Tag: A2Z2022

  • “D” bole to – Digitization – First step towards modern maps

    “D” bole to – Digitization – First step towards modern maps

    Today, we all rely on gadgets and apps to help us through our day-to-day activities. From keeping our appointments to ordering food, we use hundreds of mobile applications and computer softwares. Widespread internet connectivity on the go has revolutionized the way we live in the twenty-first century. This digital revolution came into cartography (science and art of mapmaking) too and mapmaking saw a change by leaps and bounds. This transformation started with the basic activity of digitization.

    What does digitization mean?

    New digital platforms and softwares were designed to map maps. But to build this virtual world of online maps, the real world needed to be converted into digital form from old paper forms. This process of bringing old maps into the digital environment is called digitization. Digitization helped mapmakers to bring all the old efforts of their forefathers into the new environment. It helped to keep the body of knowledge relevant even in this new digital era.

    How to digitize?

    There are two types of digitization of the old paper world. One is to just scan it and store it online to put on the display. Other one needs more work and concentration. Do you remember using tracing papers to trace your favourite artwork or pattern to replicate it? This type of digitization is nothing but the digital tracing. Here, user imports the scanned map / image in a map making software and then traces the various elements meticulously to capture all the details. 

    When I was studying geoinformatics during my Masters degree, one lab course was about digitization. One of the very tedious task of digitizing a toposheet. It was taxing on the eyes, especially when we were digitizing contours (lines which join the same elevation of the ground) on toposheets. Pune region is especially hilly and undulating putting those contours very close to each other and we often used to start digitizing one contour and unknowingly jump to adjacent contours in between. But all in all, it was a fun exercise, if your file doesn’t corrupt during the process.

    It’s fun, when you become “pro”

    After my masters, I got a chance to see cities all over the world. I saw Melbourne and Sydney in Australia,Paris, London and Lisbon in Europe, New York and Los Angeles in the USA. No no, I didn’t travel to all these cities. I was working in a company where our team digitized building footprints from various aerial photographs of these cities. Our group of 5-6 guys working in the second shift was famous for getting any complex image processed in record times. We used to get the images to process where others would have failed. I enjoyed this task for some time and left that company for better and challenging opportunities.

    Census 2011 map of Mawal Taluka, Pune
    Digitized Mawal taluka boundaries by CDSA, Pune

    However, digitization remains one of the basic tasks of any mapmaking project which has some connection with the historical data. (Which happens almost every time). In the online interactive map shown above I have digitized some of the institution buildings in Pune and around them have created a buffer of silence zone as per the noise pollution control rules. While the static map below shows the village locations, boundaries of Mawal Taluka of Pune District digitized from census 2011 maps.

    So, hope you enjoy the hard work done by some of us in the form of navigation systems of your cars or phones. (Bas google navigation ki galti ki galiya hame mat dijiye…)

    I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. You can read my other posts about maps and map-reading here.

  • Cadastral maps: backbone of land revenue system

    Cadastral maps: backbone of land revenue system

    Today, let’s build the first thing on our canvas of base-map. I think most of you might have seen something or the other form of this painting I am about to paint for you today. If you happened to be curious about the house you live in, you would have seen the architectural drawings of that particular building. In some corner of that paper inked with blue lines and grainy tint of old ammonia prints, you must have seen a miniature drawing. That’s the cadastral map. Cadastral map is the backbone of any land revenue system in the world. But let first understand what is the cadastre or cadaster in the first place.

    Cadastre! What is the big fuss about it?

    Land has been the prized possession of any rural since ancient times. It was the way to measure the greatness of the kind or the kingdom. However, there was one more important angle to getting more and more land under one’s control. It was also the source that filled the coffers of the kingdom. Taxes levied on people were always in connection with their landholdings. Earlier, it used to be in the form of the produce they grow on that land. Later it took the form of the currency. To calculate the amount to be taxed, one must know how much land that person owns. This led to the generation of land records.

    English word “Cadastre” has its roots in Greek language. It came in English via French language. Greek word katástikhon means a list or a register.

    Back in the glorious days of the Roman Empire, they created a record of state owned lands. Cadastral maps of Campania were done in 77 AD. William the conqueror has created a record book of the land which he won and annexed to his kingdom. In France, Napoleon has created the land record systems. In the Middle East, During the 18th century, land records used to get written on terracotta plates. One such plate is on display in the Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.

    In Indian context, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj created his own land records system called Rayatwari and a new tax system where his people could pay the taxes in currency or produce both. In Mughal Courts, during the decline of their power, land records and revenue collection was given to the East India Company and a new era of Indian Land Records began which continues even today.

