The Constraint Method for Solving Spatial Conflicts in Cartographic Generalization

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Abstract
New methods are needed to automate cartographic generalization. This article presents a method for automating the displacement of vector data, called the constraint method. The framework of the method consists of five displacement behavior types. Each cartographic object type belongs to one of these displacement behavior types, which determines the properties of the object type in the displacement process. The displacement behavior types are specified by a set of rules called constraints. The constraint method works as follows. First, it is determined which objects should participate in the displacement process. Then, for each object a set of constraints is set up, depending on its displacement behaviour type. All the constraints build up an overdetermined equation system. This equation system gives how much each object must be moved and/or distorted to solve the spatial conflict. The paper concludes with two applications.

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