This is an authentic, highly accurate, and exquisitely analytical historical account of the evolution of the Harvard Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis, which was located organizationally in the Graduate School of Design, and incorporated architecture and community planning. The book reconstructs the time between 1965 and 1991, and recaptures what it was like to be part of the collection of researchers who played a role in creating what is now called geographic information systems (GIS). It is really the story of Howard Fisher, who conceived of the idea of using digital computers for mapping.
Chapter 1 follows Howard Fisher as he assembles the coalition of alliances that brought the laboratory into being in 1965. The development of synagraphic mapping (SYMAP), the software that served as the primary focus for Fisher’s efforts, is described in chapter 2. Chapter 3 examines the efforts of laboratory staff to use computer tools for environmental planning, leading away from SYMAP toward grid-based analytical software.
Chapter 4 covers the theoretical realms of spatial analysis developed under the leadership of William Warntz. Attention is given to theoretical geography as it evolved at the lab, including the fact that the university had, years earlier, abolished the Department of Geography! Geography had returned to Harvard with a “division of sets” underpinning called the sandwich theorem.
The developments made possible by expanding computer displays beyond the line printer are explored in chapter 5. The early lab rose to about 40 staff members around 1970, and declined to six by 1972. One of the better-known participants was Ivan Sutherland, hired as an associate professor in electrical engineering. During this period, OTOTROL was developed. There was a significant impact from the US Census Bureau’s dual independent map encoding (DIME) files, resulting in a reexamination of topology theory.
Chapter 6 covers the period of transition, decline, and rebuilding. It is essentially a reporting of how technical proposals were written, grants were obtained, experimentation was conducted, results were reported, and evaluations occurred, and how this spiral path either went positive or negative. Chapter 7 discusses the emergence of a topological approach to cartographic data structures, a development that began the next period for the laboratory. At about this time, the author joined the laboratory and developed polygon-converter (POLYVRT), which could easily convert geographic base files. Topological data structures for cartographic products were emphasized.
Chapter 8 explores the ODYSSEY system of software, produced in the late 1970s. Initial thinking began in 1976, when the author and colleagues used CYCLONE as a starting point to design ODYSSEY. ODYSSEY served as the prototype for the modern geographic information system, and is easily understood by readers with an elementary comprehension of topographic mapping and GIS. Chapter 9 covers the diverse collection of projects and products that occurred alongside the ODYSSEY project. Many products ancillary to ODYSSEY were created, including BUILDER for three-dimensional (3D) architectural rendering, SEURAT for terrain display, and ARTIST for sketching. Chapter 10 examines the conflicts over the direction of the laboratory’s work, and the decline that followed. The commercialization of ODYSSEY is described, including a report recommending that the entire intellectual property of the lab be transferred to a for-profit company.
Chapter 11 describes the final period of the laboratory, and its disappearance in 1991. Very quietly, in June 1991, it ceased operation. Chapter 12 reflects on the lasting aspects of the laboratory, and why it still matters to the science and practice of GIS. The most enduring traces are of the more than 130 people who created the concepts, wrote the programs, debugged the software, and made it all work for more than 25 years. An accompanying CD contains movies produced by laboratory staff.