    A cadastre text written on a terracotta tablet. From the 18th century BC in Sippar, Iraq, and held by the Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul. Photo by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, Copyright CC BY-SA 4.0

    Cadastral Maps: important and fascinating document

    Earlier days, the cadastral records were maintained in words describing boundaries of the property. Later, these details have been combined with a map. And thus, the cadastral maps started. Typically, a cadastral map shows the layout of various plots of the land labelled with survey numbers or plot numbers and the total area of plots. Some times, these maps also contain other features like land use, reservations and zoning. But that story is for some other time.

    Now land record departments across the globe are digitizing the cadastral maps and integrate them into Geographic Information System (GIS) or Land Management System (LMS). About these new events, we will talk in our next chapter. These new systems store all the information about the plot in particular cadastre, like owner details, area, use, builtup area if any, tax status, etc. Every cadastral parcel get these attributes attached to it. Users of these systems can access this information easily with simple searches or mouse clicks on digital cadastral maps.

    Sample Cadastral Map. Image Copyright Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping, Austrelia

    In rural areas of Maharashtra, tehsildar or talathi holds these maps and records while in urban centres of the country, City Survey Departments house cadastral maps. In other parts of India similar authorities have the responsibility of preparing, amending and publishing the cadastral maps. So, tell me in the comment section if you have seen these maps somewhere? And if you haven’t seen the cadastral map of the plot of your house, go and get your copy from these offices. 

    I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. You can read my other posts about maps and map-reading here.

  • Base-map: canvas for a map-maker

    Base-map: canvas for a map-maker

    Do you remember your school days, when your geography teacher would ask you to get some blank outlines of either a map of India or the state about which you are studying that year? It used to be just a blank canvas. Simple plain white paper with outline printed mostly in blue colour. Then the teacher would ask you to mark either some tourist spots, or mineral mines or something of that sort on that map. To tell you the truth, I used to dread those times. Every dot I used to put on that blank paper, my anxiety would pile up. Fear of making the wrong map is real. Sometimes even today, it creeps back into my mind. But, about that, some other time. Let’s know more about this canvas of us map-makers; base-map.

    Base-map: a chance to start a fresh

    However, my interest in maps increased as time passed and I decided to be a map-maker. When I was studying map-making, that dreadful thing in my school days got introduced to me as a “base-map” on which a map-maker builds his or her version of the world. It always acts as a blank canvas to start a new story. Sometimes, it may be about the way to travel from one place to the other. While some stories may tell you about what particular region eats as their staple food. You can tell any story with this blank canvas.

    India Administrative Outline: Copyright – Maps of India
    Maharashtra District Outline: Copyright – d-maps

    Nowadays, with the advancement of technology, even maps have gone digital. These days, we make maps on online platforms. It gives us a chance to play with our canvas. Why have only plain white canvas to work with? You can add colour, texture and funk to your story right from the base maps. Let me show some funky designs I made to use as a base map. I am still the story to tell on that design.

    Don’t let the labels, roads and colours on this map fool you. This is just the base-map. It doesn’t tell any story as it is. It just shows a core part of Pune City in India. But if I start adding data on a particular theme or subject on this, say old temples in the city, or schools or hospitals, then it will be a meaningful map. When you open a map on your phone, it shows a map with a bunch of landmarks on it. Unless you search something in particular, or start the navigation function, technically it’s just a base-map. Depending on the purpose of the map, a base-map can be anything from a blank outline to a funky, colourful map with some data-points on it.

    Would you like to tell a story on this canvas? Let me know in the comment section below.

    I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. You can read my other posts about maps and map-reading here.

  • Let’s start with A of Map-reader’s ABC

    Let’s start with A of Map-reader’s ABC

    Since the widespread use of smartphones, one thing which has improved is commuting between new places. Exploring unknown areas, visiting new cities and towns around the globe is now easy. Google maps and apple maps are one of the most used apps in our lives. “Please share your current location and I will reach you.” “Sir, location sahi hai na?” “Mam, address nahi mil raha, please pin bhejo na.” These dialogues are now very common in our day-to-day life. But, these are not the only maps and using other maps can also be fun. Today, I am starting to write a series about maps and how to read them.

    Map-reading? Wo kya hota hai?

    I have been working as a map-maker since 2012. Making these different maps is fun work. I get a chance to know a lot of things which otherwise I would not. But one thing I have observed is that the general public is missing the fun of using maps. When we start our course in development planning at CDSA, Pune, we organize a fun Treasure Hunts in some parts of the city. I have witnessed students getting confused if we hand them over some printed maps and ask them to come to a particular location. Opening a paper map from books or atlas used to be a fun part of my childhood. However, now it seems people are more and more relying on gadgets.

