[CEUD-ICT] Accessible Map

[Alan M. Dalton]

Hello all,

I've been reading about a graphic map based on semantic HTML, CSS and a bit
of JavaScript [1]. The map is the subject of an article called "A More
Accessible Map" [2] on the "A List Apart" website.

This map is a great example of progressive enhancement. The developer
starts with raw data, which are a list of the 10 most populated cities in
the world. He marks up the list of cities semantically (as a definition
list) and adds links to the relevant Wikipedia page for each city. He uses
CSS to add an image of a 2D map of the world to the webpage. He uses more
CSS to position the list's text off the screen, and to position the link
for each city at its correct place on the map. He uses JavaScript to
display the text for each city when the user selects the city, with the
keyboard or mouse.

It's not perfect, but it's a great starting place. All of the data are
delivered to the user, even if the user can't access the image, the CSS, or
the JavaScript. The image, CSS, and JavaScript are used to make the data
easier to digest, for users who can access them.

Some of the comments on the article dismiss the example, because it doesn't
have the same navigation and zoom facilities as Google Maps. I think those
comments miss the point. Many public bodies need to display maps to
represent raw data, but don't need to have navigation or zoom facilities.
For example, public bodies might need to display maps of safe beaches,
pollution, planning permission applications, or council offices. This
technique would allow those public bodies to deliver their data to their
website users in an accessible way.

I'd be interested to hear what you all think. I'd be particularly
interested to hear of any accessibility problems that I've missed.

[1] http://www.alistapart.com/d/cssmaps/mapfinal/index.html
[2] http://www.alistapart.com/articles/cssmaps/

Regards,
Alan.
_
Alan Dalton
EtA Accessibility Development Advisor http://www.nda.ie/eta
NDA Access Officer http://www.nda.ie
Address: National Disability Authority, 25 Clyde Road, Dublin 4.
E-mail: amdalton at nda.ie

EtA recipients 2008: http://tinyurl.com/EtA2008
_


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