usually less steep
and flow slower. They do however tend to have larger volumes of runoff and debris as it
collects in them from the smaller waterways flowing into them.

84. GPS surveying

86. GPS- USA
GLONASS- Russia
COMPASS- China
GALILEO- EU
IRNSS[?]- India

90. Each GPS satellite transmits data that indicates its location
and the current time. All GPS satellites synchronize
operations so that these repeating signals are transmitted
at the same instant. The signals, moving at the speed of
light, arrive at a GPS receiver at slightly different times
because some satellites are further away than others. The
distance to the GPS satellites can be determined by
estimating the amount of time it takes for their signals to
reach the receiver. When the receiver estimates the
distance to at least four GPS satellites, it can calculate its
position in three dimensions.

91. Introduction to Geo-data

92. Spheroids:
-world is not perfectly round
World Geodetic Survey 1984 (WGS84)
WGS 1972
Everest 1830 and 1956
semi-major axis (equatorial)
semi-minor axis (polar)

93. Coordinate Systems:
Geographic- is latitude and longitude in degrees
Projected- is easting and northing in meters
to account for negative values-- False easting and northing
Datum defines the coordinate system origin
WHEN UNSURE USE THE WGS84 SPHEROID AND DATUM
Projections:
the world is round [ish!] but we need flat maps!
-- You project on the surface of another solid in some orientation, then unwrap
-- Sacrifice shape, area, and/or direction
ALLOWS US TO USE CARTESIAN COORDINATES!

94. Cylindrical projections

95. Conic projections

96. Projections worth knowing
-- unprojected or equirectangular
-- Mercartor
-- Universal Transverse Mercartor

97. UTM

98. Geo-data Formats
-- Raster
-- Vector
Raster-- grid [columns][rows]-- cell values-- discrete
continuous-- imagery-- .geotiff
Vector-- geometry and attributes-- point, line, polygon--
x[longitude] and y[latitude]-- .shp [shp,shx,prj,dbf]