Lab Post 6: Web Mapping (Tripp Tokioka)

My ArcGIS map shows my top five locations on campus at Carleton. Evans was chosen because it was my dorm this year, and the other locations were chosen because I either have class there or just frequent those areas. This project was very difficult initially. Here were a few of my problems.

The first problem was with the spreadsheet. I missed a few digits when inputting the geographic coordinates of buildings and was left confused as to why my dots were halfway across the globe. I also found the directions to ArcGIS to be a bit unclear when looking over them after class. I was following along decently and did the practice maps, but creating the Carleton map was frustrating to say the least.

I made the deliberate decision to make the text bigger than it normally would be because I felt words would paint a better picture than having the pins be big. A map is inherently going to prioritize location, so highlighting the building names added balance to the map in my opinion.

ArcGIS is a complicated program, but it has a lot of potential. Specifically thinking of the New York City squirrel map, one can see how information and history can be conveyed in interesting and innovative ways. I believe these positives also reveal how much more effective digital mapping can be than mapping by hand. The interactive ability of digital maps, even boiling down to simple functions like the ability to zoom in and out, makes it far more accessible. Moreover, having the option to toggle on and off certain layers of a map can be a way of packing a lot of information into one map without overwhelming the viewer. Even if I struggled with ArcGIS initially, the program is still very valuable as a means of data visualization in the realm of digital humanities.