Web Mapping Application Research Articles

Spatial data infrastructure (SDI) for inventory rockfalls with fragmentation information

The fragmentation phenomenon has a significant effect on rockfall risk assessment. This information is difficult to obtain, but it is key to improving rockfall modelling. For this reason, the RockModels team has gathered data on the fragmentation of several natural events since 2014 that nowadays wants to share them with professionals, academics and stakeholders. The best way for the dissemination of this information is the use of standard or data specifications in order to be interoperable. A fragmentation rockfall database has been created using all the gathered information, according to the INSPIRE Natural Hazard Area Data Specification currently in force. However, new tables have had to be added, since this specification does not consider fragmentation data. There are currently 6000 records of geometries of source areas, envelopes, deposits and mostly individual blocks. A web mapping application, with an automatic function for coordinate reference system transformation, has been created to facilitate access to the spatial database information. All that was developed on open-source software such as OpenLayers JavaScript library, database (PostGre-PostGIS) and the map generating Web Map Service (GeoServer). As more data are collected, the database can be easily updated and the new information will be published. Moreover, to improve data interpretation, a future task is to incorporate 3D models on the web application. The existence of this public database will facilitate research and advance in knowledge of this kind of natural hazards.Graphical abstractRockfall volume distribution inventory data.Georeferenced rockfall database including fragmentation data according to Technical Data Specifications of INSPIRE for natural hazards zone.Database mapping of rockfall inventory data in a WMS open access.Geometric modelling and geovisualization to fragmentation process in rockfall investigations.

Introducing the combined atlas framework for large-scale web-based data visualization: The GloNAF atlas of plant invasion.

Large‐scale biodiversity data, for example, on species distribution and richness information, are being mobilized and becoming available at an increasing rate. Interactive web applications like atlases have been developed to visualize available datasets and make them accessible to a wider audience. Web mapping tools are changing rapidly, and different underlying concepts have been developed to visualize datasets at a high cartographic standard.Here, we introduce the Combined Atlas Framework for the development of interactive web atlases for ecological data visualization. We combine two existing approaches: the five stages of the user‐centred design approach for web mapping applications and the three U approach for interface success.Subsequently, we illustrate the use of this framework by developing the Atlas of Plant Invasions based on the Global Naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) database. This case study illustrates how the newly developed Combined Atlas Framework with a user‐centred design philosophy can generate measurable success through communication with the target user group, iterative prototyping and competitive analysis of other existing web mapping approaches.The framework is useful in creating an atlas that employs user feedback to determine usability and utility features within an interactive atlas system. Finally, this framework will enable a better‐informed development process of future visualization and dissemination of biodiversity data through web mapping applications and interactive atlases.

Webmap Application Training As An Effort For Flood Mitigation In The Agricultural Sector In Dlanggu Village, Lamongan Regency, East Java, Indonesia

Natural conditions are increasingly uncertain and difficult to predict due to changes in rainfall patterns and climate. Excessive rainfall can cause flooding which is detrimental to the agricultural sector. Flooding is a natural challenge that is often faced in the agricultural sector. This challenge is faced by most of the agricultural land in Lamongan Regency, including in Dlanggu Village. The impact of flooding on rice fields in certain locations which is increasingly widespread and intensive from year to year has caused considerable losses for farmers. The purpose of this activity is to map flood-affected agricultural land in a participatory manner with the help of the WebMap application. The method of implementing this activity includes the preparation stage, implementation stage, and monitoring and evaluation stage. The results of the activity showed that participants were very enthusiastic about this activity program, as evidenced by the positive response in the form of the presence of 96% of the training participants and active discussion activities during the socialization and training took place. After the training, the participants also expected a follow-up in the form of assistance from the service team to improve skills with WebMap applications in other fields. This activity is expected to be a solution that can be offered to provide an early warning system based on mapping so that the delivery of information about floods can be conveyed more quickly to the community, especially people who have agricultural livelihoods to be aware of flood disasters.

