At the Intersection of Geography & Data Science
By: David Bruce
Tags: GIS, Maps, Geography, Data Science, Python

Geography, That’s Like Maps and Stuff, Right?

If your experience learning geography growing up was anything like mine, then you too can name (almost) all 50 states and their corresponding capitals. Perhaps if you’re not American you are able to name the different provinces of your nation and their capitals, and probably some more. Let’s give ourselves a pat on the back for that! It probably won’t shock you then, when I tell you I decided to major in the field of “naming US capitals,” more broadly known as “Geography,” I was greeted with a lot of blank stares. From what I can tell, most Americans are surprised you can still major in Geography at a university level. And believe me, so was I! I didn’t think we needed any more maps, or US capitals for that matter.

In my last quarter at college, I was introduced to the world of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), what some might call modern cartography. With no desire to stick around and pay more tuition to learn GIS, I graduated having missed the opportunity for perhaps the only hard skills I could have obtained in my Geography degree. Five years later I am entering the broader field of data science and learning anew the wonders and the power of GIS combined with a new knowledge of Python. The thing is, in my opinion, maps will never be uninteresting (good maps, that is).

Modern Advancements with GIS

It is 2005, and “only 15 percent of the world [is] mapped to a geo-codable level of detail” (Lalitesh Katragadda, TEDIndia 2009). And that is not including oceans or seafloor mapping, which, if I need to remind you, make up 71 percent of the earth’s surface. So, only 15 percent of 29 percent of the earth’s surface had been accurately mapped to that point. Jump forward to today, 2020, Google claims to have mapped up to 98% of the inhabited earth. Google’s street view only started in 2007, so that is a lot of literal ground covered in a very short while. The advancements are astronomical, perhaps surpassing the rate of Moore’s Law.

“Impossible to map the world–we select and make graphics so that we can understand it” -Roger Tomlinson, note on an agenda from 1981

But what can you possibly do with all of this constantly accumulating geospatial data, structured and unstructured? What are we doing with all that data? The possibilities are dizzyingly endless, and of course, as with any powerful tool, ethics play an important role (this article touches on some of the darker origins and militaristic purposes for GIS) in who has access to it and how it is used. Machine learning and artificial intelligence engineers the world over have elevated mapping technology to new heights since GIS first arrived in the 1960s.

Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash

Not only do maps help us to navigate and get us from point A to B in the most efficient manner. But with the amount of data we have at our disposal today, maps are being implemented in some of the most cutting edge and innovative projects of our time. This has me simultaneously excited and nervous. Checkout this cool, interactive GIS timeline if you’re interested in learning more of the history and modern advancements.

What Am I Excited About?

Combatting Climate Change

Many of us are familiar with maps we see of rising sea levels around the world, and the coastal cities and island nations that will suffer because of the rapid melting of polar ice caps. Of course the best way to understand and fight climate change is to be able to see how our world is changing. We must be able to see what we’re up against.

In California, data scientists and engineers have been using satellite images detecting heat on the earth’s surface to provide the public with almost real time updated maps of wildfires as they spring up on the West Coast.

Public Health

Even as a geography major in college, I personally have never been more glued to maps than I have in the last 9 months of living through a global pandemic. Weekly I am looking at a world map to see how the world is doing. Almost daily I am looking at maps of New York City to see which areas of the city are newly designated hotspots. People rely on these kinds of maps, not just to get to work, but to live safely.

Startup Zzapp Malaria is attempting to use GIS technology to help eradicate malaria in Africa by crowdsourcing and by mapping water sources that need to be treated for mosquitos. This is an incredible technological solution to a major health problem on the continent.

Photo by Lina Loos on Unsplash

So Much More

As with any data visualization, it needs to tell a story, or people won’t connect. Lucky for us, maps are great story telling tools as they can help put us in context. Maps are special because they help put us in the relational context of one another and the world around us. And with modern data acquisition and GIS technology the limits for maps and what they can teach us are ever diminishing. Geospatial data technology has helped with the innovation of everything restaurant location (Yelp) and car services (Uber), to improving the aftermath management of an earthquake in a city like Istanbul.

What Am I Nervous About?

Surveillance…and that’s pretty much it

Surveillance is the big one. The way so many of us are going about our daily rituals with with GPS trackers in our pockets is definitely some dark humored dystopian joke. I’ll be the first to admit that even though I “only allow location tracking while using the app,” I’m also not the most vigilant about closing those apps…While it’s true that anyone with bad intentions can turn even the most benign of tools into a weapon of mass destruction, and let’s not forget about unintended consequences (say a superficial appearance rating app that will one day destroy the fabric of democracy). There is hope that whistleblowers like Tristan Harris and others within the conscience of Silicon Valley will continue to speak up for humanitarian values, as the law of the land inevitably fails to keep up with the pace of technological advancements.

Get Excited, and Be Vigilant

There is so much to be excited about with the progress in both geography and data science and the fusion of the two. I hope you’ve learned that geography is so much more than knowing where things are, and naming state capitals. Of course you already knew that, I just needed to remind myself that geography is still cool.