Transitions in U.S. Cartography and Geographic Information Science

C and geographic information science are constantly undergoing transitions. Since the 1960s, both disciplines have seen a sea change in the ways people collect, process, and present geographic information. The meta-level changes, associated with the post-industrial transformation to the information society and economy, raise many questions about the past, present, and future of both cartography and geographic information science. The articles in the 2003 United States National Report provide insights into the transitions that have been taking place. Two years into the new millennium is an opportune moment to collect a representative overview. Many questions can certainly be raised regarding cartography’s and geographic information science’s first years of the 21st century. Following on the quote from St. Augustine, perhaps the most fundamental question is whether cartography is fading away in the digital environment of the information society. The articles in this National Report seem to suggest that the opposite is the case. Not only is cartography strong and vibrant, but by developing