/course

An introduction to the art and science of modern cartography

MIT LicenseMIT

Digital Cartography 101

An introduction to the art and science of modern cartography

Duration: 5 days

  • 5 demo lectures
  • 4 explorations
  • 2 assignments

Courseware

Day 1: The Fundamentals

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- Mapping
![](http://static.tumblr.com/1tfc7p8/1mHmdrext/treasure-map.jpg) - [Geoid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoid) - [Coordinates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_coordinate_system): [latitude](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latitude) and [longitude](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude) - Positioning: [trigonometry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveying), [remote sensing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_sensing), [GPS](http://fas.org/man/dod-101/navy/docs/es310/GPS/GPS.htm) - [Scale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_(map)): 1:250,000 small scale (world map), 1:10,000 large scale (street map) - [Projection](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection): cylindrical, conic, azimuthal
![](http://visual.merriam-webster.com/images/earth/geography/cartography/map-projections.jpg) - **Video** [There is no correct projection](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIID5FDi2JQ) - Types of maps - [Pictoral](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictorial_maps) - [Thematic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thematic_map) - [Topographic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topographic_map) and [Terrain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrain_cartography) - [Chloropleth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choropleth_map) - [Cartogram](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartogram) - [Topological](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topological_map) - Map symbology - [Ordanace Survey symbol sheets](https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/resources/maps-and-geographic-resources/map-symbols.html) - Data abstraction - **Exploration 2** Create a map of the Bengaluru Airport Bus Network. Focus: utility, data density, clarity

Reading

Day 2: Map design

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  • Data primitives: points, lines, areas
  • Cartographic elements
  • frame
  • metadata
  • layering
  • pixels
  • symbols
  • lines
  • fills
  • text
  • Cartographic styling
  • Raster
  • Color mapping
  • Composting
  • DEM
  • Vector
  • Data series
  • Exporting maps
  • Create a series of maps for your state(A)
  • A political map
  • A physical map
  • A chloropleth map
  • Assignment 1

Reading

Day 3: Working with Map Data

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Day 4: Publishing a web map

Day 5: Data driven maps

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  • Turf.js
  • Tippecanoe
  • Mapbox API
  • Exploration 4

Software