Web Accessibility Barriers in Geographic Maps

Abstract

Geographic information (geo-information) is knowledge about where a place is or what there is in a certain site. Most people use geo-information in everyday life; for example, a map can be drawn to point out an address; a subway map can be interpreted to see which path to follow or to simply choose a route to go to work. Today, the Web is a mean of basic communication, perhaps the most important, and geographic information can also be transmitted through the Web. Therefore, we must ensure that the geographic information published on the Web is accessible. However, the continuing growth of technology causes people to have difficulty in interacting with applications that present geographic information. For this reason, this study presents an analysis of the barriers to web accessibility in geographic maps, explains how technologies and tools have evolved, and proposes the use of scalable vector graphics (SVG) for the implementation of accessible geographic maps.