The 2025 Design Challenge resulted in the Atlas of Sustainability, an official publication of the International Cartographic Association produced in less than one week at the Technical University of Wien. Download the final printed Atlas here.
Cite the Atlas as:
Roth RE, G Gartner, G Baldrica-Franklin, A Cowart, L Houtman, A Kagawa, M Keskin, MJ Kraak, NT Nawshin, F Ortag, B Ricker, S Schlumpf, and Z Stachoň (Editors). 2025. Atlas of Sustainability. Vienna, Austria: The International Cartographic Association.
Cite Atlas spreads as:
[Cartographer Names]. 2025. In: Roth RE, G Gartner, G Baldrica-Franklin, A Cowart, L Houtman, A Kagawa, M Keskin, MJ Kraak, NT Nawshin, F Ortag, B Ricker, S Schlumpf, and Z Stachoň (Editors). 2025. Atlas of Sustainability. Vienna, Austria: The International Cartographic Association. Page #s.
The University of Wisconsin Cartography Lab (UW Cart Lab) Design Challenge is a day-long mapping workshop that brings together Cartography and Geography students, often in collaboration with campus or community partners, around a curated mapping theme. The Design Challenge is now an institution in the University of Wisconsin‒Madison Geography Department, first running in 2015 and wrapping its 10th annual event this past February 2024. This year (officially #DC11) we are taking the Design Challenge international, combining efforts with the Technical University of Wien, the Erasmus Mundus MSc Cartography Programme, and the International Cartographic Association Commissions on Sustainable Development and the User Experience (UX).
Specifically, we will be making a collective atlas of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ... in less than one week! The UN adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, an expansion from the prior 2000–2015 Millennium Development Goals, and defined a global indicator framework for collective transformation and action toward a more equitable and just world. At the time of this writing (October 2024), the SDG global indicator framework comprised 17 goals to address the most pressing problems facing our worlds, 169 targets that prescribe real and actionable outcomes for sustainability, and 231 unique indicators used to measure and monitor progress towards these targets, inform policy at global and local levels, and promote accountability across all stakeholders (https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/).
Our SDG Atlas in a Week will include at least 17 two page spreads, one covering each of the SDGs plus some from front and back matter. Each spread will include one page for maps, charts, and clarifying annotation about the SDG and a second page providing a title and statement about what the maps are saying and what this means for our planet's future and our individual actions. You will work in a small team to develop one of the atlas spreads, but in addition to mapping SDG indicator data, we also want you to bring your own personal experiences and home locations into the map, telling a compelling story about your team's common ground around the SDG and the alternatives that are possible from your different, worldwide perspectives.
The DC Schedule is broken into six 90-120 minute units spanning three days, with most scheduled activities on Monday, May 12th, and drafts submitted 24 hours after the final unit on Thursday, May 15th. The schedule also includes a PhD student meetup (open to MSc students, particularly those interested in a PhD) and two social opportunities for conversation and networking (Wednesday and Thursday)
- Unit 0: Sneak Peak
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Unit 1: Introductions & Inspiration Talks
- 10:00 to 10:15 // Arrival (and coffee!)
- 10:15 to 10:30 // Introductions from Georg Gartner and Robert Roth
- 10:30 to 10:45 // Inspiration Talk 1: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Ayako Kagawa)
- 10:45 to 11:00 // Inspiration Talk 2: Tips for Mapping the SDGs (Robert Roth)
- 11:00 to 11:15 // Inspiration Talk 3: Making an Atlas in a Day (Alicia Cowart)
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11:15 to 11:30 // Break
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Unit 2: Team Formation
- 11:30 to 12:00 // Picking Your SDG (rank your top three SDG themes, narrow into small groups, facilitated by Robert Roth)
- 12:00 to 13:00 // Brainstorming Your Story (breakouts with Alicia Cowart, Merve Keskin, N.T. Nawshin, Robert Roth, Zdenek Stachon, and available TUW staff)
- Unit 2 Slides
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13:00 to 14:00 // Lunch
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Unit 3: Design Sprint 1, Obtaining Your Data, Researching Your Topic
- 14:00 to 15:30 // Team Work (organizers available for questions)
- Unit 3 Slides
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15:30 to 16:00 // Creative Break, the Marshmallow Challenge (facilitated by Robert Roth)
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Unit 4: Design Sprint 2, Sketching & Organizing Your Visual Story
- 16:00 to 17:30 // Team Work (organizers available for questions) The goal is to have cleaned, mappable data in a GIS by day's end
- 17:30+ // Continue Work As Needed (Optional)
- Unit 4 Slides
- Unit 5: Design Sprint 3, Polishing Your Visual Story
- 14:30 to 15:00 // Adobe Illustrator Demo
- 15:00 to 17:00 // Team Work (organizers available for questions) The goal is to be out of GIS and into Adobe Illustrator by day's end
- 17:00+ // Continue Work As Needed (Optional)
- Unit 5 Slides
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Initial Drafts Due in Google Slides by 16:00
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Unit 6: Team Presentations & Draft Feedback
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18:00+ // Social (!) Wienden Bräu
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Second Drafts Due to Rob by EXTENDED TO END OF DATE THURSDAY! ** Upload Form including Atlas Text
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PhD Student Show and Tell (N.T. Nawshin, Gareth Baldrica-Franklin) Contact Rob if you are interested in giving a 5-10 minute lightning talk
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18:00+ // PhD Student Social (Alicia and Rob will crash!) Recommendations appreciated!