Web-Based Decision Support System for Managing the Food–Water–Soil–Ecosystem Nexus in the Kolleru Freshwater Lake of Andhra Pradesh in South India

Most of the world’s freshwater lake ecosystems are endangered due to intensive land use conditions. They are subjected to anthropogenic stress and severely degraded because of large-scale aquafarming, agricultural expansion, urbanization, and industrialization. In the case of India’s largest freshwater lake, the Kolleru freshwater ecosystem, environmental resources such as water and soil have been adversely impacted by an increase in food production, particularly through aquaculture. There are numerous instances where aqua farmers have indulged in constructing illegal fishponds. This process of aquafarming through illegal fishponds has continued even after significant restoration efforts, which started in 2006. This underlines the necessity of continuous monitoring of the state of the lake ecosystem in order to survey the effectiveness of restoration and protection measures. Hence, to better understand the processes of ecosystem degradation and derive recommendations for future management, we developed a web mapping application (WMA). The WMA aims to provide fishpond data from the current monitoring program, allowing users to access the fishpond data location across the lake region, demanding lake digitization and analysis. We used a machine learning algorithm for training the composite series of Landsat images obtained from Google Earth Engine to digitize the lake ecosystem and further analyze current and past land use classes. An open-source geographic information system (GIS) software and JavaScript library plugins including a PostGIS database, GeoServer, and Leaflet library were used for WMA. To enable the interactive features, such as editing or updating the latest construction of fishponds into the database, a client–server architecture interface was provided, finally resulting in the web-based model application for the Kolleru Lake aquaculture system. Overall, we believe that providing expanded access to the fishpond data using such tools will help government organizations, resource managers, stakeholders, and decision makers better understand the lake ecosystem dynamics and plan any upcoming restoration measures.

Heritage in Transition: Challenges in Post-Ottoman Digital Humanities

This article presents a series of digital humanities pilot projects that were designed and developed by an interdisciplinary research team as part of the project: “Histories, Spaces and Heritages at the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Greek State.” These pilot projects offer new, innovative online resources for multimodal research, pedagogy and engagement with historical sources and archives that document historic Greek urban environments at their transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Greek state. They include an interactive timeline, a dynamic bibliographic management tool combined with a web-mapping application of Ottoman sites and monuments in Greece, and “Senseflows”, a digital archive focusing on the sensorial aspects of Thessaloniki’s transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Greek state (1912–1923). We discuss these projects, focusing on “Senseflows” in more detail, in the context of the “Histories, Spaces and Heritages” collaborative research network and initiative supported by the French School at Athens but also in the broader context of addressing research gaps, methodological problems and pathways for collaboration in digital humanities approaches to the Greek Ottoman, post-Ottoman and contemporary past.

The efficiency of providing public services in transport

: Today’s dynamic environment, which is developing at a rapid pace, places high demands not only on transport, but also on efficiency, speed, safety, quality and, in particular, questions about the efficiency of spending funds from city budgets, all with a strong emphasis on the environmental friendliness of urban public transport. Given that the public sector is undergoing changes, the main goal of which is to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of financial management in the public sector, cities must really always place a strong emphasis on ensuring maximum efficiency of services provided and the use of public resources in all expenditure areas of the budget. In the vast majority of cases, the financing of urban public transport currently represents the greatest burden on urban public budgets not only in the Czech Republic but also in cities in the EU. The article presents the outputs that emerged within the project “Methodological - application tools for efficiency financial management of territorial structured statutory city”. The outputs of the article are focused on the area of transport, as it is one of the key areas of the city budget and in terms of expenditure sections, transport expenditures represent the highest amount in the budget of the Statutory City of Ostrava. Geographic information systems (GIS) can be successfully used to analyse efficiency, demand and urban public transport planning. For the purpose of effective presentation of information on the state and drawing of the budget and on the effectiveness of funds spent from the budget of the statutory city and individual city districts, the R-Point web map application was created. An interactive map showing statistical indicators in the area, there are also graphs that serve the user for a better comparison of data between individual city districts and the City of Ostrava.

Trends in United States Human Footprint Revealed by New Spatial Metrics of Urbanization and Per Capita Land Change

Accelerations in population growth and urban expansion are transforming landscapes worldwide and represent a major sustainability challenge. In the United States, land conversion to impervious surfaces has outpaced population increases, yet there are few spatial metrics of urbanization and per capita land change available nationwide for assessing local to regional trends in human footprint. We quantified changes (2000–2010) in housing density, imperviousness, per capita land consumption, and land-use efficiency for block groups of the contiguous U.S. and examined national patterns and variation in these metrics along the urban–rural gradient and by megaregion. Growth in housing (+13.6%) and impervious development (+10.7%) resulted in losses of rural lands, primarily due to exurbanization and suburbanization. Mean per capita consumption increased in all density classes but was over 8.5 times greater in rural lands than in exurban, suburban, and urban areas. Urban and suburban areas had significantly lower mean consumption, yet change was unsustainable in 60% of these areas. Megaregions across the sprawling Sun Belt, spanning from Arizona to North Carolina, grew most unsustainably, especially compared to regions in the Pacific Northwest and Front Range. This work establishes 21st-century benchmarks that decision-makers can use to track local and regional per capita land change and sustainable growth in the U.S.; however, these metrics of the form, extent, rate, and efficiency of urbanization can be applied anywhere concurrent built-up area and population data are available over time. Our web mapping application allows anyone to explore spatial and temporal trends in human footprint and download metrics, and it is designed to be easily updatable with future releases of validated developed land cover, protected areas, and decennial Census data.

