Work

Visualising small area data with hybrid cartograms and hexograms

Year: 2025

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: Hexograms, first proposed by Harris (2018), mix hexagonal grids with cartograms, redressing problems of ‘invisibility’ in conventional maps, and geographic distortion in cartograms. The idea is simple: enlarge areas needing to be observed, but not so much that place geographies become unrecognisable. This paper develops the approach, combining a Dorling-style cartogram (Dorling, 1996) of local authorities with a standard map to create a hybrid cartogram; then using hexagonal grids and spatial optimisation to map neighbourhood-level variations. The resulting hexogram provides a representation of ethnic diversity in England and Wales that improves legibility but limits geographic distortion of and within the authorities.

Source: Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15222733

Author: Harris, Richard

Institution: University of Bristol

Language: English

Topic: Data Visualization and Analytics

Subfield: Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W6949425979

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