This Special Issue commemorates the 28th International Cartographic Conference that was held in Washington, D.C. from 2nd to 7th July 2017 (). Some 916 delegates from 75 countries participated in this biennial event of the International Cartographic Association (ICA), which involved 527 oral presentations and 200 posters, organized into 144 sessions across 40 research themes (many thanks to Maeve Carey for supplying these data). The selection and peer-review of papers included in this Special Issue followed an initial evaluation by members of the International Scientific Program Committee (chaired by Cindy Brewer) and I am very grateful to the Journal's editorial staff, Peter Vujakovic, Gwilym Eades and Martin Davis, for their help in selecting and editing the manuscripts and to all our additional reviewers for their contribution to this Special Issue.
Figure 1. Photograph of delegates at the Opening Ceremony of ICC2017 (image courtesy of Eric Anderson, CaGIS)
The papers included here reflect the diversity of topics presented in Washington, from mapping emotions to expanding cartographic horizons with augmented reality. They examine new approaches to big geospatial data and generalization, reflect on the role of maps in education, and consider how usability studies can provide new insights to improve cartographic design. Accompanying these papers is a report on the UK's entries in the international cartographic exhibition that has been compiled by David Forrest (UK National Delegate and a current Vice President of the ICA). This Special Issue therefore aims to combine some of the academic and applied aspects of our field, echoing the intention of the organizers of ICC2017 to provide a celebration of cartography.
As usual, this final Issue of the year includes the Society's Annual Report and a record of the Society's Awards for 2017, that were presented at the very successful joint BCS-SoC Conference ‘Maps for Changing Reality’ held at Redworth Hall, near Durham, from 5th to 7th September (). It also includes the President's Address from the Society's Annual General Meeting at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge on 14th November, as a short Viewpoint paper. My hope is that successive BCS Presidents will be inclined and encouraged to record in this way their perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing cartography as the Society evolves.
Figure 2. Photograph of delegates at the Gala Dinner of the joint BCS-SoC Conference, 2017 (image courtesy of Martin Lubikowski)
It is worth pointing out that the pages of every Issue of the Journal result from the hard work of many individuals – including authors, reviewers, editors and typesetters – and the success of this publication relies upon the generous sharing of expertise by those who freely give up their time to evaluate manuscripts. I am therefore very grateful to each and every reviewer for their important contribution to Volume 54 and their commitment to ensuring that we publish the best research in our field. The Associate Editors, Ken Field (until Issue 2), Peter Vujakovic and Gwilym Eades, deserve our thanks for their valuable contribution to the process of commissioning papers and coordinating reviews, as does the Editorial Assistant, Martin Davis, whose steadfast commitment to Book and Atlas Reviews continues to raise the profile of this section. I should also like to thank the Editorial Board (especially those whom I did not have the opportunity to thank personally at ICC2017) for their guidance and support, and the staff at Taylor & Francis, particularly Prempriya Mohan, Tatiana Faia, Emily Savell and Eilise Norris, for all their assistance. Next year promises to be an exciting one for the Journal, as Volume 55 will see the introduction of a new internal design and the publication of two Special Issues.
NOTES ON THE COVER
The cover includes an artwork that was created for this Special Issue in celebration of ICC2017 by the graphic designer and artistic researcher Julia Mia Stirnemann of the University of Applied Sciences Berne and Vice Chair of the ICA Commission on Art and Cartography. The regional map and its inset showing the conference venue and its environs were hand-painted using watercolours and ink and superimposed with digital graphics.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Alexander Kent
Alex is Reader in Cartography and Geographic Information Science at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK, where he lectures on map design, GIS, remote sensing and on European and political geography. His research explores the relationship between maps and society, and in particular, the intercultural aspects of topographic map design and the aesthetics of cartography. Alex is also the President of the BCS and the Chair of the ICA Commission on Topographic Mapping.