Rethinking Approach to the Control of Illegal Transboundary Waste Trading, Transfer and Diplomacy in Developing Countries

Project documentation on the use of a GIS backed Web Mapping application for the management of solid waste

A Snapshot in Time: a review of current approaches to archaeological archiving in Scotland

Hosted by Historic Environment Scotland (HES), the National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) is the primary place of deposit for archaeological archives in Scotland. Built up over several decades, the archives hold over 1.6m items, both analogue and digital, linked to a site inventory of over 320,000 site records relating to the archaeological and architectural history of Scotland. Initially the survey archive of the former Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, the collections now include project archives from professional archaeological companies, academic researchers and, increasingly, community projects. A range of policy and professional drivers, as well as best practice, encourage archival deposition. The digital component of the archive has grown considerably over the last decade. In response, the NRHE has invested in preservation software to manage these holdings and has submitted an application for CoreTrustSeal. The NRHE is available online through the Canmore database and web-map applications. The online presence is assessed against the FAIR Data principles.

Assessment and Visualization of OSM Consistency for European Cities

Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) is a widely used data source in various fields and services, such as environmental monitoring, disaster and crisis management, SDI, and mapping. Quality is a critical factor for the usability of VGI. This study focuses on evaluating logical consistency based on the topological relationships between geographic features while considering semantics. It addresses internal (i.e., between thematic layers) and external (i.e., between specific features from different thematic layers) logical consistency. Attribute completeness is computed to support the use of semantics. A tool for assessing the consistency and attribute completeness is designed and implemented in the ArcGIS environment. An open-source web mapping application informs users about VGI consistency with multiscale visualization and indices. Data from OpenStreetMap (OSM), one of the most popular collaborative projects, are evaluated for six European cities: Athens, Berlin, Paris, Utrecht, Vienna, and Zurich. The case study uses OSM-derived data, downloaded from Geofabrik and organized into thematic layers. OSM’s consistency is evaluated and visualized at the regional, city, and feature levels. The results are discussed and conclusions on attribute completeness and consistency are derived.

An automatic approach for detecting building fences from high-resolution images: the case study of Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract In the light of the constantly expanding technological advancements concerning high-resolution satellites and imaging techniques for investigative and information uses it is important to look at how these algorithms progress to acquire more reliable data in a much efficient manner. This study aims to (1) investigate the ability to use remote sensing and geographic information system techniques to extract the detecting building edges in the City of Makkah and (2) investigate new machine learning techniques to derive the illegal building fences in the study area. Two WorldView-3 images will be the first obtained for the City of Makkah in 2016 and 2018. Convolutional neural networks algorithm will be investigated to detect all the fences within the two images. These traits have been utilized to create automated object detection techniques, which are a core requirement of information extraction and large frame analysis of images covering large expanses of land. In high-resolution images, object detection identifies objects belonging to a class, locating them using a bounding box. Based on satellite images time series, the outputs will detect the changes that occurred during 2016 and 2018. A web map application will be designed as the primary tool to make it easier, illustrating the differences between the main changes. Evaluation of binary classifiers approach will be used to evaluate the outcomes of building fences based on several performances that measure data interpretation. Preliminary findings will illustrate the precision and accuracy of the used machine learning algorithm. The research findings can contribute to the federal/municipal authorities and act as a generic indicator for targeting building fences for urban areas and/or suburban areas.

Crowdsourcing of Popular Toponyms: How to Collect and Preserve Toponyms in Spoken Use

The article presents a process of collecting unstandardized toponyms, in particular urbanonyms (place names denoting objects located in the cadastre of the city), within the territory of two municipalities in the Czech Republic. The collecting process was performed in two phases by crowdsourcing, using a web map application created especially for this purpose. In the first phase (October 2019–September 2020) it was collecting as many unstandardized toponyms as possible. In the second phase (October 2020–January 2021) we focused on the degree of the knowledge of these toponyms among the population living within the studied territory. The interest on the side of the general public was surprising in both phases. In the first phase, over five hundred respondents submitted more than two and a half thousand place names, most of them during the first two weeks. More than nine hundred respondents actively participated in the second phase, thanks to which we received an average of 200 responses for each place name. As regards the motivation of the public, it was most often altruism, patriotism, and curiosity that stimulated them; in the second phase, the element of gamification, embedded into the map application, also had a positive effect. The collected data can be used, for instance, in the activities of local authorities in the process of standardization of place names or as reference data for maps used within the integrated rescue system.

