Description

The base maps for census data are often maps with administrative units like census blocks, districts, municipalities, provinces etc. Over time these units change. They (partly) merge or split. Census bureaus often offer time series of data which are presented in tables of maps. These maps could be animations or interactive representation where the user can move back and forth in time using a slider. The maps users see represent singel moments in time, such as the population density in 2020 or 2021. But they often do not see what happens in between the years, eg. the boundary changes due to merging or splitting of the units, which can happen in multiple locations in the map at the same time.

This research tries to answer how we can inform the user about these changes? Which design elements can we add to the map time series to highlight the changes? Do we require a different solution for animated maps and interactive maps? Next to developing design solution a usability research is part of the project to evaluate the proposed solutions.

Objectives and Methodology

Make users aware of of changes in administrative units in time series

Further reading

References:

Kraak, M.J. (20010 Visualize Overijssel's past; interactive animation's on the WWW. Proceedings 20th International Cartographic Conference, vol. 4, part 5, pp 2298-2306 : https://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2001/icc2001/file/f...
Links:http://historicalatlas.com