Google Vector Layers (Project)

Google Vector Layers (Project)

*This is an open source project so enhancements and patches are encouraged.

Google Vector Layers allows you to easily add one or more vector layers from a number of different geo web services to a Google Maps API based application.

Overlaying custom vector layers (CartoDB) on-top of Google Maps - An excellent use of geojason

How it works?
Google Vector Layers works by listening to map events (pan and zoom) and then fetching features within the map bounds after each event. This method works great for data sets with lots of features that you want to interact with, but not load all at once.

Features:

• Multi-Provider Support - Current support for ArcGIS Server, Arc2Earth, Geocommons and CartoDB (with more in mind)
• Easy InfoWindow Templating - Create InfoWindow templates with a simple string with property names {mustached} or with a function that gets passed feature properties, and should return valid HTML for the InfoWindow
• Dynamic Data Support - Easily visualize live data that auto-updates at an interval that you set (and makes sense for your data’s update frequency)
• Simple, Powerful Symbology - Style your layers with a single symbology, a unique symbol for specific attribute values or set symbols to display if a feature’s attibutes are within a specific range. Or …
• Use Your Current Styles - If you’re using an ArcGIS Server layer you can use the styles you’ve already spent time creating in ArcMap
• Scale Dependent Rendering - You wouldn’t want to show lots of features with complex geometries at lower zoom levels - Using scaleRange lets you set the minimum and maximum scales a layer should be visbible

Planned Layers
    Google Fusion Tables
    GISCloud.com 

Examples with code

http://geojason.info/google-vector-layers/demos/

Created by
Jason Sanford

http://geojason.info/

Scotland Flood and Warnings Maps

Scotland Flood and Warnings Maps

Wind and Rain now hitting Scotland



















Indicative River & Coastal Flood Map [Not Real-Time]
http://go.mappoint.net/sepa/

Image source STV
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/west-central/286170-wind-turbine-bursts-into-flames-as-hurricane-force-winds-hit-scotland/

Met Office - Red Alert  Map (Beta)

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/beta/weather/warnings/

Know of  anymore maps/tools for Weather in Scotland - comment on blog.

Mapped: Every death on every road in Great Britain 1999-2010

Mapped: Every death on every road in Great Britain 1999-2010

The live map shows the location and detail of each collision and will be updated as information is received throughout the day.

 

 

"Britain has one of the best records in the world for road casualties. However, hundreds still die on the roads every year. In 2010, the police recorded 1,850 deaths, 22,660 people seriously injured and 184,138 who received light injuries.

About this data

Using official data recorded by police in Great Britain between 1999 and 2010, we have plotted every road collision in which someone died. In all, 36,371 fatalities are marked on this interactive map. You will also find partial data for Northern Ireland, for 2004-2009.

Detailed information about each crash is recorded by the police at the scene. It is subsequently transferred onto a computer database. This is available to researchers from the Economic and Social Data Service. As with any large collection of data, there will be errors and omissions that occur in this process and some of these will be found in this map. The BBC apologises for any distress or offence that may be caused by the inclusion of these errors."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15975720

Thanks to @neilhansonphoto

for the link.

qrd.by (GeoTagger for QR Codes)

qrd.by (GeoTagger for QR Codes)

Enter a location and URL and the service creates a QR code that embeds the geographically location 

The Service includes an API for customising your QR codes

"You can optionally attach geo information to your URL. This may be your company address or any location where you want to stick your QR Code. The parameter address is a human readable address string. The parameter lat (Latitude) and lng (Longitude) are used for further machine processing, e.g. to show the location on a map. The note parameter is used to add a detailed description about the location (e.g. 2nd floor, left door). You may add an image with the parameter image, that contains the path to the image." 

The http://qrd.by/hotspots provides a google map of geotagged QR codes that have been recently created and colours represent the number of times

Try it here

http://qrd.by/

API details

http://qrd.by/api

Map Creator Nokia

Map Creator Nokia

 

Similar to Google Maps Creator, Nokia are wanting neo-cartographers to help find in the gaps to NAVTEQ data.