An Open Source GIS Application for Spatial Assessment of Health Care Quality Indicators

Prevention quality indicators (PQIs) constitute a set of measures that can be combined with hospital inpatient data to identify the quality of care for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC). Geographical information system (GIS) web mapping and applications contribute to a better representation of PQI spatial distribution. Unlike many countries in the world, in Portugal, this type of application remains underdeveloped. The main objective of this work was to facilitate the assessment of geographical patterns and trends of health data in Portugal. Therefore, two innovative open source applications were developed. Leaflet Javascript Library, PostGIS, and GeoServer were used to create a web map application prototype. Python language was used to develop the GIS application. The geospatial assessment of geographical patterns of health data in Portugal can be obtained through a GIS application and a web map application. Both tools proposed allowed for an easy and intuitive assessment of geographical patterns and time trends of PQI values in Portugal, alongside other relevant health data, i.e., the location of health care facilities, which, in turn, showed some association between the location of facilities and quality of health care. However, in the future, more research is still required to map other relevant data, for more in-depth analyses.

IdroGEO: A Collaborative Web Mapping Application Based on REST API Services and Open Data on Landslides and Floods in Italy

The new national IdroGEO web platform allows the navigation, social sharing and download of data, maps, reports of the Italian Landslide Inventory, national hazard maps, and risk indicators. It is a tool for communication and dissemination of information to support decisions in risk mitigation policies, land use planning, preliminary design of infrastructures, prioritization of mitigation measures, management of civil protection emergencies, and environmental impact assessment. The challenges that have been faced during the design and development of the platform concern usability, access on multiple devices (smartphones, tablets, desktops), interoperability, transparency, reuse of information and software in the public sector, and improvement of the updating of the Italian Landslide Inventory. The methodologies and solutions adopted to address them include Progressive Web Application (PWA), Application Programming Interface (API), open standards, open libraries, and software. A landslide inventory management system has been developed via REST API for data entry and approval workflow in order to maintain the inventory in a distributed and collaborative manner. As a result, IdroGEO provides a public service for citizens, public administration, and professionals, using the “mobile first” approach and with scalable and reliable architecture. IdroGEO represents a solid infrastructure for the interoperability of data that serves as the foundation for creating a first knowledge-graph on landslides and the community who manages them.

A participatory trail web map based on open source technologies

ABSTRACT Interactive maps can be an important marketing tool for disseminating information about long distance walking trails and a way to value add to the recreation experience. Providing participatory functionality to maps by allowing users to share new information or refine existing information can greatly enhance user interest and improve the product. This research uses open source front and back end technologies to develop a single page, database driven participatory web map application for the Walk the Yorke Trail in South Australia. The development is based on and assessed through a user-centred design approach. The prototype participatory web map is assessed by cartographic experts, trail managers, and trail users. These evaluations indicate the validity of the design directions taken but highlight the need for information quality and quantity when encouraging participation from knowledgeable trail users, and the need for tools to ensure the continuing quality of further submitted information.

Citizen science project on Alpine ibex, Capra ibex, in the Orobie Alps

Author(s): Pellicioli, Luca; Cimberio, Patrizia | Abstract: The Alpine ibex is one of the finest examples of how human’s attitude towards nature is changing by becoming aware of biodiversity conservation. On the 30th anniversary of the first Alpine ibex reintroduction in the Orobie Alps, a three year long Citizen Science Project started in June 2017 (‘Stambecco Orobie e Lombardia’). Nowadays, a complementary tool that can be used in data collection is citizen science; its use among scientific community is increasing and it is considered a new opportunity for the future of science. A three-year project (from 2017 to 2019) took place in the Orobie Alps (Bergamo, Italy), with the collection of 2,530 photographs of Alpine ibex (Capra ibex ibex). A total of 735 citizen scientists took part in the project by gathering data and collecting pictures (225 in 2017, 248 in 2018 and 262 in 2019). Photographs, complete with technical descriptions, were posted on the project’s Facebook page and the Instagram page and each one was georeferenced on the ArcGis platform and a web mapping application. The georeferenced images helped comparing the expansion zones of Lombard Alpine ibex colonies to the ones identified in a preliminary study. The images also turned out to be a useful tool in monitoring population health. These methods may help to avoid data dispersion and may raise public awareness of Alpine ibex conservation policies.n

Creation of a Meta-Model for the Generation of a Webmapping Application

Our research focuses on creating a meta-model for generating a web mapping application. It was difficult for non-geomatics developers to implement a webmapping application. Indeed, this type of application uses geospatial data that require geomatics skills. For this reason, in order to help non-geomatics developers to set up a webmapping application, we have designed a meta-model that automatically generates a webmapping application using model-driven engineering. The created meta-model is used by non-geomatics developers to explicitly write the concrete syntax specific to the webmapping application using the xtext tool. This concrete syntax is automatically converted into source code using the xtend tool without the intervention of the non-geomatics developers.

