Green Cartography: A research agenda towards sustainable development

Abstract

ABSTRACT The role of cartography in environmentally-sustainable development is twofold: first, useful and usable maps enable sense making and decision making about environmental processes, impacts, and protections; second, maps themselves, as digital tools, can be more energy efficient in minimizing our impact on the environment. In this paper, we elevate this energy awareness as a key design consideration for maps and introduce a novel conceptual framework for considering the carbon footprint of the content, form, and use of maps. We first systematically investigate how specific map design decisions impact the energy consumption of digital devices. We then discuss the possible ways that digital maps can be greener, outlining a series of ‘big questions’ about the content, form, and use context of maps needing future research to realize greener maps. Finally, we assert that green cartography requires not only novel techniques to design green maps but also greater attention to shaping individual, organizational, and social attitudes towards environmentally-friendly maps.