Mapping the real world

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 1
Objective: mapping things

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 2
Simplified version of reality

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 3
Conceptualizing the real world

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 4
 Elevation

Data: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Continuous phenomena

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 5
 Discrete objects

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 6
 Real world features exist as…
Discrete objects Continuous phenomena
Buildings, roads… Elevation, temperature…

How can these be shown on a digital map?
How can we store data about them?
Use models.

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 7
Simplified version of reality

What is a model?

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 8
Way of organizing and representing data
that are a simplified version of reality

What is a data model?

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 9
 This is just a starting point…

Discrete objects: Continuous phenomena:
Vector data model Raster data model

Data models

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 10
Relationships?

Model

Each map layer is a geographic theme

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 11
Vector data model

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 12
 Points

Lines

Polygons

Attributes

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 13
Geometry Attributes
point Name Speed Limit
Bloor Street West 50
Record
University Avenue Field
60
line
St. George Street 40
College Street 50
polygon

Vector data model

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 14
Scale and representation

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 15
 Line or area?
(generalization)

Where is the edge? 
Generalization and boundary definition
(boundary definition)

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 16
 Points, lines, and 
polygons are not stored 
in the same map layer

Each map layer contains 
only one theme

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 17
 Toronto_Open.gdb
points Fire_Stations
lines Roads
polygons Vegetation_Parks

Points (in ArcCatalog)

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 18
 Points (preview)

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 19
 Lines

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 20
 Polygons

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 21
 Attribute table

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 22
 Toronto_Open.gdb
Fire_Stations
Roads
Vegetation_Parks
In ArcGIS, points, lines, & polygons
Geodatabase are stored in separate map layers 
(.gdb) called feature classes

Geodatabase and feature classes

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 23
 ESRI dictionary Link

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 24
Feature class
 One data type 
 can’t mix points, lines, polygons in same file
 One theme 
 e.g., just provinces, or just lakes, not both

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 25
Types of geodatabase
File geodatabase
 Newest file format (.gdb)
 Recommended by Esri
 Looks like a Windows folder (do not edit!)

Personal geodatabase
 Microsoft Access file format (.mdb)

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 26
 Feature dataset

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 27
 Same features and attributes, but 
stored in a different file format 

Shapefiles

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 28
 Software: ArcInfo ArcView ArcGIS
Developed: 1980s 1990s 2000s

Same data:

Data format: Coverage Shapefile Geodatabase

Topology required Topology absent Topology optional
Complicated Simple Sophisticated
Hard to use Easy to use Easy to use
Efficient data Inefficient data ↑ Func onality

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 29
Sampling frequency for digitizing

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 30
 Satellite Image
Resolution: 0.6 m
Scale: 1:5,000

Polygon: Queen’s Park

Digitizing a feature

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 31
 Satellite Image
Resolution: 0.6 m
Scale: 1:5,000

Polygon: Queen’s Park

Digitizing a feature

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 32
4 sample points 20 sample points

Sampling frequency?

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 33
Sampling frequency?

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 34
Sampling frequency
 Must capture desired level of detail
 Too much: 
• Excess data volume
• Slows down processing
• Takes up storage space
 Too little: 
• may not have enough data to complete your analysis
• Poor accuracy.

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 35
Map scale and digitizing

ArcMap

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 36
 Traced at 1:5,000
Displayed at 1:5,000

What scale should be used when tracing?

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 37
 Traced at 1:5,000
Displayed at 1:1,000

Errors noticeable at larger map scales

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 38
 Traced at 1:5,000  
Displayed at 1:50,000

Scale: digitizing vs. display

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 39
 Traced at 1:5,000
Displayed at 1:1,000,000

Scale: digitizing vs. display

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 40
 Smaller scale maps: less detail
Larger scale maps: more detail

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 41
 Smaller scale maps: less detail
Larger scale maps: more detail

Lake
Simcoe

Scale

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 42
Precision, accuracy, and digitizing

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 43
 Fire hydrant

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 44
 Fire hydrant

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 45
Fire hydrant coordinates

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 46
 Precision:   1 m
Accuracy: 17 m

17 m 47 m

Precision vs. accuracy

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 47
 high accuracy

Difference between recorded value and true value

Accuracy

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 48
  The fineness of a 
measurement
 What time is it?
 February
 Wednesday
 Morning
 5:23 am

Precision

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 49
 high precision
low accuracy

Fineness of measurements

Precision

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 50
 42.965044 m

Precision vs. accuracy

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 51
High precision Low precision
Low accuracy High accuracy

High precision Low precision
High accuracy Low accuracy

Precision and Accuracy

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 52
 Traced at 1:5,000
Displayed at 1:5,000

What scale should be used when tracing?