    So, map-reading is a basic skill which helps you to use the piece of paper on which location information is printed and reach your destination or have an understanding about a particular issue.

    I would like to take this opportunity and introduce you all to the fun part of maps and map-reading. Hope by the end of this month, you all would love to get a map out and get on with your own adventure.

    Let’s start with A of Map-reader’s ABC

    Today, I will tell you the basics which make any diagram into a map. There are four key components without which, map is incomplete.

    • Orientation
    • Scale
    • Title
    • Legend / list of symbols

    Orientation:

    Orientation is the most important factor of any map which allows its user / reader to align him/herself with its surroundings. In the world of map-making, a norm has been set. Every map will have a North direction towards the top side of the paper or screen. However, this is a very recent standard which has been set during the glorious days of maritime trade and explorations. Seafarers felt the importance of magnetic north and started this practice. Before that, European map makers used to orient their maps to the East as direction towards the holy city of Jerusalem. The word itself is derived from “Oriens”, a Latin word for East.

    A map of New Netherlands and New England created by Dutch cartographer Willem Blaeu has a west orientation, 1635.

    Cartographers, guys who make maps, who went to the New world like Willem Blaeu, oriented their maps toward the west and Japanese map-makers during the 17th and 18th centuries didn’t even have standard orientation. Just imagine the headache it would give to its readers. For you to understand this, do one thing. Open google or apple maps in your friend’s phone and rotate the map using two fingers to some random angle and give it back. Then ask your friend to understand the lay of land! It would be fun to watch the expression on his or her face!

    So, keep in mind, in modern maps, North is at the top. Mostly!

    Scale

    Scale is the measure which allows the reader to get an idea about the distances between places on a map. Generally scales are mentioned at the bottom left corner of the map. You will find a graduated scale or a ratio of numbers. Scale depicts the distance on paper to the corresponding distance on the ground. For example, if the scale is 1:24,000, then 1 cm on the map will be 24,000 cm on the ground.

    Map made by CDSA, Pune

    Title

    Title of the map gives you an idea about the story that map is telling you. In the above map, title “Water availability at villages in Bhadwad Level 3 cluster” gives a clear idea about things shown in the map. Generally they are put in bold letters and at the top. However, some maps may show it in a much fancy way like Blaeu’s map of New Netherlands.

    Legend / List of Symbols

    Map is a colourful document full of various symbols and patterns. They have a specific meaning depicting various information points about that particular place. For ease of reader, these symbols, colors and patterns are explained in a form of a list. (Mostly on bottom right corner of the map, just like in the map above)

    Sometimes, a map is provided with additional information, notes and other details but comes as a bonus. For you to call a map, a map, these four things are must. So, with these four things in our mind, let’s start our wonderful journey of reading maps. Hope you will enjoy the time with me this month. Waiting for your response in the comments below.

    I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. You can read my other posts about maps and map-reading here.

  • What’s for BlogchatterA2Z? – Theme Reveal Post

    What’s for BlogchatterA2Z? – Theme Reveal Post

    April is that time of the year when your skill of consistent writing is put to the test. It’s time for the April A2Z campaign hosted by Blogchatter. 2022 is my fourth year after my successful stint in April 2021. Last year’s campaign was a boon for me. It gave me my first eBook Incredible India Bucket List, which is available on Blogchatter bookshelf for you all to read. This post is to tell you the theme I chose for the campaign of 2022.

    Marrying passion with profession for theme for 2022

    I have been working at the Centre for Development Studies and Activities, Pune for the past 7 and half years. We work in the development planning sector with sustainability as our core value. I work as a mapmaker in our institute. I enjoy every bit of my work as a map maker. We have prepared some interesting maps working with the urban data in the past 3-4 years of our Quantified Cities Movement. Through year’s theme, I am trying to create a “Pocketbook for Map-reader” during Blogchatter A2Z. Hope you will enjoy reading the maps by the end of April 2022 and who knows, start using some in your own work.

    Adi’s Journal A2Z theme

    Pocketbook of Map-reader

    I will take you all on a journey of map-reading. I will explain the basics of map reading, talk about various types of map we make. How the maps evolved over the time with some fun facts about map making. Rest assure, A2Z posts are going to be a fun read. I won’t bore you with technical details!

    I wish you all a great month of blogging ahead. Also, I am excited to read what you guys will be creating. Hope you will enjoy this series and shower your love on this too, just like the last year.

    Blogchatter A2Z Calendar

    I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z.