Week 3 - neogeography

View Biking tour around UCLA in a larger map
This map is for those interested in spending an entire day in the Southern California sun, seeing the west side of Los Angeles by bike and stopping at interesting (and some delicious) spots along the way! Start/end point located at UCLA.
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Neogeography expands the realm of communication in that anyone with access to the internet can now communicate not only what they are doing and when they are doing it, but also where they are doing it. Though participation in neogeography presents the opportunity for people to explore areas of the world they might normally not know about or have an interest in, there are both great potentials and negative consequences that surround this new aspect of geography.

By opening the door to show others places of interest around the world, tourism has also taken on a new look as well, with travel agencies taken the backseat and blogs, google maps and user-driven travel websites take the driver seat. Travelers may now read about hotels, restaurants and points of interest while pairing them with posted photos and videos before making any decisions in their travel plans. User reviews allow for the reader to take into consideration the perspective of many people, rather than taking the travel agent's word for it. It also cuts costs for the traveler by using the free internet as the middle man. Additionally, areas that have previously been more "off the map" have surfaced, allowing for more destinations to diverge from the standard options of Disneyland and Orlando Studios by drawing attention to other places such as biodiversity hotspots in Hawaii or home-stays in Colorado.

The connection of people to location and now to the open internet also provides for more significant purposes, such as emergency relief. Civilians with access to the internet may utilize the internet and maps to identify locations that need immediate assistance, for example a building that has collapsed with people trapped underneath or an area that is flooded.

The consequence of neogeography and this expanded realm of accessing information and posting information is concerning honesty and trust. The internet allows people to be connected, however, there is a lack of accountability involved with services such as google my maps or websites. The distance between people sharing information can be great and it is likely that internet users do not know the people who are the source of information that they are relying on. Though it is hoped that no one would post a map showing the need for assistance in a neighborhood where a building has caught fire without a fire actually happening, the fact is that it is entirely possible for someone to do this. Responsibility is required in relaying information for the rest of the world to see, so neogeography presents a risk in that sense, as not all people share the same values when it comes to responsibility and respect. As neogeography emerges, it is important for all those involved to make sure to consider the source and have a level of skepticism that motivates them to look further into what they are searching to verify the information presented (for example, wikipedia). With all new technology and advancements comes benefits and repercussions, it is just important for us to be cognizant of these potentials and work to limit the negatives and enhance the positives.
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View Food-Place Log in a larger map

This is another map I wanted to create after learning how to use google my maps. It shows origins of some of the foods I ate throughout one day. There were barriers in finding out where several items were produced, so the map is not inclusive of every item I ate nor is it very specific. Just skimming the surface on my interest of food systems/food production...

Week 2 - USGS Topographic Maps

1. Beverly Hills Quadrangle

2. Adjoining quadrangles include: Canoga Park, Van Nuys, Burbank, Topanga, Hollywood, Venice, and Inglewood (#6 was not included).

3. The quadrangle was first created in 1966.

4. The datum used to create this map included: North American Datum of 1927, National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929, and North American Datum of 1983.

5. The scale of the map is 1: 24,000.

6. a) 1:24,000 --> 5 cm*24,000 = 120,000 cm/100 = 1200 m
    b) 1:24,000 --> 5 in*24,000 = 120,000 in/63,360 = 1.89 mi
    c) 1:24,000 --> (1 mi = 63,360 in) 63,360 in = 24,000x --> 2.64 in
    d) 1:24,000 --> (1 km = 100,000 cm) 300,000 cm = 24,000x --> 12.5 cm

7. The contour interval is 20 feet on the map.

8. [Decimal Degrees: DD= D + m/60 + s/3600 ]
    a) Public Affairs Building: 34° 04' 30" N, 118° 26' 12" W; +34.0750, -118.4367
    b) Santa Monica Pier: 34° 00' 25" N, 118° 30' 02" W; +34.0069, -118.5006
    c) Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir: 34° 07' 10" N, 118° 24' 35" W; +34.1194, -118.4097

9. a) Greystone Mansion elevation: 560 ft (170.688 m)
    b) Woodlawn Cemetary elevation: 140 ft (42.672 m)
    c) Crestwood Hills Park elevation: 700 ft (213.360 m)

10. The UTM zone for this map is zone 11.

11. 3762950 m North and 361500 m East

12. Each northing line is separated by 1,000 m as is each easting line.  Therefore, the square meters within each cell of the UTM gridlines is 1,000m*1,000m = 1,000,000 meters squared

13.
 

14. The magnetic declination is 14°.

15. The river flows from north to south (with slight bends to the west then east)

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