Week 3: Neogeography

This is a map I made using Google Maps, which shows after-hours dining options around UCLA.

View UCLA Late Night Food Map in a larger map

The growing popularity of neogeography has brought many benefits to those who utilize it. The ability to create and view custom maps using tools like those in Google Maps allows users to share spatial information. However, every personalized map contains a bias as to what is shown and what is not. In doing so, the map conveys the creator's personal interests. For example, a map which maps out a walking tour of San Francisco would be representative of what landmarks and activities the creator is interested in. A walking tour of the city created by a photographer may may point out many scenic spots, making it especially useful to other photographer that want to find the scenic points. However, the same map may not be as useful to someone who wishes to visit historical landmarks in San Francisco.

As neogeography becomes more prevalent, popular points of interest continue to gain popularity while unmarked locations suffer. For example, if my map of restaurants became widely used, the locations I marked on the map would see a substantial boost in business. However, the restaurants that I did not include may be losing their customers to these businesses. In the age of iPhones and neogeography, a restaurant would suffer considerably by not being included in a database of restaurants. People have become more reliant on internet reviews and databases when looking for restaurants, which forces restaurants to keep up to date with technology.

Week 3: Neogeography

This is a map I made using Google Maps, which shows after-hours dining options around UCLA.

View UCLA Late Night Food Map in a larger map

Week 2

1. The quadrangle is named, "Beverly Hills Quadrangle," located in Los Angeles, California.

2. The northeast quadrangle is named Canoga Park. The northern quadrangle is named Van Nuys, the northwest is named Burbank. The west quadrangle is named Topanga. The east quadrangle is named Hollywood. The southwest quadrangle is unnamed because that is where the ocean is. The southern quadrangle is named Venice. The southeast quadrangle is named Inglewood.

3. The map was first made in 1966.

4. The North American Datum of 1927 and the North American Datum of 1983 were used to compile this map.

5. The scale of the map is 1: 24000

6. a) 5cm on the map is equal to 1200m on the ground.
b) 5 inches is equal to 1.89 miles on the ground.
c) 1 mile on the ground is equal to 2.64 inches on the map
d) 3 kilometers on the ground is equal to 12.5cm

7. The contour interval is 20 feet.

8. Geographic coordinates of:

a) the Public Affairs building: 34 degrees 4 minutes 27 seconds North, 118 degrees 26 minutes 21 seconds West, or 34.074 degrees North 118.439 degrees West
b) Tip of the Santa Monica Pier: 34 degrees 0 minutes 27 seconds North, 118 degrees 30 minutes 0 seconds West, or 34.0075 degrees North 118.5 degrees West
c)Franklin Canyon Reservoir: 34 degrees 5 minutes 54 seconds North, 118 degrees 24 minutes 43 seconds West, or 34.1 0degrees North, 118.41 degrees West.

9. Greystone mansion elevation: 560ft or 170.68 meters
Woodlawn cemetary: 140 ft or 42.67 meters
Crestwood Hills Park: 700ft or 213.36 meters

10. The UTM zone is 11.

11. The UTM coordinates are 3763000 m North 362000m East

12. The area contained in each square is 1,000,000 square meters.

13.
14. The magnetic declination is 14 degrees east.

15. The water in the stream flows south because the elevation is decreasing in the from North to South.

16.

Week 1

This map was created by a website called Calorielab. It shows the 50 states and Washington D.C. with the percentage of the population that is considered obese in each state. Furthermore, the states are color coded to show these percentages, with Colorado being the "leanest" state and Mississippi being the "fattest." Interestingly, these two states have opposite climates, suggesting a connection between obesity and weather. This map is interesting because the color coding allows me to make a generalization that more people in the Midwest and Southern states are obese, which leads to questions about why that is. Obesity can be attributed to diet, lifestyle, and genetics. Where the obese population is located can allow us to dissect the problem and potentially solve it. By asking what these "obese" states have in common, perhaps obesity can be better understood.


This is a map of Los Angeles and Orange County, found on a Los Angeles tourism site. It shows natural landmarks such as the Pacific Ocean and San Gabriel Mountains. However, the map emphasizes the many freeways in L.A. and Orange County, cities, and major tourist attractions. The major tourist attractions shown on this map include film studios and amusement parks such as Disneyland. This is interesting because it tells us that tourists visiting L.A. often group Orange County along with it. In addition, this map emphasizes how ubiquitous freeways are in Los Angeles. The prevalence of freeways in this area infers that many of its residents drive cars, which leads to further generalizations about Los Angeles culture and lifestyles.

This map by the United States Geological Survey was created with geological data. It shows the San Francisco Bay Area and the areas which are susceptible to soil liquefaction. The most susceptible areas boarder the bay. In an earthquake, liquefied soils provide poor structural support, leading to heavy damage to the structures which rest upon them. This is interesting because many of Northern California's urbanized areas, including major infrastructure, rest atop soil with high risk of liquefaction. The connection raises concern for these densely populated regions and a need to develop structural technologies which reduce the damage caused by an earthquake.