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 53
 Precise, but not accurate

Traced at 1:5,000
Displayed at 1:1,000

Errors noticeable at larger map scales

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 54
Data acquisition
 At what scale was it digitized? 
 Is it appropriate for my purpose?

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 55
Raster data model

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 56
 Continuous
surface

Area on ground with 
elevation of 136 m

Raster grid of cells (e.g. elevation)

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 57
 Columns
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1
2
3 (2,3)
4
Rows
5
6
7
8

Raster grid

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 58
Cell Values
139 140 141 144 147 148 148 147 146  Each cell has one value
138 138 139 141 143 144 144 143 143

139 139 138 139 139 139 138 138 138  Integer or real
142 140 139 138 136 134 132 132 133

146 143 141 139 137 133 131 130 130

149 147 145 143 140 136 133 132 131

 Attribute table:
151 150 149 147 145 142 139 137 135
 Value
 Count 

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 59
 Satellite image Digital photo

Digital elevation model Scanned map

Raster data

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 60
Spatial resolution and data volume

1000 m

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 61
 30 m

30 m

Spatial resolution = 30 m

Spatial resolution

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 62
Low spatial resolution
Comparing resolutions 1000 m
500 m
100 m
30 m

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 63
Resolution and values
 One value per cell
 Implies no variability 
within a cell
 Tradeoff. 

1000 m

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 64
2x resolution means 4x data volume

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 65
 1,600,000
1,486,275
1,400,000

1,200,000

1,000,000
Cells

800,000

600,000

400,000

200,000 133,964
1,333 5,418
0
1000 m 500 m 100 m 30 m
Spatial Resolution

Resolution vs. data volume

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 66
Reading: Cell size of raster data Link

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 67
 Scale: 1:46,000,000
Scale: 1:50,000
Resolution and scale
Spatial resolution: 150 m

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 68
 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0,8
0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0,2 1,3 0,3
0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0,2 1,4 0,2
0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0,1 1,5 0,2
0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0,2 1,5 0,1
0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0,3 1,3 0,2
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0,8
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0,8
(0,8)(0,2)(1,3)(0,3)(0,2)(1,4)(0,2)(0,1)(1,5)(0,2)(0,2)(1,5)(0,1)(0,3)(1,3)(0,2)(0,8)(0,8)

Data compression: run-length encoding

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 69
Vector vs. raster data models

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 70
 This is just a starting point…

Discrete objects: Continuous phenomena:
Vector data model Raster data model

Vector and raster data models

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 71
 ?
Choosing a model

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 72
Representing elevation

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 73
 Discrete objects

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 74
 Rasterizing

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 75
 Raster cells

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 76
Loss of information

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 77
 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Discrete
0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0
objects stored in 
0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 raster format
0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
0 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
2 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0
0 0 0 0 3 3 3 3 0
0 1 0 3 3 3 3 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 3

No points, lines or polygons - just cells with same value

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 78
 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0
0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
0 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
2 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0
0 0 0 0 3 3 3 3 0
0 1 0 3 3 3 3 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 3

Assign colours to add meaning

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 79
 (
! Schools
Roads
Zoning
Commercial
Employment Industrial
Institutional
Open Space
Residential
0 62.5 125 250 Meters
Utility and Transportation

Vector features

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 80
Points as vector and raster

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 81
 Spatial resolution: 25 m

Lines as vector and raster

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 82
Polygons as vector and raster

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 83
 One record per polygon

Zoning: vector polygons

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 84
 No individual polygons, just 
cells with same value

Land use: raster cells

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 85
Raster/vector comparison

© Donald Boyes, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto 86