Geography ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 7-30-2025

Abstract

The growth of geospatial big data has intensified the demand for open-source, accessible tools for interactive spatial exploration. This dissertation introduces a modular web mapping framework and details its design, extension, and evaluation to advance geovisualization through user-centered, transferable design. The first study presents the original framework, named dciWebMapper, establishing foundational cartographic and information visualization principles, with a focus on modularity and extensibility. The second study extends dciWebMapper with advanced capabilities—such as diverse map types, bivariate visualizations, temporal filtering, spatial querying, and hotspot analysis—and demonstrates its broad transferability across domains. The third study offers a structured usability evaluation of a web map application built with the original and expanded dciWebMapper, focused on visualizing climate justice, food access, and social vulnerability. Results confirm the framework’s effectiveness and identify areas for refinement. Collectively, these studies lay an extensible foundation for data-rich web mapping that advances evidence-based decision-making and fosters open-source innovation in geospatial data science.

Degree Name

Geography

Department Name

Geography

Level of Degree

Doctoral

First Committee Member (Chair)

Liping Yang, Ph.D., University of New Mexico

Second Committee Member

K. Maria D. Lane, Ph.D., University of New Mexico

Third Committee Member

Michaela Buenemann, Ph.D., New Mexico State University

Fourth Committee Member

Qiusheng Wu, Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Keywords

Interactive web mapping framework, web map design, open-source, geovisualization, geovisual analytics, geospatial data science

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