PEOPLE AND PERCEPTIONS OF THE WORLD

Mental Maps

Making Sense of the World

Images of geographic space

Based on: information and impressions

“New Yorkers View of the World”

Mental Maps

Our perception of places are more important than reality.

our personal identity, provides a sense of place.

Where do mental maps come from? Experience, hearsay, media, books, friends/family,

institutions (church/school)

Mental Maps

Factors influencing perception Distance

Distance decay: decrease knowledge with increasing distance

Who we are Age, gender, race, ethnicity, wealth, experience

Groups Religion, culture, nationality Us vs. Them

Why is this important? Who cares about your mental maps?

Preference Maps

Justify each of your 5 best and worst statesWhat receives best results (states)? Why?

What receives worst results (states)? Why?

Mapping – World View

Mapping

Spatial representations of aspects of EarthCartography – art and science of mapmakingFull of informationRipe for interpretation

Mapping

Critical decisions1. Projection – transferring a spherical surface to a flat

map Impossible to escape error All maps lie flat, all flat maps lie

Mapping

Projection is selected to: Minimize distortion

Area, shape, distance, or direction

2. Simplification Omission, exaggeration, distortion

3. Aggregation – think spatial association

Mapping

4. Map Type General reference map – political vs. physical Topographic – contour lines of elevation

Mapping

Thematic Maps – highlight a particular feature or variable Choropleth – shades of colors depict intensity of some

variable

Mapping

Thematic Maps Proportional Symbol – size of symbol depicts intensity

or size

Mapping

Thematic Maps Dot – number of dots depict density

Mapping

Thematic Maps Isoline – connect points of equal value (not just

topographic)

Mapping

Thematic Maps Cartogram – space is distorted to show size of some

variablehttp://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/cartograms/

Mapping

5. Scale –relationship between the map distance and actual earth distance

Large scale – small area (more detail) Small scale – large area (less detail) Scale is shown as:

Representative fraction• 1/24,000 or 1:24,000

Verbal• 1 inch = 400 miles

Graphic • Scale bar

Spatial Association at Various Scales

Fig. 1-13: Death rates from cancer in the US, Maryland, and Baltimore show different patterns that can identify associations with different factors.

Cancer Death Rates in the U.S.

Cancer Death Rates in Maryland

Cancer Death Rates in Baltimore

Intro to Maps and GIS Maps Remote Sensing Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Fires in Southern CaliforniaSource: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=11799

• Latest World Earthquakes Map

• National Atlas of the United States

The Future?????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKh1Rv0PlOQ