Representing the Presence of Absence in Cartography

Bibliographic Data

ID3775802
AuthorsAnthony C Robinson (0000-0002-5249-8010, Pennsylvania State University, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume109
Issue1
Pages286-300
Publication date2019-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnnals of the American Association of Geographers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2469-4452 • E-ISSN: 2469-4460
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/24694452.2018.1473754
OpenAlexW2905454234
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited38

A key cartographic challenge associated with the rise of big data is to show when spatial data observations are missing or to communicate variables that indicate absence. For example, showing where people are tweeting during a disaster might be interesting, but visually identifying where normal signals are missing could in fact highlight the most affected places. Parcel data might be fully present, but attributes of their observations could convey qualities of absence (e.g., abandoned structures). Current geovisualization approaches normally do not show anything at all when data are missing or contain qualities of absence and only in rare cases might use a specific hue to highlight the presence of absence on maps. This work argues that people perceive missingness and absence in a way that is distinct from other spatial data qualities, and we propose a typology of static and dynamic means by which we can draw user attention to the presence of absence. To explore the application of these techniques, I use urban parcel data to visualize patterns of property blight in a Detroit neighborhood. Based on conceptual development and case study application, I propose research challenges to evaluate visual representations of missing and absent information on maps

Cartography · Geography · Geographic Information Systems Studies

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