A Constraint-Based Approach to Constructing Continuous Cartograms

We present a new constraint-based continuous area cartogram construction method that is unique in its ability to preserve essential cues for recognition of region shapes. It automatically achieves desired region areas while maintaining correct map topology. The algorithm is compared with a number of existing methods, and results are shown to be superior in both accuracy and preservation of shape recognition cues. Through hierarchical resolution, we first perform gross adjustments upon a coarsely resampled map and later refine the map at progressively higher levels of detail.