 

Limited to only 11 previously unmapped countries including: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tanzania, Angola, Burundi, Sri Lanka, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, and Grenada. (compared to Google Map Maker has 188 countries listed currently)

"Already lets you draw streets and footpaths. You can also name new streets and add key information such as driving directions, vehicle type characteristics or paving type. But that’s just the start! You will soon also be able to add even more types of map content such as parks, forests, lakes and rivers. In short, all the types of content you are familiar with seeing in Nokia Maps."

Note: Though read the terms and conditions - want to use this data yourself? no chance Nokia reserve the right to include or exclude data.

So you might be better contributing to Open Street Map if you wan to have access to your own submitted data and access to raster and vector data create by many thousands of other mappers. http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://maps.nokia.com/mapcreator

Recycled World Map

Recycled World Map

Creative way artist Susan Stockwell, who takes on large projects installations, sculptures, drawings and collages. Her art  focuses on issues of geo-politics, mapping, trade and global commerce. Titled “World” and consisting of a world map made of recycled computer components supplied a computer recycling company. The project was supported by Bedfordshire University, UK

The 'World' Recycled Map

North America and Greenland

http://www.susanstockwell.co.uk/

Source:

http://freshome.com/2011/11/14/depicting-the-future-world-map-made-of-recycled-computer-components/

Openptmap - Public Transport Map

Openptmap shows public transport lines. Depending on the zoom level, bus and tram lines are displayed in addition to the railway lines....

OpenPT Maps - London, UK with All available Public Transport Data overlaid.

Existing Features:

• Interactive Timetable function (timetables cover Europe)
• Zoom levels 4 - 17 (Large Scale Zooms)
• Line numbers

However, there are some useful new features also:

• Public transport network grid without background available
• Optional backgrounds: Mapnik and CycleMap
• Different background luminance (pale modes)
• Railway timetable on demand with mouse click (small squares)
• Aerial lifts are displayed

Openptmap editors can be useful in these situations:

• You added a new pt line to OSM and want to review it
• You want to get an overview of the Public Transport network without interfering background
• To find out the departure times of buses/trains at nearby stations 

More information
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Openptmap

Map (to London, UK)
http://openptmap.org/?zoom=13&lat=51.50238&lon=-0.16558&layers=000B0TTT

Nokia Maps WebGL (Beta)

Nokia Maps WebGL (Beta)

 

Nokia Maps WebGL - Toronto, Canada

Using Google Chrome Nokia Maps WebGL is extremely smooth and fast rendering 3D Buildings with photo-realistic  quality, on par with Google Earth Desktop

WebGL (Web-based Graphics Library) is software hat extends the capability of the Javascript programming language to allow it to generate interactive 3d Graphics within any compatible Web Browser. WebGL code executes on a computer Graphics card's(GPU), which supports shade rendering.

To try this - use the latest version of Google Chrome.

Nokia Maps WebGL:

http://maps3d.svc.nokia.com/webgl/

Source: http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2011/10/nokia-maps-webgl.html

Multi-modal Trip Planner OSM - Portland

Multi-modal Trip Planner OSM - Portland

 

Underlying Data is Open Street Map

Multi-modal trip planners can create routes that mix different modes of travel. Not only can users plan a transit-only trip or a bike-only trip, they can also plan a mixed mode trip—like biking to the train and then continuing by train to their destinations.

Portland Regional Trip Planner
The new Portland Regional Trip Planner is a multi-modal trip planner funded by a pair of Metro Regional Travel Options Grants (2009-11 and 2011-13). October 15, 2011 is the formal launch date for TriMet’s beta release of the new trip planner and marks the first official deployment of a fully open source / open data trip planner by a major U.S. transit agency. RTP will replace TriMet’s transit-only trip planner after the beta test period of 3-6 months.

