Neogeography

Noegeography Commentary
Neogeography literally means "new geography", which refers to geographic information and maps that are created by the average person with no expert knowledge of geography. The Google-My Maps that we all created in lab are examples of what can be classified as 'neogeography'. The main difference between neogeography and traditional geography is the accuracy and precision that goes into the traditional work. Neogeography on the other hand, typically lacks any formal or analytical basis.

Neogeography has changed the way we travel and make travel decisions. With hands-on tools and easy access with cell phone internet access, neogeography is at the palm of your hands when you need it. People are able to navigate more easily around cities and new places thanks to neogeography and easy to use navigation devices. Finding a place to eat nearby is also something that can be done with the click of a button. Neogeography has great potential and has already successfully exposed many "non-experts" to the world of maps, geography, and spatial awareness. Other than just being a tool to help with directions, neogeography allows for interactive maps that can be embedded with videos, pictures, and more. In this way, people from around the world can share their trips and stories and inspire others that they don't even know.

However, every good things has its faults. One of the pitfalls of neogeography is its ability to control a vacation or a trip. Let's say I was to go to DC and I stumbled on the interactive Google map below. Everything is already so neatly mapped out for me that I may as well follow along. However, this takes away from me creating my own path and finding things on my own rather than having everything right in front of me. Neogeography can definitely take away from that. While neogeography is a teaching tool because it allows people to be more spatially aware of their location, it can take away from the valuable learning tool of "learning from your mistakes". For example, when you used to get lost before GPS it would challenge you to test your sense of direction and find your way back, but with a GPS or another neogeography tool, the job is taken care of for you and you may lose out on that learning opportunity.

Below is an interactive Google My-Maps of a walking tour in DC. I took this route over summer, and while my legs definitely hurt after the long day of walking, it was all worth it. DC is beautiful and has a lot to offer, and hopefully a fraction of that can be shown in my map.


View Washington DC Walking Map in a larger map

Lab #2 - Topographic Maps

1. What is the name of the quadrangle?
Beverly Hills Quadrangle

2. What are the names of the adjacent quadrangles?
Van Nuys Quadrangle, Burbank Quadrangle, Hollywood Quadrangle, Topanga Quadrangle, Inglewood Quadrangle, Venice Quadrangle, Canoga Park Quadrangle

3. When was the quadrangle first created? 1966
4. What datum was used to create your map? North American Datum

5. What is the scale of the map? 1:24,000 (which means one inch on the map is 24,000 inches on the ground)
6. At the above scale, answer the following:
a) 5 centimeters on the map is equivalent to how many meters on the ground? 1200 meters b) 5 inches on the map is equivalent to how many miles on the ground? 1.89 miles c) One mile on the ground is equivalent to how many inches on the map? 2.64 inches d) Three kilometers on the ground is equivalent to how many centimeters on the map? 12.5 centimeters on the map

7. What is the contour interval on your map? 20 feet

8. What are the approximate geographic coordinates in both degrees/minutes/seconds and decimal degrees of:
a) the Public Affairs Building; (34° 4' 22", -118° 26' 24") and (34.073°, -118.440°).
b) the tip of Santa Monica pier; (34° 0' 25", -118° 29' 56") and (34.007°, -118.499°).
c) the Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir; (34° 7' 10", -118° 24' 37") and (34.119°, -118.410°).


9. What is the approximate elevation in both feet and meters of:
a) Greystone Mansion (in Greystone Park); 560 feet in elevation, 170.7 meters
b) Woodlawn Cemetery; 140 feet in elevation, 42.7 meters
c) Crestwood Hills Park; approximately 750 feet in elevation, 228.6 meters

10. What is the UTM zone of the map? Zone 11

11. What are the UTM coordinates for the lower left corner of your map?

³⁷63^{000 m}N and ³72^{000 m}E

12. How many square meters are contained within each cell (square) of the UTM gridlines?
1,000,000 square meters. (1000 meters *1000 meters)

13. Obtain elevation measurements, from west to east along the UTM northing 3771000, where the eastings of the UTM grid intersect the northing. Create an elevation profile using these measurements in Excel (hint: create a line chart). Figure out how to label the elevation values to the two measurements on campus. Insert your elevation profile as a graphic in your blog.

14. What is the magnetic declination of the map?
14.0 degrees East

15. In which direction does water flow in the intermittent stream between the 405 freeway and Stone Canyon Reservoir?
From North to South

16. Crop out (i.e., cut and paste) UCLA from the map and include it as a graphic on your blog.

Lab 1

Map #1

This is a map of the united states that we looked at in lecture. The orange dots show McDonald's hot spots. throughout the US. The brighter and bigger the dot indicates an increase in the amount of McDonald's in the area. I found it very interesting how you can really see how much more prevalent this fast food chain is in states like New York, Florida, and California, and how the mid-west states have a great decrease in the amount of McDonald restaurants in their area. This particular map came from a website called thedailygreen.com but can be found on many other websites as well.

Map #2


This is a map of the San Fernando Valley, which is located South of UCLA. I found this map on a random LA sports website called yallkiltit.wordpress.com. The reason this map was up is because the there was a story of how many baseball players from the Milwaukee Brewers come from the Valley. The reason I choose this map is because I grew up in the San Fernando Valley and it is nice to see it all laid out spatially in the map.

Map #3


I choose to post this map of the Middle East because of the question on the Sense of Direction Survey. The question asked which country does not border Pakistan. I wanted to check my answer so I looked up the map. I am very familiar with Israel and the countries that border it, but past Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt, my geographic knowledge of the Middle East isn't that great. I think it is interesting that my mom was taught world geography growing up, but all American students focus on (at least in my education) is learning the geography of the United States. I found this map on globalresearch.ca, which is a gloablization research website with articles and the like.