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The New Cartographers

By Emily Underwood Mar. 18, 2013 , 1:15 PM

CREDIT: NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION/DEPARTMENT OF

COMMERCE

“ "[F]uture shortages in cartography,

photogrammetry, and geodesy seem likely
because the number of graduates is too small
(tens to hundreds) to give NGA choices or
means of meeting sudden demand." —Future
U.S. Workforce for Geospatial Intelligence, a

”
report from the National Research Council

Seth Spielman CREDIT: CHRISTY SPIELMAN

CREDIT: Christy Spielman

Seth Spielman

Modern mapmaking
Geographers have traditionally studied how the natural environment
contributes to human society and vice versa, whereas cartographers
have focused more explicitly on the art and science of mapmaking.
Over the past couple of decades, a new field has emerged:
geographical information systems (GIS), blending the study and
expression of geographic information. Cartography and geography
have overlapped and spawned innumerable subspecialties and
applications. Modern geographers and cartographers are involved in
diverse projects: tracking fleets of vehicles or products, helping
customers locate a Dunkin' Donuts, modeling environmental scenarios
such as oil spills, and studying the spread of disease.

Spielman's career exemplifies the field's increasingly interdisciplinary

nature. When he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1997, he drew maps
by hand on sheets of clear acetate and then painstakingly layered and
photographed them to create a final product. "I'm pretty sure I was the
last generation to do that," he says. As a graduate student, he worked
with the Harlem Children's Zone to map cases of childhood asthma
in Manhattan. Since then, he has applied his skills to ecosystem
mapping and criminal justice policy.