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UID:pretalx-foss4g-2023-academic-track-ESSRSN@talks.osgeo.org
DTSTART;TZID=CET:20230630T110000
DTEND;TZID=CET:20230630T113000
DESCRIPTION:Through a (re)mapping and spatial modeling of a city’s past\,
  we can build data-rich exploratory platforms to examine urban histories a
 nd engage both scholars and the public. Geospatial technologies can be app
 lied to extract data from archives and other data sources to build histori
 cal data models\, geodatabases\, and geocoders that subsequently enable th
 e development of web-based dynamic map interfaces connected to rich digita
 l content. This paper outlines a project within a larger consortium of ins
 titutions and researchers that focuses on methods in open data and open-so
 urce development of the historical mapping of cities. \n\nOpenWorld Atlant
 a (OWA) is an example of the possibilities of such a web map platform. OWA
  seeks to provide public access to historical information about Atlanta\, 
 Georgia (United States) during the late 19th century and early 20th centur
 y through engaging 3D and dynamic interfaces. Drawing upon historical maps
 \, city directories\, archival collections\, newspapers\, and census data\
 , projects like OWA allow researchers to analyze spatially grounded questi
 ons. \n\nRecent effort on this project focuses on the 1920s\, a dynamic pe
 riod in the city’s history that saw the rapid expansion of the urban foo
 tprint driven by an increase in population and public infrastructure. Betw
 een 1870 and 1940\, the city was shaped by its primary modes of transporta
 tion\, heavy rail\, and the electric streetcar. By the 1940s\, the commute
 r automobile began transforming Atlanta into the sprawling landscape it is
  today. These developments happened under racist “Jim Crow” laws\, and
  as such\, the project thus allows new avenues into investigating the long
  and contentious histories of racial discrimination and the Civil Rights M
 ovement. \n\nThis paper addresses the development of OWA which was built o
 n open-source methods and philosophy. The design of its interface and feat
 ures\, including the call of spatial data and digital objects from server 
 resources\, the function of metadata\, the evaluation of the project in us
 ability studies\, and the building of consortia around these methods are e
 xplored. Further\, the interdisciplinary approach of its research and deve
 lopment team and the engagement of students in the process from coding\, b
 uilding\, and evaluation. With OWA being built using Leaflet and other for
 ms of coding it is designed to pull spatial data and map overlays organize
 d and stored on Emory’s instance of Geoserver developed by the Open Geos
 patial Consortium (OGC).  \n\nFurthermore\, another vital component is the
  structure of the information\, data\, and digital objects that are stored
  on an instance of Omeka which is a free\, open-source content management 
 system (CMS) designed for the management and dissemination of digital coll
 ections and exhibitions. It is primarily used by archives\, museums\, libr
 aries\, and other cultural heritage institutions to create and manage thei
 r online collections and exhibitions. Omeka allows student researchers and
  assistants to prepare and upload non-spatial content that will be populat
 ed as features into the platform. With Omeka\, users can create and manage
  items such as images\, documents\, and audio and video files\, as well as
  add metadata to describe these items and make them searchable. \n\nMetada
 ta plays an especially significant role in the function of the OWA platfor
 m. Geospatial features are then linked to records and the corresponding pi
 eces of information\, data\, and digital objects\, including images and 3D
  models. A modified Dublin Core schema was utilized in Omeka with categori
 es designed to better fit the geospatial and historical data collected. As
  an example\, the fields for the buildings of a data layer include archite
 cts\, date built/demolished\, racial classification of residents or busine
 sses\, head of households (from census data and city directories)\, etc. T
 o populate these fields\, research teams comprised of graduate and undergr
 aduate students. Engaging with faculty and staff\, the students collect hi
 storical information from newspapers\, archives\, and online resources and
  enter the information into the database.  \n\nThe spatial data in OWA com
 prises many vector layers including administrative boundaries\, roads\, ra
 il lines\, buildings\, and more. The design includes multiple avenues for 
 exploration based on specific years and special themes. A key feature is t
 he buildings layer\, which was populated with historical information inclu
 ding people\, race\, entity name\, addresses\, and more from the building 
 of historical geocoders. The 1928 historical geocoder is complete and was 
 used to populate the 1928 map layer\, 1878 is currently in production and 
 with the years surrounding the 1928 geocoder we are using machine learning
  to produce geocoders for 1927\, 1929\, and 1930. \n\nAnother important as
 pect is the recognition of the necessity of usability and user experience 
 studies. Researchers at Yonsei and Emory Universities have collaborated to
  evaluate the ease of use and overall user experience of the platform. The
  usability study's goal is to find areas of improvement in the user interf
 ace and user flow and to gather feedback on the product's design and funct
 ionality. A primary goal is to serve as an example of and future framework
  for usability studies centered on diverse use groups (insider vs. outside
 r\, academic/public\, etc.). Test participants were grouped by level of fa
 miliarity with Atlanta to capture the diversity of users of the platform. 
 This investigation focused on analyzing and evaluating user experience to 
 explore data and content\, conduct analyses\, and contribute via feedback 
 or to the resource directly. Therefore\, our key questions in these groups
  sought to address how we can better design interactive web maps of city h
 istories to accommodate diverse user groups. \n\nThe authors of this paper
  include collaborators from Emory University\, Yonsei University\, Stanfor
 d University\, and The University of Arkansas. Further\, other collaborato
 rs include The University of São Paulo (USP)\, a public research universi
 ty located in São Paulo\, Brazil and Kaziranga University\, a private uni
 versity located in the state of Assam\, India both of which are engaged in
  similar or related projects. The collaborators of these projects seek to 
 share ideas and methods surrounding the historical mapping of cities.
DTSTAMP:20260423T010321Z
LOCATION:UBT E / N209 - Floor 3
SUMMARY:Methods and Evaluation in the Historical Mapping of Cities - Michae
 l Page
URL:https://talks.osgeo.org/foss4g-2023-academic-track/talk/ESSRSN/
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