NACIS 2016

Enabling Users to Easily Filter TNM Datasets to Smaller Scales
Andy Stauffer, US Geological Survey, National Geospatial Technical Operations Center
Brittany L. Roche, US Geological Survey National Geospatial Technical Operations Center
Seth D. Webinger, US Geological Survey National Geospatial Technical Operations Center
The US Geological Survey's National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) currently hosts vector data themes (including elevation, hydrography, transportation, boundaries, structures, geographic names, and woodland tint) appropriate for cartographic display at approximately a 1:24,000-scale. NGTOC is evaluating methods to enable users to automatically filter the 1:24,000-scale data so that it may be appropriately used at smaller scales through database enrichment. A new attribute, named VisibilityFilter, is currently being evaluated which will tag each feature with an appropriate (smallest) scale-of-use. While the VisibilityFilter attribute will enable users to define the content appropriate at a target scale, the resulting content may still require geometric simplification for specific user needs. This presentation will define the VisibilityFilter attribute and demonstrate how it can be used.
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Mobile App Cartography for the US National Park Service
Jake Coolidge, NPMap, Colorado State University
The number of mobile apps available to guide visitors through America's special places has exploded in recent years. NPMap aims to provide National Park Service-produced alternative apps that put a ranger's expertise and up-to-date information directly on your device. Not surprisingly, maps are a key component to these mobile experiences. This talk will first provide context for our mobile mapping efforts with an overview of our app framework and project workflow. Next we'll look at how the cartographic design process fits within this broader framework. Design decisions are driven by accessibility and usability concerns, and by the desire to speak to the narratives and intangible qualities that make these places unique. The talk will examine, in detail, recent cartographic products developed for several national parks and close with observations of lessons learned and improvements we hope to make in the year ahead.
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Mapping Neighborhood Data from the American Community Survey
Richard Lycan, Portland State University
In Portland, Oregon neighborhoods are an important part of the language of place and are a recognized part of the planning process. Partly for these reasons there is considerable interest in neighborhood level mapping of the socioeconomic data from the American Community Survey. It is feasible to build neighborhood level aggregations from Census block group data, with some allocation around the borders, however when aggregated to the neighborhood level standard errors are large and map viewers are confused when advised of the uncertainties of the mapping. This paper proposes a workaround, a cure with some serious side effects. The workaround is to include "some surrounding area" around each neighborhood in the allocation process. “Some surrounding area” is implemented through use of an adaptive bandwidth grid. The resulting map is generalized but has less sampling error. The cure is reduction in uncertainty and the side effect is geographical ambiguity.