Want to see the University from a different point of view?
With Geographic Information Systems increasing in popularity, people anywhere are able to pinpoint almost any location and view it on their computer.
Now through Mappler Web sites, an initiative that is a part of Vertices LLC, interactive maps are becoming a lot more personal and specific, even to University students.
Vertices LLC provided the community with digital maps that allow information to be easily and conveniently shared, since Wansoo Im, Ph.D., a professor at the University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, founded the organization in 1994.
There are many maps for University students, including maps of the College Avenue campus or restaurants in New Brunswick, which can be searched by price range or type of food, Im said.
By using satellite images provided by Google Maps, GPS data or the map search function, individuals can find the exact location for any point and plot their own data onto the map, Im said.
"It's creating a database," Im said. "Once it is created, people can access and change details of a map to show everything about the campus and throughout New Brunswick, which can benefit both students and people in the community."
School of Arts and Sciences first-year student Taylor Brandreth said she thinks the Mappler Web sites can be useful to University students in numerous ways.
"Mapping common points of interest can help students become familiarized with what is in the area," Brandreth said. "And by seeing it on a map, it may be easier to go out and find [these points of interest]."
The maps can be enhanced with pictures, audio and even YouTube videos, Im said.
"The whole idea is to create a community around the map and the mapping system that is created by the members of the organization that the particular Web site is for," said Vertices staff member Chris Redmond, a Rutgers College junior.
For example, Redmond is part of an initiative to map all the biking and walking routes on campus.
This interactive map contains pictures of biking hazards that many users have updated and added to the map as they discovered them, he said. It also contains YouTube videos that show actual traveling among paths between different points on campus.
Most of the maps that exist on the Web site come from students in a Geographic Information Systems class, taught by Im at the University.
"People mapped things such as all of the bars in New Brunswick," Im said. "One person mapped all of the Paneras in New Jersey and compared that to the socioeconomic status in the area."
Once data is in a mapping format, it acquires new meaning, Im said. People are able to study the data in the map and recognize patterns.
Class projects such as these are often continued after the course is over and become a staple source of information for various communities, Redmond said.
"Even though you're just creating the map for the class, it goes on the Web site, and it is seen a lot," Redmond said. "Your map is sent right into the real world."
Any organization can obtain a Mappler Web site and create an interactive map designed specifically for the needs of the organization, he said.
The goal of Mappler Web sites' is to utilize community participatory geographic mapping systems in government applications, statewide environmental organizations, education and non-profit organizations, Redmond said.
Mappler is easy to work, so users can update and make changes to the map as necessary without extensive computer or mapping knowledge, Redmond said.
"Our mission statement is that we are connecting people and connecting communities," Im said. "We are empowering the public and the community with technology."
