Stonehouse - Ideas on mapping

Today was the first workshop session on this Transforming Stonehouse module.  The first task for this project is to create individual maps of certain elements of the area, without visiting it, so that we can compare our own presumptions with what actually exists.  In order to create some mapping for the area I intend to investigate different drawings that have been done by others to create similar effects.  Below are some of the things that I have found:

This is an image of different peoples perception of where downtown is in Santa Barbara.  This is an interesting map of the area and applies to this project as it strays away from the factual boundaries of the area, and instead focuses on personal opinion.  To see a larger version of any of the images in this post just click on the picture.

(http://www.girardin.org/fabien/presentations/girardin_momo_bcn_lbs.pdf)

Another way of mapping a city is through looking at populated areas.  A Blackberry and iPhone application, CitySense does just that.  This uses GPS data to show the busiest places in a particular area and represents this using heat spot imagery, demonstrating the existence of a large number of people as shown in the image on the right. (http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/22286/?a=f) This allows users to find out the most popular places to go in their area.  Although this software continues to use an average road map of an area, it is also mapping population on top of this, a mapping system that could be used in this project.

The usage of space in Stonehouse is important in undertanding all the factors that make up the character of Stonehouse today.  The way in which spaces are used can explain whether the area is rich, poor, greenbelt, brownfield, or redevelopment sites.  Mapping this could therefore be beneficial in understanding the Stonehouse area and choosing a specific area to focus on.  By mapping these things the tradtional road map imagery is taken away and the focus falls on more dynamic elements.  This is demonstrated in the image on the left (http://nexthotmarket.com/library/mapping.jpg). In this map of a location the focus is on the usage of the area, and the roads, although included are less obvious to the reader.  This therefore creates a completely different perspective of the area.

There are many other ways of mapping a city and many other elements that can be mapped.  http://www.intelligentagent.com/archive/Vol6_No2_interactive_city_sant.htm shows a number of different and interesting ways of mapping the environment, which both follow conventional and non-conventiona lines, the main aim being to step away from the necessity of using a traditional grid/road map, and discover other more specific and dynamic ways of mapping the area.