This week It focused on using smart mapping and how to make your web maps more interactive and useful. I learned how you can use different styles and settings to better show your data, like changing symbols based on a number field, using color ramps, and adjusting pop-ups so they show only what you need.
One thing I liked about this chapter was how easy it made the maps look once you knew what tools to use. It showed me how much better a map looks when you adjust the symbology and make it more visual for the user. I also liked learning how to make pop-ups cleaner and more helpful so people only see the important info.
One thing I found tricky was deciding which type of symbol or color ramp to use. Sometimes it looked cluttered if I picked the wrong one. I also had to play around with the labels to make sure they didn’t overlap.
For my application, I used the Delaware County data from Geog 291 to create a smart map that shows where public parks are and how many houses are nearby each park. I made the parks stand out by symbolizing them based on the number of homes within a half-mile. I used different shades of green; darker green meant more nearby homes. I also changed the pop-ups so they only showed the park name and number of houses close by. This map could help city planners see which parks are busy and where new ones might be needed.