Layout
Linework/Boundaries
- UN SDG Data - Global attribute data based on SDG indicators.
- Simplified UN Country Shapefile - A processed and generalized shapefile of global nations. Can be easily joined with the UN SDG attribute data. From the UN GeoPortal.
- Natural Earth Data - A global geospatial reference database. Includes physical, cultural/political, and raster data at three different scales. A great resource for creating basemaps.
- OpenStreetMap - Volunteer-created global GIS reference database. Data can be downloaded through the Overpass API or through the QuickOSM Plugin for QGIS.
Global
- ACLED - Global conflict data, particularly related to SDG 16
- Esri Open Data Portal
- International Monetary Fund Data
- Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Stats
- United Nations Data Portal
- World Bank Open Data
Africa
- Open Africa - Volunteer-led open GIS data platform centered on Africa.
Asia
- Digital India - Open geospatial data platform for India.
Europe
- GIS Data Sources - Helpful Wikipedia list of some national and regional GIS data sources.
- Austria Statistics(e.g., road traffic accidents, economic growth, etc.)
- Eurostat
- Copernicus Land Monitoring Service - Satellite-based land monitoring products e.g., Corine Land Cover, Urban Atlas
- INSPIRE geoportal
- European Environment Agency (EEA)
- European Data Portal - Aggregator of open data from EU institutions and member states
Latin America*
- Latin America Data Hub - Geospatial HUB for SDG related data centered on Latin America.
North America (primarily US)
- Data.gov
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
- U.S. Census of Agriculture
- U.S. Census Bureau (warning: can be difficult to navigate but loads of data)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration
Polar
- Data for Polar Regions - Hub for data resources about Antarctica and the Arctic. Hosted at Dartmouth University.
Many nations across the globe have some geospatial and attribute data available through national-level portals. Some sub-natinoal regions and cities do, too (for example Cape Town, Vienna, Rio de Janeiro). As you develop your idea/map, you are encouraged to search for data from a local nation/region/city to complement your global data, and tell a grounded, place-based narrative.
Data from any official government source is limited. Combining different sources, and (if possible) qualitative and quantitative data, can enrich your map's story.
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Guerilla Cartography Atlas in a Day Series
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A Historical Atlas of Racial Violence in the U.S., between 1889 and 1945 (Created for the 2024 Design Challenge hosted by the UW-Cartography lab)
- Choropleth Tutorial From Mapping SDGs Technical Supplement
- 1.1 - Overview and Project Planning
- 1.2 - Downloading QGIS
- 1.3 - Downloading Location and Attribute Data
- 1.4 - Cleaning Attribute Data
- 1.5 - Creating a Project and Setting the Projection
- 1.6 - Adding and Joining Attribute Data
- 1.7 - Editing the Attribute Table
- 1.8 - Classifying Attribute Data
- 1.9 - Visual Accenting
- 1.10 - Labeling and Leader Lines
- 1.11 - Adding Elements to Layout View
- 1.12 - Exporting the Map
- 1.13 - Advanced Layout Styling
- Proportional Symbol Tutorial From Mapping SDGs Technical Supplement
- Dot Density
- Exporting from QGIS to Illustrator
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International Cartographic Association
- Georg Gartner, President
- Merve Keskin, Vice Chair, Commission on the User Experience
- Menno-Jan Kraak, Past President
- Britta Ricker, Chair, Commission on Cartography & Sustainable Development
- Robert E. Roth, Chair, Commission on the User Experience
- Zdeněk Stachoň, Vice Chair, Commission on the User Experience
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Technische Universität Wien Cartography Research Unit
- Georg Gartner
- Felix Ortag
- Sacha Schlumpf
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United Nations
- Ayako Kagawa
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UW Cart Lab
- Gareth Baldrica-Franklin
- Alicia Cowart
- Lily Houtman (now at Penn State)
- N.T. Nawshin
- Robert Roth