Dynamic Maps
Dynamic maps are interactive, allowing the user to reveal more information by zooming, clicking, and panning around. Such narratives are not designed to be printed out. Rather, they are hosted on the web, either by a local server or internet hosting platform. They can also be embedded in a website. This workshop will elaborate two kinds of dynamic maps you might find helpful to tell a spatial story: Web maps and Narrative maps.
On this page:
Web Maps
Web maps (or webmaps) are a means of visualizing and interacting with geographic data. Following the definition above, a web map is a type of digital map since it is derived from a computer. However, there are some important differences:
- Dynamic scales and content Web maps are not static images. Different scales display varying levels of detail. For instance, zooming in may reveal information that wasn’t apparent before. For this reason, web maps are not designed for print.
- Interactive Web maps are built to be interacted with by an end user, often in order for the user to explore a dataset and learn something. Take for example Climate Central’s Surging Seas Risk Zone Map. Or, listen to the radio anywhere in the world with radio.garden
- Display real-time data updates Web maps are useful for geovisualizing real-time data like weather. Watch the wind blow across the country.
- Often rely on web and mobile technology Web maps are ubiquitous - we see and use them all the time. For example, Google Maps. For small businesses, web maps are helpful for finding directions. For app builders, web maps might provide a method for routing to locations using a mobile device’s geolocation features. For researchers, they may help communicate important information in an area of study. For journalists, they may give spatial context to a story like where Amazon locates its warehouses and why.
The Assembling Resources section of this workshop will explain the various platforms in greater detail, including the advantages and disadvantages of each. For now, you’ll be introduced to some examples so you can get a feel for what might work for you. You can create the same kinds of reference and thematic maps introduced in the Static Map section with web mapping.
Reference Webmaps
The most basic reference webmap is simply a basemap, contained in a viewbox with controls and an attribution at the bottom.
Much like their static counterparts, reference webmaps can be as simple as a basemap with a drop-pin locator or a single data layer. Explore the interactive capabilities of each of the following examples.
Some popular reference webmaps out there:
Thematic Webmaps
Thematic maps visualize the results of some spatial analysis. With a bit of code, you can create thematic webmaps.
See below choropleth example as full-page map
See below cluster map example as full-page map
See below cluster map example as full-page map
See below proportional symbol map example as full-page map
Hover over the circles to learn the municipality population for Vancouver Island.
Narrative Maps
Narrative maps use multimedia to tell a story that moves (often linearly) through specified locations. Narrative maps bring the visiter on a dynamic spatial journey. Examples of stories that could be told with a narrative map include timelines, travels, and voyages. Below is a sampling of narrative maps made with different platforms. The Assembling Resources section will go further into advantages and disadvantages of each platform.
Monitering Canada’s deforestation This example is an educational narrative on deforestation. It was made using Knightlab StoryMap, a free and easy platform to use.
Ancient Rome in Chicago This example shows a story of Roman Architecture in Chicago by embedding multimedia at certain geographic locations. This narrative map was also made using Knightlab StoryMap, a free and easy platform to use.
Kamloops Urban Tree tour This example shows an ArcGIS Online powered webmap whose pop-ups are displayed in large-format on one side of the screen. However, you are not really taken on a ‘tour’ so much as invited to click the locations in numerical order. ArcGIS Online is a proprietary software requiring a somewhat expensive license.
City of Abbotsford This is an ArcGIS StoryMap visualizing information about the City of Abbotsford. It integrates text, multimedia, and dynamic maps.
Isolation Psychogeography This ArcGIS StoryMap was made by the workshop author in 2021 to document time spend in nature during pandemic lockdown. It includes multimedia as well as narrated journeys. ArcGIS StoryMaps require an ArcGIS Online license to use, which can be costly if you are not a UBC student.
Find the drift This is another example of a Knightlab StoryMap, made by the workshop author in 2 hours with no prior experience with the software. Knightlab is free, easy to use, and creates decent narratives with minimal expertise required.
Archeology of wine This example shows a split screen with text, an interactive web map, and a timeline below. It is made with TimeMapper, a free and easy to use software.