Mapping & GIS at the University of Kentucky

A collection of projects that were developed for class labs or were part of a collaborative assignment.

Change in surface height explorer

July 1, 2025 by cartography Leave a Comment

Can we detect changes in surface height over time, at a neighborhood scale? The changes in heights represent the loss and growth of trees, buildings, and other features of the built environment.

KyFromAbove has multiple phases of lidar point clouds for Kentucky as open data. In this interactive map of Lexington, Kentucky (inside New Circle), we demonstrate how to visualize and explore these changes in surface height between 2010 (Phase 1) and 2019 (Phase 2) lidar point clouds.

While most point clouds are colorized by aerial photography to give a realistic view of the surface, this project uses a different approach. Points are colorized by the amount of change in surface height between the two phases. The color scale is from red (decrease in height) to blue (increase in height). Both phases are shown simultaneously with the ability to toggle the visibility of each phase.

View the interactive Potree scene viewer (which is VR-enabled) through this website:

contig.us/hawaii/lex-change

Below are some screenshots of the viewer focused on Kentucky Proud Park at the University of Kentucky campus.

Phase 1 decrease in height

Phase 2 increase in height

Phases combined

Phase 2 colorized with aerial photography

Filed Under: Class maps, KyFromAbove, News Tagged With: digital surface model, dsm, height, kyfromabove, point clouds, uky geography, web maps

How far do you have to travel to find adventure?

June 17, 2024 by cartography Leave a Comment

If you live near downtown Lexington, you don’t have far to travel to find sidewalks and shared-use paths that provide an escape to a nascent wildland.

Town Branch Trail phase 6 complete — Town Branch Trail Phase 6 complete

Town Branch Trail is an example. Lexington was built on this stream called the “Town Branch of the Elkhorn.” It was the industrial heart of early Lexington. Most cities have industrialized spaces that become abandoned. These derelict landscapes are primed for recreational and educational opportunities.

Wherever you live, advocate for building local trails.

Filed Under: All Hikes, Class maps

Rowan County Explorer

June 16, 2024 by cartography Leave a Comment

Over the years teaching GIS & mapping, Boyd has tried to connect his students with real-world mapping opportunities. One such opportunity emerged when Rowan County, Kentucky, wanted an interactive map showing trails and tourism destinations in the area. Workshopping with students in GEO 305 (Elements of Cartography) and later MAP 672 (Programming for Web Mapping) in UKy’s Department of Geography, he drafted a web map.

Rowan County, Kentucky, trail and tourism explorer — Trail and tourism explorer for Rowan County, Kentucky: https://outrageGIS.com/rowan

The criteria for this map were that it needed to be completely open source (without relying on any for-fee platforms) and self-contained—the project lives in a folder that could be dropped into any web server and would just work. This project uses LeafletJS and public base maps from Kentucky DGI.

The page departs from the traditional web map; marginalia, typically on a print map, was added to this map. A viewer can zoom into the legend! While the creative choices made on this project offered a fulfilling experience, students have their own trajectories and soon pivot interests after a course is finished.

The project is a draft, but it is active. Tell us what you think: https://outrageGIS.com/rowan

Filed Under: All Hikes, Cave Run Lake, DBNF, Class maps, Free Maps, Maps, Sheltowee Trace

gis.uky.edu

June 5, 2024 by cartography Leave a Comment

The Department of Geography at the University of Kentucky has a new portal for information relevant to our mapping and GIS activities. It’s still in development but I thought that I’d share the site: https://gis.uky.edu

Portal for UKy Geography mapping & GIS: https://gis.uky.edu

Filed Under: Class maps, News

Terrain Explorer

May 30, 2024 by cartography Leave a Comment

In this web map, we explore how to use different elevation models in 3D maps. The KyFromAbove project collects and maintains high-resolution elevation data and aerial imagery for Kentucky. The bare-earth Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was created from a lidar point cloud. This is the typical elevation model that we use. The same point cloud was then filtered to create a Digital Surface Model (DSM) showing above-ground elevations, like buildings and trees. Both of these elevation models were converted to terrain tiles to use in web mapping applications. MapLibre GL JS 3D features terrain rendering with RGB-encoded elevation raster tiles.

