Week 3: Neogeography

I created a map to identify the places I've been to that mean the most to me.  I marked and described the most memorable locations in the world that I've been to in my life.

View Most Memorable Places in the World in a larger map

Neogeography is an amazing tool, but it has potential pitfalls too.  One of the biggest dangers is inaccuracy of information.  When so much of the information that goes into these online maps are purely user created, it is hard to tell the accuracy of such maps.  There is a distinct lack of checking and editing on user-created maps, so it is easy to be fooled.  In addition, there are dangers to sharing too much personal information.  If an individual shares their daily walking route to work, that person is easily vulnerable to the invasion of privacy.  Even something as simple as sharing the locations of all your favorite bars could be viewed by potential employers that might wonder if you go out to drink too often.

However, these concerns aside, it is incredibly powerful.  When talking about inaccuracy, consider that often times there was no offering of this information before.  It is often better to have an inaccurate map then none at all.  Neogeography allows users to share real experiences in a much stronger way, emphasized by their customizations and added details.

I think the future will be a neogeographic world.  I believe that the maps that everyone uses will be made by other normal users.  A review-based ranking like ratings on Youtube or likes on Facebook will most likely help users identify which can be trusted and which to avoid.  The ubiquity will be in your device all the time; simply by asking your phone you will be able to find any store, location or spot you want.  I think it's likely we will most likely be viewing photos and videos that relate to our physical location everywhere we go.  I think neogeography is only going to become more widespread and powerful in the years to come.

Week 2: Map Anatomy

 A 7.5 Minute Map of Beverly Hills

Figure 1. Nearby quadrangles

1. What is the name of the quadrangle?
 The quadrangle is entitled the Beverley Hills Quadrangle

2.  What are the names of the adjacent quadrangles?
There are 8 nearby quadrangles, as can be seen in Figure 1.  The immediately adjacent quadrangles are Van Nuys, Topanga, Hollywood and Venice.  The names of the quadrangles found diagonally can be found in the figure, though the quadrangle to the Southwest appears to be unnamed.

3. When was the quadrangle first created?
The earliest creation date on the map was 1966.

4. What datum was used to create your map?
The vertical datum used was the vertical datum of 1929.  The two horizontal datum were the datum of 1927 and the datum of 1983.

5. What is the scale of the map?
The scale of the map is 1:24,000.

6. At the above scale, answer the following:

a) 5 centimeters on the map is equivalent to how many meters on the ground?
5 centimeters = 120,000 centimeters on the ground = 1200 meters on the ground
b) 5 inches on the map is equivalent to how many miles on the ground?
5 inches = 120,000 inches on the ground = 1.89394 miles on the ground
c) one mile on the ground is equivalent to how many inches on the map?
one mile = 63360 inches on the ground = 2.64 inches on the map
d) three kilometers on the ground is equivalent to how many centimeters on the map?
3 kilometers = 300000 centimeters on the ground = 12.5 centimeters on the map

7. What is the contour interval on your map?
The contour interval is 20 feet.

8. What are the approximate geographic coordinates in both degrees/minutes/seconds and decimal degrees of:
a) the Public Affairs Building;
Approximately 118°26'15'' E   34°4'30'' N
or  118.4375° E   34.075° N

b) the tip of Santa Monica pier;
Approximately 118°29'45'' E   34°0'30'' N
or  118.4958° E   34.0833° N
c) the Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir;
Approximately 118°24'45'' E  34°7'15'' N
or  118.4125° E   34.1208° N

9. What is the approximate elevation in both feet and meters of:
a) Greystone Mansion (in Greystone Park);
About 540 ft or 164.592 meters
b) Woodlawn Cemetery;
About 140 ft or 42.672 meters
c) Crestwood Hills Park;
About 620 ft or 188.976 meters

10. What is the UTM zone of the map?
The UTM zone is zone 11.

11. What are the UTM coordinates for the lower left corner of your map?
The UTM coordinates in the lower corner are 3763000mN and 3762000mE.

12. How many square meters are contained within each cell (square) of the UTM gridlines?
1,000,000 square meters.  The side of each UTM grid square is 1000 meters.

13. Obtain elevation measurements, from west to east along the UTM northing 3771000, where the eastings of the UTM grid intersect the northing. Create an elevation profile using these measurements in Excel .

14. What is the magnetic declination of the map?
The magnetic declination is 14°

15. In which direction does water flow in the intermittent stream between the 405 freeway and Stone Canyon Reservoir?
The stream flows South.

16. Crop out (i.e., cut and paste) UCLA from the map and include it as a graphic on your blog.

The part of the map showing the UCLA campus