Happy December! The month of my birthday, I am for the first time experiencing snow. While my feelings on that fluctuate, I am happy to share with you some great pieces I’ve gotten to read in the past month on GIS, geography, and those in between.
On Cartography:
“How The Gorgeous Language Of Maps Helps Us Understand The World” by Kate Abbey-Lambertz
Any lover of maps and the internet had seen their fair share of poorly drawn maps. Not only do they proliferate on the internet, but in our classrooms and our conferences. Some may be technically incorrect (re: not projected) and some may just use the default ArcMap font settings and basic layout. It’s understandable for the beginner GIS learner. However, when you’ve been making maps for two years and you’re still not taking some creative liberty, I wonder whether you’re lazy, or scared. But not the folks at the Harvard Graduate School of Design! They’ve essentially compiled a list of best hits of maps in regards to cartography. An absolute treasure to view, and I’m betting even more intriguing in book form.
On Healthcare:
“Life in Obamacare’s Deadzone” by Inara Verzemnieks
While not overtly an article on geography, it’s a theme woven inherently into the topic. Where people live and work affect their access to healthcare, and it’s important to note how even a healthcare system meant to get everyone misses a few because of geography. As a health geographer planning on living and working in the US, I found this article extremely relevant and anyone with an interest in geography or our healthcare system will too.
On Housing:
“Newly Released Maps Show How Housing Discrimination Happened” by Greg Miller
Ah, redlining. In case you don’t know about this racist tactic used by real estate agencies to keep residential areas segregated, you can check out this article on the series of maps where the term came from. One of my favorite things about maps is that things like discrimination can come out all too clearly when mapped. Learn a bit more about the history of your residential area and receive a graver understanding of the power of maps – and why we should use them for good.
On Geography:
“Science on a Sphere: Earthquakes 2001 – 2015” by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
So these two geography links are less articles, more animated fun. This link will take you to a fascinating world earthquakes animation and other detailed information – hopefully my physical geography friends out there enjoy this even more than I did – it’s pretty darn cool!
“What is Geography?” by Mary Crooks
While also not an article, it is a handy explanation of geography to keep on hand. As GIS makes its way into other fields and physical geographers search again for what it is they truly do (see: critical physical geography), it’s always nice when someone puts together succinctly and colorfully what geography is. Remember folks – it’s a spatial kind of thing.
That’s it for this month! I tried to get something in here for everyone, but if you ever have any suggestions, please comment or email them to me – I am happy to hear them, or even if you’re just a fellow geographer wanting to say hello, please do!
arguhlin 