Lecture

Geographical Reflections

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Description

This lecture delves into the complexities of geographical reflection, emphasizing the importance of precise location decisions in cartography, the impact of projections on spatial representation, and the creative potential of cartographic distortions. It explores various mapping techniques, from traditional cartograms to innovative anamorphoses, and discusses the role of statistical methods in revealing deep territorial structures. The lecture also highlights the significance of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in unifying spatial information and enhancing cartographic design, underscoring the evolving landscape of cartographic tools and their applications in spatial intelligence and applied geography.

In MOOC

Exploring Humans' Space: An Introduction to Geographicity

How do we understand the notion of space? How have urbanisation, mobility, digital spaces, and globalization changed the way we perceive it? This course aims to help you feel comfortable with the notion of space. The simplest way to understand it is to connect your daily life, your perceptions and your practices to the concepts of contact and remoteness. In SpaceX, we will explore together the city, urbanisation, urbanity, and urbanism, the individual actor in a globalising World, the emerging digital spati

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Related concepts (17)

Spatial analysis

Spatial analysis is any of the formal techniques which studies entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties. Spatial analysis includes a variety of techniques using different analytic approaches, especially spatial statistics. It may be applied in fields as diverse as astronomy, with its studies of the placement of galaxies in the cosmos, or to chip fabrication engineering, with its use of "place and route" algorithms to build complex wiring structures.

Cartography

Cartography (kɑːrˈtɒgrəfi; from χάρτης chartēs, "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and γράφειν graphein, "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively. The fundamental objectives of traditional cartography are to: Set the map's agenda and select traits of the object to be mapped. This is the concern of map editing.

Spatial database

A spatial database is a general-purpose database (usually a relational database) that has been enhanced to include spatial data that represents objects defined in a geometric space, along with tools for querying and analyzing such data. Most spatial databases allow the representation of simple geometric objects such as points, lines and polygons. Some spatial databases handle more complex structures such as 3D objects, topological coverages, linear networks, and triangulated irregular networks (TINs).

Geographic information system

A geographic information system (GIS) consists of integrated computer hardware and software that store, manage, analyze, edit, output, and visualize geographic data. Much of this often happens within a spatial database, however, this is not essential to meet the definition of a GIS. In a broader sense, one may consider such a system also to include human users and support staff, procedures and workflows, the body of knowledge of relevant concepts and methods, and institutional organizations.

Map projection

In cartography, a map projection is any of a broad set of transformations employed to represent the curved two-dimensional surface of a globe on a plane. In a map projection, coordinates, often expressed as latitude and longitude, of locations from the surface of the globe are transformed to coordinates on a plane. Projection is a necessary step in creating a two-dimensional map and is one of the essential elements of cartography. All projections of a sphere on a plane necessarily distort the surface in some way and to some extent.

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