Intro to Webmapping: Part 1 - Online Platforms

This workshop provides a gentle introduction to web mapping using the browser-based platforms uMap and Google MyMaps. These platforms are free and quite straightforward to use. Join us to learn how to dynamically and interactively visualize geospatial data with maps that can be shared to others via a link.

Note: This workshop is part of the series Intro to Webmapping, which explores common tools and platforms for making web maps.  While Part 1 focuses on online platforms, Part 2 introduces web mapping with code. No prior experience necessary! Participants are encouraged to register for both sessions.

Below are examples of webmaps made with uMap and Google MyMaps.

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Before the Workshop

  1. Download and unzip the workshop data folder to a location on your physical computer, such as Desktop or Downloads. Once unzipped, inside you’ll see there are two subfolders, one for each part of this workshop. Today, we’ll be working out of the online-webmapping subfolder. In Part 2, we will work out of the leaflet-webmapping subfolder.

Download Data

Today’s webmaps will visualize data on Public Art and Heritage Conservation Districts from the City of Toronto’s open data portal. This data is licensed under the Open Government License - Toronto, meaning we can modify and adapt the data! The datasets have been reformatted to be legible to the various tools and platforms we will work with today.

  1. To make your life easier while viewing or editing code, it’s good to use a source code editor. This workshop will use Visual Studio Code.

  2. Create a uMap account. If you don’t already have a Google account, it is your choice to create one for the purposes of using MyMaps.

GIS + Mapping Resources at UBC:

This workshop was authored by Lily Demet and reviewed by Alex Alisauskas.

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