The sliders allow the viewer to change the vertical exaggeration of the DEM and DSM. If geolocation is enabled, a track will record the viewer’s location. That track can be downloaded as a GeoJSON (works in Chrome).

Visit the page: outragegis.com/terrain-explorer/

This was a project in the UKy Geography MAP 675, a course in the department’s Digital Mapping MS graduate program. The aerial imagery and elevation data are from 2019.

Filed Under: Class maps, Free Maps, KyFromAbove, Maps Tagged With: lidar, point clouds

Canopy height model

May 28, 2024 by cartography Leave a Comment

An analysis estimating tree canopy heights using KyFromAbove lidar point clouds (2019) combined with an NDVI layer derived from NAIP 2018 imagery for Lexington, Kentucky 2019. 19.3% in canopy cover.

Interactive map for existing canopy and for trees removed between 2010 and 2019.

Because of the difference between the lidar and photographic sensors, artifacts are present around tall structures like water towers, powerlines, and buildings.

GEO 409, Spring 2024.

Filed Under: Class maps, Maps

Campus change, 2010-2019

December 29, 2023 by cartography Leave a Comment

Winner: Best Spatial Analysis at the 2023 Kentucky Association of Mapping Professionals annual conference.

This analysis shows the difference between two digital surface models (DSM) created from lidar point cloud data hosted by KentuckyFromAbove.gov. DSMs allow us to visualize surface features like buildings and trees. The calculation subtracts the 2010 DSM from the 2019 DSM to find the height difference. The resulting raster layer is multiplied over a shaded relief base map from the 2019 DSM.

The most prominent change is the addition of numerous dormitories, but the more minor changes are the extensive growth and removal of trees. The greatest increase in height (156 feet) occurred at the Commonwealth Stadium expansion and renovation in 2015. The most significant decrease in height (90 feet) occurred after removing a construction crane at the Albert B. Chandler Hospital.

View map and other visualizations of change: https://boydx.github.io/uky-campus/

@boydx Department of Geography at the University of Kentucky. GEO 409 Spring 2023.

Filed Under: Class maps, KyFromAbove, Maps

GEO 509: Report Fall 2022

December 29, 2022 by cartography Leave a Comment

An analysis of flood-prone infrastructure and conditions in selected Eastern Kentucky watersheds.

In July 2022, eastern Kentucky experienced historic and devastating flash flooding caused by 14–16 inches of rainfall in a 5-day period. The National Weather Service gave a 1 in 1000 chance of this much rain falling during this period.

View maps and report: https://uky-gis.github.io/geo509/report-2022

Department of Geography, University of Kentucky, College of Arts and Sciences
December, 2022

Filed Under: Class maps, KyFromAbove, Maps

A simple GPS tool for the phone

September 5, 2022 by cartography Leave a Comment

If you visit this site often, you likely have a favorite map app on your phone. I certainly do and I have installed dozens of apps over the years. Most focus on placing your location as a dot on the map.

The dot

Any map app that shows your location as a dot on the map fosters a dependence on your exact location. We end up saying, "I am here" instead of asking "Where am I?"

To build strong spatial awareness, we should look at the dot after studying the plain map and doing an exercise in terrain association. Can we orient the map (best done with a paper map, folks) so that map north aligns with observed north? Can we then identify features on the map and estimate their distance from us?

These are questions in topograhic map reading. If you carefully observe your environment and compare its representation on the map, you will not need the dot.

When there was no dot

Let’s say the early 1990s. Before that time, we used paper maps. Soon after, handheld GPS units became popular and only showed coordinates for your position and maybe some other location statistics like speed, elevation, distance & bearing to next waypoint. They were often used with a paper map that had a grid (with linear units on a flat space) or a graticule (angular units on a curved space) that helped a user measure their location.