The technology behind RTP is called OpenTripPlanner. OpenTripPlanner’s worldwide developer community and broad user base has many advantages. As OpenTripPlanner improves, the Regional Trip Planner will improve. For more information about OpenTripPlanner, visit https://github.com/openplans/OpenTripPlanner/wiki/.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT (upcoming features)

These are some of the new exciting new features worked on due in a couple of weeks:

    Printer-friendly itineraries and maps
    Aerial imagery in the background (as a base map)
    Trips involving multiple transit agencies
    Elevation display for pedestrian trips
    Ability to modify biking trips by dragging the route on the map
    One-click switch between modes of travel for planned trips
    Incorporating real-time transit information instead of schedules
    Improved pedestrian routing using safety and accessibility data
    Driving directions to transit centers and park-and-ride facilities

Try the Trip Planner Map

http://rtp.trimet.org/

New Google Maps WebGL

New Google Maps WebGL  (Preview)

3D Buildings - Seamless zoom into Streetview

Available for FireFox 8 and Google Chrome14 (WebGL Enabled)

To enable use the:

Want to try something new? Button

• Take MapsGL, our new experimental maps experience, for a spin
• 3D buildings and seamless 45° aerial view rotations
• 'Swoop' quickly from the map view to Street View imagery, without a plugin

MapsGL is our experimental Maps technology powered by WebGL, and has certain system requirements.

Seamless 45 degree Oblique Aerial images for specific cities (Rome here).

 Source:

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2011/10/google-maps-in-webgl.html

Official Blog Post Release

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/step-inside-map-with-google-mapsgl.html

UK Crash Map

UK Crash Map 

CrashMap has been developed by a very experienced team of collision analysts and road safety professionals with extensive experience of making road casualty data available to the press and public especially online.

Once the Department for Transport permitted public access to the road casualty data it was a natural next step to provide a useful and usable tool to facilitate this. Our vision was to create a way in which the public, who often have a very genuine interest in what happens on roads in their area, could easily lay hold of the most relevant information to them with a few clicks of a mouse; we hope you find CrashMap useful.

CrashMap uses data collected by the police about road traffic crashes occurring on British roads where someone is injured. This data is approved by the National Statistics Authority and reported on by the Department for Transport each year. This site uses data obtained directly from official sources but compiled in to an easy to use format showing each incident on a map. Incidents are plotted to within 10 metres of their location and as such, can sometimes appear to be off the carriageway. The CrashMap team accept no responsibility for errors within the data and all queries relating to accuracy should be directed to the appropriate authority. If you would like to understand more about how the data is collated and reported please visit the Department for Transport’s publication Reported Road Casualties Great Britain.

The data includes all incidents up to the end of 2010 and will be updated as soon as the latest data is released by the Department for Transport (which happens around the end of September every year).

To make each report as accessible as possible to users of the site, the report is broken up into 2 clear sections.

Part 1 deals with the information that you are most likely to want to understand about the incident such as when it happened, at what time of day, how serious was the incident, how many vehicles were involved, how many casualties were there, what type of road was it on or what was the weather like.

Part 2 (login required) then provides much more detailed information if you need it about each vehicle and casualty to allow you to get an understanding of the types of vehicle, the gender and age bands of any casualties, the gender and age bands of any drivers, what manoeuvre the vehicle was performing at the time of the incident.

UK Crash Map

http://www.crashmap.co.uk/Search

MapQuest Mobile Flash Maps API

MapQuest Mobile Flash Maps API

A new Mapquest API combined with an Adobe Flash technology

You can deploy native mobile applications to Apple iOS, Google Android and Blackberry Tablet from a single code base.
 

 

Traffic incidents along a route (New York to Washington DC)

Our Mobile Flash Maps API provides interactive mapping features to use within Flash Builder 4.5 native mobile applications.  This includes support for touch gestures, as well as making our controls and POIs mobile friendly. So now you can easily combine the great features of our web services, such as searching for traffic or optimizing your route, with an easy way to deploy to a mobile device.  Check out the video below to see just a small sample of what you can do.

Some features you might be interested in.

• Searching for traffic incidents along a route
• Search by drive time or drive distance, either around a point or along a route
• Alternate routing
• Optimized routing (re-order stops to make the overall trip more efficient)
• Reverse geocoding
• Bicycle routing and elevation charts using open data

Source and more information:

http://devblog.mapquest.com/2011/10/03/mapquest-launches-mobile-flash-maps-api/

Cartographic mis-representation?

