Cartogram Maps: Data Visualization with Exaggeration

What is Cartogram?

GIS regularly centers around drawing spatial features with exactness. Nonetheless, the cartogram does the opposite!

Cartogram types of maps misshape reality to pass on data. They resize and overstate any variable on an attribute value.

Pretty neat, don’t you think?

Previously, we crafted beautiful flow maps that show the movement of anything. This time, let’s design all the different styles of cartograms.

Pretty neat, don’t you think?

Previously, we crafted beautiful flow maps that show the movement of anything. This time, let’s design all the different styles of cartograms.

1 The Density-Equalizing Cartogram

Density-equalizing (bordering) cartograms are your traditional cartograms. In density equalizing cartograms, map highlights swell out a particular variable. Despite the fact that it twists each element, it stays associated during its creation.

For instance, this density equalizing out cartogram misrepresents the populace for the region. In QGIS, you can utilize the QGIS Cartogram Plugin for this style of the cartogram.

As you can see, it’s easy to get information at only a glance. Which states stand out in contrast to everything else in this populace map? Right away, you can see that a high extent of the populace lives in California and New York. While states like Montana and North Dakota dwarfed to bite-size proportions.

As articles shrivel and develop in thickness balancing cartograms, cartographers need to consider resizing polygons suitably while keeping up their actual geometry.

2 The Non-Contiguous Cartogram

Features in non-contiguous cartograms don’t need to remain connected. Items can uninhibitedly move from neighboring polygons and be resized fittingly. Due to this free development, shape stays incivility for non-adjoining cartograms. For instance, this map of the United States exaggerates the population.

Again, it contorts the geometry and highlights in the guide to pass on data about the populace. For instance, the province of California has developed altogether due to its large population.

The main difference between density-equalizing cartograms is that it moves each feature’s centroid to avoid overlaps.

Despite the fact that covers some of the time exist in non-bordering cartograms, they can be progressively hard to separate between resized polygons.

3 The Dorling Cartogram

The Dorling Cartogram (named after educator Danny Dorling) utilizes shapes like circles and square shapes to portray zone. These sorts of cartograms make it simple to perceive designs. In the model beneath, GeoDa software to create the Dorling cartogram.

As you can see, states are substituted with appropriately sized circles to represent clusters of the population in the United States. Without a doubt, it is highly effective at conveying information and patterns.

However, the downfall of Dorling Cartograms is that it doesn’t maintain the centroid and shape. This means that readers may have difficulty understanding features on the map. You may not have even known this was the United States if I didn’t tell you!

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GIS Mapping