Fast flow-based algorithm for creating density-equalizing map projections

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Michael T GastnerPratyush More

Abstract

Cartograms are maps that rescale geographic regions (e.g., countries, districts) such that their areas are proportional to quantitative demographic data (e.g., population size, gross domestic product). Unlike conventional bar or pie charts, cartograms can represent correctly which regions share common borders, resulting in insightful visualizations that can be the basis for further spatial statistical analysis. Computer programs can assist data scientists in preparing cartograms, but developing an algorithm that can quickly transform every coordinate on the map (including points that are not exactly on a border) while generating recognizable images has remained a challenge. Methods that translate the cartographic deformations into physics-inspired equations of motion have become popular, but solving these equations with sufficient accuracy can still take several minutes on current hardware. Here we introduce a flow-based algorithm whose equations of motion are numerically easier to solve compared with previous methods. The equations allow straightforward parallelization so that the calculation takes only a few seconds even for complex and detailed input. Despite the speedup, the proposed algorithm still keeps the advantages of ...Continue Reading

References

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Citations

Sep 24, 2020·Journal of Neurophysiology·Giulia Corniani, Hannes P Saal
Nov 23, 2021·Philosophical Transactions. Series A, Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences·Peter Edsberg MøllgaardLaura Alessandretti

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Software Mentioned

Carto3F

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