Cartographic mis-representation?
update [20/09/2011] from HaperCollins Publishers at the bottom

Most maps lie, they are only a representation of what is out in the real world, simplified, distorted and can be mis-leading.

The Map of Greenland by the Times Atlas is a cause of concern left is the 12 year old representation of Greenland, the right is the revised current 2011 representation - side by side can be very clear they are representing less ice than before by a huge margin.

Image from BBC News (updated)

Image against a recent satellite imagery - the out-skirting coastline and more noticeable is the difference in colour representation. (There is also seasonal change that is difficult to represent in one snapshot of the cartographic map.)

Though a lighter (grey) would of be wiser to graduate the contrast.

"Publicity for the latest edition of the atlas, launched last week, said warming had turned 15% of Greenland's former ice-covered land "green and ice-free".

But scientists from the Scott Polar Research Institute say the figures are wrong; the ice has not shrunk so much.

The Atlas costs £150 ($237) and claims to be the world's "most authoritative".

(more from BBC News http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14969399) 

The real difference?

"Recent satellite images of Greenland make it clear that there are in fact still numerous glaciers and permanent ice cover where the new Times Atlas shows ice-free conditions and the emergence of new lands. Furthermore, the low-lying fringe of the main ice sheet appears to be shown as land, not ice.

A sizable portion of the area mapped as ice-free in the Atlas is clearly still ice-covered. We do not know why this error has occurred, but it is regrettable that the claimed drastic reduction in the extent of ice in Greenland has created headline news around the world. There is to our knowledge no support for this claim in the published scientific literature."

"Greenland Ice Sheet is approximately 2.9 million cubic kilometers and the current rate whereby ice is lost is roughly 200 cubic kilometers per year. This is on the order of 0.1% by volume over 12 years. Numerous glaciers have retreated over the last decade, capturing the attention of scientists, policymakers and the general public. Because of this retreat, many glaciers are now flowing faster and terrain previously ice-covered is emerging along the coast"

 

Ernst (Ejo) Schrama

http://ejo-twitter.blogspot.com/2011/09/sure-greenland-getting-greener-but-who.html

Interesting debate...

Response from HaperCollins (Times Atlas publishers)

"we issued a press release which unfortunately has been misleading with regard to the Greenland statistics. We came to these statistics by comparing the extent of the ice cap between the 10th and 13th editions (1999 vs 2011) of the atlas. The conclusion that was drawn from this, that 15% of Greenland’s once permanent ice cover has had to be erased, was highlighted in the press release not in the Atlas itself. "

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/sep/20/times-atlas-incorrect-greenland?INTCMP=SRCH

Statement
http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/News_and_Events/News/Pages/Clarification-on-The-Times-Comprehensive-Atlas-of-the-World-13th-edition.aspxhttp://www.harpercollins.co.uk/News_and_Events/News/Pages/Clarification-on-The-Times-Comprehensive-Atlas-of-the-World-13th-edition.aspx

GIS Stack Exchange Blog (New)

The GIS Stack Exchange Community now has a GIS Blog for interesting topics and expansion of questions and events from http://gis.stackexchange.com/questions

If you are interested in GIS, Cartography,Web Mapping, Databases you can also join in and expand the knowledge sharing that answers questions quickly.

http://gis.blogoverflow.com/

GIS Community Blog

Welcome to the New GIS Blog Overflow, a new additional to GIS Stack Exchange Community

New content will be coming soon from community members from the GIS Stack Exchange.

Popular & reoccurring topics on GIS.SE, events related to GIS and the GIS.SE community with a random collection of posts by different authors will give a good wide cross-section of articles.

• Popular questions will be also expanded.
• Commercial and Open Source related GIS posts (includes beta software) are welcomed.
• Community GIS News and Events will also be included

Potential Blog Author?

If you have a post that you would like to be included please contact the moderator (Mapperz or mapperz@gmail.com) by leaving a comment on this blog post.

Many thanks to the community users input who have made this blog possible

http://meta.gis.stackexchange.com/questions/591/gis-stackexchange-blog

Build-A-Map Beta

Build-A-Map (Beta)

 Build-A-Map lets you build interactive online maps with minimal effort. With simple point-and-click user interface you are able to create visually appealing, functionally rich, and interactive maps. When you are done building, publish your map to build-a-map servers and then simply use it in your website or application.