Using coordinates, we looked at the paper map’s margin for marks that pointed you to a general location. To find the exact location, we looked up and asked, "Where am I?" and compared the map with what we saw. We built a mental map of our surroundings. There was no dot.

An app without a dot?

So, we thought we would kick it back to the 90s and make a browser app that mimics these early devices. Because our maps have detailed graticules and mile markers for the Sheltowee Trace, this app should compliment your journey into topography and map reading. This app is designed for mobile devices and below is a screen capture of a use on an iPhone.

Screen Capture of control panel

GPS app can be loaded here: https://outrageGIS.com/gps

This app is free, open source, doesn’t need to be installed, and won’t collect any information from you.

Happy adventures!

Filed Under: All Hikes, Big South Fork, NRRA, Cave Run Lake, DBNF, Class maps, Cumberland Gap, NHP, Maps, News, Red River Gorge, Sheltowee Trace

2020 Census data

February 28, 2022 by cartography Leave a Comment

Time to explore the data on a map. The experiment is show block group data for select demographic data, which was used for redistricting. This interactive presentation is a test of concept to show population density. Eventually, an UI element will be added to symbolize block groups by precent population in self-identified racial group – as defined in Census categories.

Kentucky Population density, 2020 Census with selected racial demographics by Block Group

uky-gis.github.io/ky-2020-block-groups/

Filed Under: Class maps, Maps, News

Custom shaded relief maps

October 2, 2021 by cartography Leave a Comment

After a few weeks fiddling with the Blender 3D application to make smooth shaded reliefs, I decided to create raster tilesets that could be used with web mapping applications for a unique look. While the shading is not as accurate as multidirectional shading techniques used in GDAL and ArcGIS Pro, it makes a more artistic rendering.

To view a web page with samples, check out boydx.github.io/hugo-maps and also learn about the New Maps Plus program at the University of Kentucky).

Examples

Open ground features (click for high-resolution 13k version)

Kentucky bare-earth hillshade (click for hi-res 23k image)

Filed Under: Class maps, KyFromAbove, Maps, News

Eating a PB&J by oak tree

January 2, 2021 by cartography Leave a Comment

Point cloud of kid eating lunch by a tree — Lidar point cloud from a handheld sensor

Having fun with lidar

Lexington has a awesome fall event called, Paint by Nature, which encourages folks to create artwork around notable trees in the city. These trees aren’t necessarily the largest or showiest in their area, but are highly suitable plantings for their ecological settings.

While I didn’t make a submission, I did map the trees and used various lidar sources to visualize them. Visit this 3D visualization powered with Potree point cloud renderer. A growing list of similar visualizations can be found here.

Map of trees

Visit the trees in the Paint by Nature program on this page.

Filed Under: Class maps, Maps, News

Map of maps

January 15, 2020 by cartography Leave a Comment

Testing a post about maps.

Enlarge map

Filed Under: Class maps, News

Toward a scenic trail index

August 12, 2019 by cartography Leave a Comment

Sheltowee Trace, Daniel Boone National Forest, and Big South Fork scenic trail index — Visit the web page

Over the years we’ve pursued some measure that reveals the character of 900+ miles of trail here. Often we talk about a trail’s length or steepness with other dimensions gleaned from the base map. In this experiment, we are creating zones at discreet locations along trails and estimating the character of that location.

Over 14,000 polygons are shown on this 3D Mapbox map. The color indicates the type of scenery and height shows how much relief is the area. Future additions to this map include adding a searching tool and summary statistics for each trail.

Filed Under: Big South Fork, NRRA, Cave Run Lake, DBNF, Class maps, Free Maps, Maps, Maps Archive, News, Red River Gorge, Sheltowee Trace

Arches mapping project

December 20, 2018 by cartography Leave a Comment

During the Fall 2018 semester, students mapped and visited arches and waterfalls in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge Geological Area. They adopted an arch or waterfall and produced maps, analyses, 3D visualizations, and a web page that explores their arch. Visit the site.

Filed Under: Class maps, Free Maps, Maps, News