Canadian Cartographic Association
Special Sessions
Special sessions have been proposed and interested people are invited to submit an abstract to join one of the sessions described below. These will be part of the CCA session track. If you are interested in submitting an abstract to any of these sessions, please contact the session organizer for information and to discuss your contribution. If you submit an abstract, please identify the session you are submitting to. If your abstract is accepted, you will be required to register to attend one of the conferences.
Session titles and organizers (full session descriptions are below):
- Session title: Human, Environment and Human-Environment Research Examples using Geovisualization
Session Organizer: Christopher Macdonald Hewitt, Wilfrid Laurier University / University of Western Ontario. - Session title: Maps, Memories and the Digital
Session Organizer: Lea Denieul Pinsky, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS-CS). - Session title: CCA and Canadian Cartography 1975-2025
Session Organizer: Roger Wheate, University of Northern British Columbia. - Session title: From Remote Sensing Imagery to Geographical Mapping Knowledge
Session Organizer: H Peter White, Canadian Remote Sensing Society – Ottawa Chapter.
Full session descriptions
Human, Environment and Human-Environment Research Examples using Geovisualization
- Session Organizer: Christopher Macdonald Hewitt, Wilfrid Laurier University / University of Western Ontario
- Session Type: Regular talk (15-minute)/Exposé normal (15 minutes)
- Session Description and Rationale:Human, environment and human-environment interaction studies are interdisciplinary investigations of how people and society more broadly interact with their natural environment, in effect combining human and physical geography. For many studies, a spatial component in the form of a map or maps forms the basis for the analysis and presentation of the results. With the developments in cartography and data visualization more broadly since the mid-twentieth century however, standalone maps have given way to geovisualization including the display and combination of maps, graphs and diagrams. Geovisualization displays can include qualitative or quantitative data, depict one or many variables, be grayscale or coloured, as well as range from static displays to animated, interactive or multi-scaled presentations. From these displays, theories can be derived about humans, the environment and human-environment interactions, a perspective that is termed grounded visualization. This session aims to solicit papers on humans, the environment and human-environment interactions that apply a grounded visualization approach to analyze and present their data related to a number of areas, including (but not limited to): Archaeology, Conservation and Preservation, Extreme Weather Events, Historical, Land Use, Resource Management, Urban Development
Please contact [email protected] for more information.
Maps, Memories and the Digital
- Session Organizer: Lea Denieul Pinsky, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS-CS)
- Session Type: Regular talk (15-minute)/Exposé normal (15 minutes)
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Session Description and Rationale:
This session brings together scholars and mapmakers and memory holders to discuss how spatial expressions such as maps are used to trigger, commemorate, preserve, circulate, visualize, and analyze memories. We will also examine how digital technologies, such as digital archiving, artificial intelligence, and online mapping, are reshaping individual and collective spatial memories.Mapping allows individuals and collectives to recall memories that rise and resurface on the map. These located memories can then be shared with other people, other communities, other generations. They can be used to document past events, to commemorate them or to denounce them. Mapping can be an act of resistance and a demand for justice, making visible and tangible the sites of past dispossession and abuse. However, maps, especially in their Euclidean forms, convey an impression of precision and spatial fixity that does not always align with the elusive, vague, or even inaccurate nature of memory. By translating memories into abstract cartographic symbols, maps risk stripping them of the emotions and meanings they carry. Moreover, mapping is inherently selective: it prioritizes certain memories while sidelining others, contributing to the erasure of whole segments of events and of their meanings.
Technological advances, such as digital archiving, artificial intelligence, and online mapping propose new ways to navigate and map memories, presenting both opportunities and challenges to the field. They help us navigate through places that may no longer exist or may not be accessible, preserving and sharing important memories associated with them while raising questions about digital accessibility, ownership, control, usage and the longer-term care and maintenance of these memories. In this session, we invite students, researchers, mapmakers, and memory holders to share their experiences and to reflect on both the potential and the limitations of cartography in representing, preserving and transmitting memory.
Primary Contact: Please contact [email protected] for more information.
CCA and Canadian Cartography 1975-2025
- Session Organizer: Roger Wheate, University of Northern British Columbia
- Session Type: Regular talk (15-minute)/Exposé normal (15 minutes)
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Session Description and Rationale:
Commentary and analysis of any part of the 50 years of the CCA and the developments in cartography and its technologies over that period. Talks may be broad overviews or specific discussion of particular aspects of mapping and geovisualisation.
A more structured understanding of the changes in Cartography 1975-2025.
Primary Contact: Please contact [email protected] for more information.
From Remote Sensing Imagery to Geographical Mapping Knowledge
- Session Organizer: H Peter White, Canadian Remote Sensing Society – Ottawa Chapter
- Session Type: Special session (90minutes) = 4 regular talks (60 minutes) / 1 Panel (30 minutes) plus Poster presentations
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Session Description and Rationale:
The session explores connecting leading-edge remote sensing techniques with practical applications, providing valuable knowledge and skills applicable to various disciplines, from urban planning to environmental conservation. Ultimately, this session aims to advance our Geographical Mapping Knowledge across land, ocean, and bathymetry through the exploration and exploitation of the latest remote sensing technologies.
During this session we will explore cutting-edge advancements in remote sensing and their integration with other spatial technologies, leveraging these technologies to address critical challenges. This session will invite discussion on lead-edge and diverse applications for data integration of remotely sensed information with other spatial technologies. The integrated advancements of these technologies are crucial for understanding and addressing environmental challenges, both terrestrial and aquatic.
Primary Contact: Please contact [email protected] for more information.