Ease Of Use

No programming skills required. Build your maps using intuitive point-and-click user interface in a matter of minutes.

Variety Of Datasources

Map your own data, but also use provided third-party datasources such as Google Places, SimpleGeo Places, Panoramio, and others to enhance your map.

Rich Toolset

Wide range of map building tools are available out of the box and ready for use.

Extensible Platform

build-a-map have invested a lot of time in building an extensible platform that allows rapid development of map building tools.

http://www.buildamap.com/examples.html

Beta sign-up

http://www.buildamap.com/

TFL - Next Bus - Mobile

TfL - Next Bus - Mobile

what a great idea - a mobile site where you can put your street,bus stop id, postcode and find out when the next bus is coming!

Well it is here - Transport for London (TfL) have created this site.

Live Bus Departures

 
You can filter the routes or store as 'My Stops' for future reference.

Routes for Regent Street 

http://countdown.tfl.gov.uk/#|searchTerm=regent%20street|stopCode=50997

http://countdown.tfl.gov.uk/#/

mobile (testing) version with map
http://m.countdown.tfl.gov.uk/arrivals/50997?showMap=true

source:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/05/transport_for_london_live_bus_data_hits_mobile/

FixMyTransport.com Beta

FixMyTransport.com Beta


Clean Mapping Interface to report problems with your routes (bus, train,tram/metro ferry)



FixMyTransport was built to help people get common public transport problems resolved. It is targeted specifically at smaller problems such as persistently broken ticket machines, buses that always leave early, or silly rules that appear to do nothing but create inconvenience for travellers.

What is it all about?
At a basic level, FixMyTransport makes it easy for people to send problem reports to the companies or authorities responsible for those problems.

However, we know that simply sending an email often won't be enough to get a problem resolved. That's why we've built a complete system to make it easy to gather support other people, whether fellow commuters, colleagues or friends. We believe that this is worth doing because a transport company that doesn't respond to one person may very well respond to ten.

We hope that FixMyTransport will also help people by becoming part of the wider internet community of transport activists and campaigners. In particular, we hope that that community comes to see FixMyTransport as a place where experts and old hands can transfer their skills to people who have little or no experience of lobbying for change.

As well as being aimed at helping people to solve transport problems, FixMyTransport represents an experiment to discover whether a sufficiently well designed internet service can help tip people over the edge from grumbling about a problem to taking action to resolve it. We welcome your thoughts on how to measure whether or not we're succeeding.

Created by http://www.mysociety.org/

FixMyTransport.com Beta (with map interface openlayers/googlemaps)
http://www.fixmytransport.com/

Storm Surge Simulator - Google Maps (for Miami Dade County)

Storm Surge Simulator - Google Maps (for Miami Dade County)


an update 26/08/2011 - Google Crisis Response set up a web mapping tool.



Google Crisis Response has put together a Google Map for the 2011 Hurricane Season. The map currently shows the projected route of Hurricane Irene with the option of viewing a number of other layers on the map.

As well as viewing the forecast track of Hurricane Irene the map includes:

• a cloud imagery layer from the Navy Research Lab
• a layer showing coastal areas placed under tropical cyclone watches or warnings
• evacuation routes from FEMA
• a surge storm probability layer
• real-time Stream Gage Data from USGS

Via Google Maps Mania


Original Post:
Storm Surge Simulator - Google Maps (for Miami Dade County)

Click on the Map and have the depth chart show the height of the predicted storm surge.
The Storm Surge Simulator is a public service provided by Florida International University

Please note:
The color-coded zones on the map illustrate a worst case snapshot for a hurricane category under "perfect" storm conditions.

Storm Surge Map (Simulator) Example
http://earl.cis.fiu.edu/gic/#lat=25.469412666272984&lon=-80.41580464050293

More information on this Storm Surge Simulator
http://www.miamidade.gov/OEM/storm-surge-simulator.asp

source:
http://blog.gisuser.com/2011/08/25/hurricane-tip-miami-dade-county-rolls-out-storm-surge-simulator/

Bing Maps Streetside - London UK

Bing Maps Streetside - London UK


Streetside is now available for some parts of London, England


Westminister Bridge, London Bus and London Eye Iconic Landmarks, but do not expect 'Google Streetview' type functionality this is more a slide-show of images.


