Traditional maps provide a way to visualize a wide range of static data.
The animation you see here consists of just four frames taken from a far more extensive computer simulation. The project was unveiled on April 22 in Baltimore during the annual convention of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. This technique relies on modern mapping techniques, such as remote sensing and geographic information systems, to capture information from both historical and modern records. The database highlights the profound changes to the landscape over time. The researchers involved in the project have reconstructed urban growth patterns for specific years since 1792 by examining historical maps and census data gathered from the Library of Congress, the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the USGS and the Maryland Historical Society.