Lab 3 Neogeography

View Important Archaeological Sites In Southern California in a larger map

Neogeography is a revolutionary new concept within geography built upon the foundation of the social web. Through interaction and collaboration, neogeography makes geographic information easier than ever to share. Take for example the map above, in which the locations of several archaeological sites are noted. Such information isn't widely available to begin with, but through the neogeography tools offered by Google it is all there in one place complete with a driving route. Given the versatility of tools like this, it's possible that neogeography could be useful in helping to gather support for strengthening the laws protecting these sites and in further promoting civic activity in the public at large. Best of all, these maps are easy to create and anyone can make them.

Neogeography is not without its problems however. First and foremost is the issue with reliability. Anyone can go out and create a neogeography map, but there's no guarantee that the information presented within will be accurate. Also, these tools appear to be less precise than professional GIS solutions. In the shapes labeled "CA-ORA-83" and "CA-ORA-85" I had to try and eyeball the shape of the site off of another map. If I had been able to look at the topography I probably could have made these shapes more precise. I imagine that with a professional GIS solution I will be able to create a more accurate representation of these important sites.

A final thought that I had on neogeography occurred to me as I was setting up the map itself. Google offers the ability to either share these maps publicly or keep them private. I decided to keep this map private because of the sensitive nature of the Newland site in Huntington Beach. It is located in a park where children can often be seen riding bikes or playing in the grass. The thought of teenagers from a local high school finding out about the site and deciding to go and disturb what remains in the ground made me realize that while neogeography has the potential to make information easier to share, the information that we decide to share through these tools need to be carefully considered.