More information on Streetside
http://www.microsoft.com/maps/en-GB/streetside.aspx

View Streetside - London UK (click the icon next to Traffic)
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=51.50085314131346~-0.12088798043215165&lvl=14&dir=0&sty=r&trfc=1&form=LMLTCC

cross-posted from BingMapsWatch

Google Maps World Weather

Google Maps World Weather


Work in°C | °F or km/h | mph | m/s with the additional option to overlay clouds

Works well.

http://maps.google.com/maps?lci=weather

Video Introduction



source:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/rain-or-shine-see-weather-in-google.html

USGS Historical Map Release

USGS Historical Map Release (Coming Soon)

The USGS Historical Quadrangle Scanning Project (HQSP) is scanning all scales and all editions of approximately 250,000 topographic maps published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) since the inception of the topographic mapping program in 1884.


National Map Viewer can locate historical Maps for user to download

Because historical maps are stored in a limited number of collections and are not readily available, the USGS National Geospatial Program has begun a project to convert these historical printed topographic quadrangles to an electronic format (GeoTIFF and GeoPDF®). This project serves the dual purpose of creating a master catalog and digital archive copies of the irreplaceable collection of topographic maps in the USGS Reston Map Library as well as making the maps available for viewing and downloading from theUSGS Store and The National Map Viewer.

One of the first Maps Created by USGS back in1886 will be available to download.

Source:
http://dracutlibrary.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/historical-maps/

Official PDF on the project
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3009/fs20113009_013111.pdf [PDF]

Link to the National Map Viewer [USGS Store]
http://store.usgs.gov/b2c_usgs/usgs/maplocator/%28ctype=areaDetails&xcm=r3standardpitrex_prd&carea=%24ROOT&layout=6_1_61_48&uiarea=2%29/.do

*Some maps will require a purchase - but most will be free of charge to download in GeoPDF and GeoTiff formats.

New v4 Map Channels

New v4 Map Channels

update 10/08/2011
Map Channels 'Map Place Maps' is now available for mobile phone.

"Mobile Place Maps are a quick and convenient method of providing a place map, plus the route to get there."


Map Channels Mobile Place Maps is available here: http://www.mapchannels.com/MobilePlaceMaps.aspx


The successful Map Channels has been updated once again with some more useful tools.

"Map Channels lets users easily embed maps into websites and blogs. A number of tools are available to create maps from KML, GeoRSS or spreadsheet map data. A range of features and options let you customize the map appearance to meet a range of mapping needs. "



What is New?

• Search facility is now powered by the Google Places API.
• User can define a list of localities, giving quick links to map locations.
• The footer bar can be customized by using a HTML template to show categories, layers and localities.
• An information panel can be used in addition to the info window to display detailed place information.

User Interface Improvements

• A map is provided to (optionally) set the initial map centre and zoom level.
• A preview of the feed data is displayed (useful to spot if an incorrect feed url has been supplied).
• Additional help for setting up a data feed.

Map Channels Editor (users are required to login to create a map)

Map Channels

View the v4 Demo Map (as above)
http://www.mapchannels.com/Mc4Edit.aspx?id=mc4_demo_1_1

Follow Map Channels on Twitter

Great British Picnics Map

Great British Picnics Map


Search and select picnic sites across the UK by environment or activity.

The Guardian newspaper (&partners) have produced a useful Google Map on Picnic
The newspaper and lastminute.com to ideas where to picnic. They have also worked with Enjoy England to create a Google Map based guide to great destinations in the .

The Guardian has now partnered with Country Life Butter to create a Google Maps guide to great picnic spots in the England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

User and can search for a picnic sites or by activity, for example spots that are good for hikers, cyclists, bird watchers etc. Searches can be environment, such as by beach, riverside or country park.

The map can be viewed here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/great-british-picnics