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Generalization and Symbolization

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Encyclopedia of GIS

Definition

Map generalization is a process concerned with the application of a set of algorithms to geographic data (represented in vector form) in order to control the optimal representation of geographic phenomenon at a range of different scales or levels of detail. In that sense, generalization seeks to mirror the process of map design previously undertaken by the human cartographer. In the context of geographical information systems (GIS), this process is modeled as two sets of operations: the first is a set of database operations (model generalization) and the second is a set of visualization operations (cartographic generalization). Model generalization is concerned with simplifying the representational form in order to achieve efficiencies in data storage, selecting classes of objects according to some specified scale and map theme, and aggregating groups of objects in accordance with scale constraints. Cartographic generalization (a compliment to model...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography, School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    William A. Mackaness & Omair Chaudhry

Authors
  1. William A. Mackaness
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  2. Omair Chaudhry
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Shashi Shekhar (McKnight Distinguished University Professor) (McKnight Distinguished University Professor)

  2. Management Science and Information Systems Department, Rutgers Business School Newark and New Brunswick Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA

    Hui Xiong (Assistant Professor) (Assistant Professor)

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© 2008 Springer-Verlag

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Mackaness, W., Chaudhry, O. (2008). Generalization and Symbolization. In: Shekhar, S., Xiong, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of GIS. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-35973-1_449

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