<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The authors of the review aim to understand and assess cartographic Heat Maps’ (HM) designs, tools, and applications. The paper consists of two parts. First describes HM in the context of neocartography and map design by tackling such issues as definition, input data, methods of density determination and generalization, colour schemes, legend construction, and base maps. The second part assesses the range of 17 tools used for creating HM. Tools are divided into non-GIS tools (visualization tools and programming libraries) and GIS applications (desktop and webGIS). GIS desktop software has been selected due to its popularity and wide application. Paper presents an expert assessment of this software with the use of a research questionnaire. The analysis made it possible to develop a division of tools based on their embedding in computer programs and applications and taking into account the types of visualization. It also made it possible to indicate tools that can be used by both professional GIS users (e.g. analysts, cartographers) and the general public, including teachers using HM to visualize geo data for geography lessons. The limitation of the review was the analysis from the expert’s point of view. It would be desirable to include novices perspectives in future studies due to the wide demand for visualization.</p>
</abstract>

The authors of the review aim to understand and assess cartographic Heat Maps’ (HM) designs, tools, and applications. The paper consists of two parts. First describes HM in the context of neocartography and map design by tackling such issues as definition, input data, methods of density determination and generalization, colour schemes, legend construction, and base maps. The second part assesses the range of 17 tools used for creating HM. Tools are divided into non-GIS tools (visualization tools and programming libraries) and GIS applications (desktop and webGIS). GIS desktop software has been selected due to its popularity and wide application. Paper presents an expert assessment of this software with the use of a research questionnaire. The analysis made it possible to develop a division of tools based on their embedding in computer programs and applications and taking into account the types of visualization. It also made it possible to indicate tools that can be used by both professional GIS users (e.g. analysts, cartographers) and the general public, including teachers using HM to visualize geo data for geography lessons. The limitation of the review was the analysis from the expert’s point of view. It would be desirable to include novices perspectives in future studies due to the wide demand for visualization.

Cartographic visualization of density: exploring the opportunities and constraints of Heat Maps

Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies

Polish Cartographical Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The authors of the review aim to understand and assess cartographic Heat Maps’ (HM) designs, tools, and applications. The paper consists of two parts. First...

Cartographic visualization of density: exploring the opportunities and constraints of Heat Maps

Published Online: Sep 04, 2021

Page range: 21 - 36

Received: Jul 15, 2021

Accepted: Aug 01, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pcr-2021-0003

Keywords
Heat Map, GIS, visualization, thematic mapping, generalization, ArcGIS, QGIS

© 2021 Wojciech Pokojski et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Cartographic visualization of density: exploring the opportunities and constraints of Heat Maps

Published Online: Sep 04, 2021

Page range: 21 - 36

Received: Jul 15, 2021

Accepted: Aug 01, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pcr-2021-0003

KeywordsHeat Map, GIS, visualization, thematic mapping, generalization, ArcGIS, QGIS

© 2021 Wojciech Pokojski et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Heat Map, GIS, visualization, thematic mapping, generalization, ArcGIS, QGIS