Use of geographic information systems web mapping application to support active case search to guide public health and social measures in the context of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe: a preliminary report to guide replication of methods in similar resource settings.

Introductionthe new coronavirus (COVID-19) that emerged from Wuhan, Hubei Province of China in December 2019, causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has fast spread across the entire globe, with most countries struggling to slow and reduce the spread of the virus through rapid screening, testing, isolation, case management, contact tracing, implementing social distancing and lockdowns. This has been shown to be a major factor in countries that have been successful in containing COVID-19 transmission. Early detection of cases is important, and the use of geospatial technology can support to detect and easily identify potential hotspots that will require timely response. The use of spatial analysis with geographic information systems (GIS) had proved to be effective in providing timely and effective solutions in supporting epidemic response and pandemics over the years. It has developed and evolved rapidly with a complete technological tool for representing data, model construction, visualization and platform construction among others.Methodswe conducted a geospatial analysis to develop a web mapping application using ArcMap and ArcGIS online to guide and support active case search of potential COVID-19 cases, within 500m radius of COVID-19 confirmed cases to improve detection and testing of suspected cases.Resultsthe web mapping application tool guides the active case search teams in the field, with clear boundaries on the houses to be visited within 500-meter radius of confirmed positive cases, to conduct active case search of all cases of severe acute respiratory illnesses (SARI), acute respiratory illnesses (ARI), pneumonia etc, to detect and test for COVID-19 towards containing the pandemic.Conclusionthe use of GIS and spatial statistical tools have become an important and valuable tool in decision-making and, more importantly, guiding health care professional and other stakeholders in the response being carried out in a more coherent and easy manner. It has proven to be effective in supporting the active case search process to rapidly detect, test and isolate cases during the process, towards containing the COVID-19 pandemic.

INSPIRE standards as a framework for artificial intelligence applications: a landslide example

Abstract. This study presents a landslide susceptibility map using an artificial intelligence (AI) approach based on standards set by the INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community) framework. INSPIRE is a European Union spatial data infrastructure (SDI) initiative to standardize spatial data across borders to ensure interoperability for management of cross-border infrastructure and environmental issues. However, despite the theoretical effectiveness of the SDI, few real-world applications make use of INSPIRE standards. In this study, we show how INSPIRE standards enhance the interoperability of geospatial data and enable deeper knowledge development for their interpretation and explainability in AI applications. We designed an ontology of landslides, embedded with INSPIRE vocabularies, and then aligned geology, stream network, and land cover datasets covering the Veneto region of Italy to the standards. INSPIRE was formally extended to include an extensive landslide type code list, a landslide size code list, and the concept of landslide susceptibility to describe map application inputs and outputs. Using the terms in the ontology, we defined conceptual scientific models of areas likely to generate different types of landslides as well as map polygons representing the land surface. Both landslide models and map polygons were encoded as semantic networks and, by qualitative probabilistic comparison between the two, a similarity score was assigned. The score was then used as a proxy for landslide susceptibility and displayed in a web map application. The use of INSPIRE-standardized vocabularies in ontologies that express scientific models promotes the adoption of the standards across the European Union and globally. Further, this application facilitates the explanation of the generated results. We conclude that public and private organizations, within and outside the European Union, can enhance the value of their data by making them INSPIRE-compliant for use in AI applications.

Activating student engagement with concept mapping: A Web GIS case study

ABSTRACT With the increasing availability of web mapping application programming interfaces, those tasked with the job of developing and designing web-based geographic information systems (Web GIS) are faced with the question of how to (re)develop new and existing capabilities. While Web GIS often reproduces features currently available within desktop GIS, usage requirements often demand it be both easier to use and more specific in its purpose. As GIS has become more integrated with evolving web technologies, many semantic ways in which GIS functions depend on specific user interactions (UX) where underlying functions are abstracted to user interfaces (UI). Our study explores the utilization of concept maps to facilitate learning about Web GIS within the context of an online graduate GIS course. Specifically, our project involves a case study that illustrates the following: 1) a design and implementation of having students create concept maps as part of the learning process around building custom Web GIS; 2) a discussion of how an instructor can approach the assessment of student-built concept maps; 3) an illustration of how student-build concept maps can encourage student interaction specific to course content.