Evaluating web mapping applications for visualising demographic diversity

The use of maps on the World Wide Web is revolutionising how people access information. These web maps harness text, audio, video, animation, graphics and, most importantly, user interaction to improve the communication and interpretation of geographic phenomena. In this interactive and dynamic environment, web application developers have the opportunity to allow map readers to also be map producers; users can be enabled to query and analyse data and then assemble maps and other visualisations themselves, enhancing their understanding of the data and its geospatial relationships. This thesis focuses on what factors are important for the design of web mapping applications that provide visualisations of demographic diversity. Demographic information is inherently geospatial, making maps the ideal tool for visualising population statistics and their spatial relationships. An outcome of this research is a set of guidelines for reviewing web mapping applications that portray demographic diversity information. This thesis also provides an insight into the current standard for web mapping of demographic information and identifies the potential for improvement. A review of the literature, as well as a reflexive implementation, are the principal methods used to develop these guidelines. The essential components include the needs of demographers, and principles of cartography and human-computer interaction, as well as a consideration of open source and proprietary software. Five prominent, national demographic web mapping applications (two Australian, and one from New Zealand, the United States of America, and Canada) are used to develop these guidelines, as well as providing an insight into the current standard. The main conclusion of this research is that the guidelines developed provide a worthwhile structure but need to be kept broad. Also, there needs to be more emphasis on user data upload facilities, which is important for demographers, and cartographic communication needs to be given higher priority

Visualising and communicating population diversity through web maps

An online New Zealand Atlas of Population Change (NZAPC) is being developed (http://socialatlas.waikato.ac.nz/) to communicate the interaction and associated diversity resulting from three important components of population change: migration, natural change (births minus deaths), and population ageing. A comparative evaluation is made between five prominent international population web maps that utilise automated map server technology and the NZAPC, which uses static maps designed collaboratively by a demographer and a cartographer. This evaluation combined the needs of demography, cartographic communication and human computer interaction, as well as consideration of software. Interactive online maps and graphics are a powerful medium for communicating population distribution and associated diversity, but care needs to be taken in the choice of data and their interpretation. The NZAPC differs from the other web map sites evaluated in that it is accompanied by supporting research and narrative. The design of the NZAPC has had extensive demographic and cartographic input so that users are provided with relevant and easy-to-understand maps and graphs. This is a different approach to mainstream population web mapping sites that provide access to large data sets and allow the user to dynamically construct their own maps. We argue that the provision of research-supported maps and graphs by experienced researchers has a rising place in online mapping. We provide examples from the NZAPC with a focus on assisting New Zealanders to better understand population change and thus prepare for, respond to and celebrate the increasingly diverse population of Aotearoa New Zealand