Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 4.3
Screenshot of the GeoSocial Gauge System, highlighting how social media can be aggregated
into a map mashup (GeoSocial Gauge, 2014 available at http://geosocial.gmu.edu, accessed on February 10, 2014).
the first generations of the GeoWeb. Now we are witnessing a many-to-many decentralised
architecture for collecting and disseminating geographical information from the bottom up
(Roche et al., 2013). However, it is not just who contributes data but also the user experience
in the sense of our ability to effectively organise, visualise and analyse such data that are also
changing. It is to this we now turn.
4.5 VISUALISATION AND SIMULATION
It has long been recognised that the WWW offers innovative ways for representing the physical
environment with real-time interaction over the Internet. The potential of the GeoWeb for visuali-
sation and simulation has been discussed for several years (e.g. Doyle et al., 1998). However, with
advances in computer hardware, software (including computer-aided design [CAD]) and digital
data availability, one can more easily create rich visualisations that mirror reality. Such applica-
tions give an immersive 3D experience of the world that is difficult to achieve from text, pictures or
2D maps alone. Moreover, digital 3D environments hold the ability to create a sense of place, and
thus they are able to mimic the real world for the purpose of digital planning and experimentation
(Hudson-Smith, 2003). This relates to the concept of
legibility
in planning. Legibility is used to
refer to the ease with which inhabitants of a city can develop a cognitive map over a period of time
and so orientate themselves within it and navigate through it. For example, Lynch (1960) writes,
'nothing is experienced by itself, but always in relation to its surroundings (p. 1)'. This is the reality
of the city, the built environment. Therefore, if for the purpose of digital planning we are to replicate
the built environment in digital space, the space itself must convey to the user a sense of location,
orientation and identification; in short, it must convey a sense of place (Hudson-Smith, 2003). To
gain an essential foothold, man has to be able to orientate himself; he has to know where he is. But
he also has to identify with himself within the environment, that is, he has to know he is in a certain
place (Groat, 1995). Moving into the 3D realm has the potential to provide
windows
into the com-
plexity of phenomena and environments under investigation. Within this section, we discuss what
roles Digital Earths play in this arena and their current limitations (Section 4.1) with respect to the
GeoWeb. We then turn to discussing virtual worlds and how they enable us to be imbedded within
them to explore geographical information, gain a sense of place and allow for simulation, such as
how people and traffic might move within a 3D world which mirrors that of reality (Section 4.5.2).
