Visualization of Urban Information by Means of Multimedia

Visualization is a tool that can aid understanding of phenomenon, process and spatial structures. Another important function is communication, in urban applications case, between planners, technicians, administrators, researchers and citizens. Recent technological development applied to visualization area increments analyze and interpretation capacity. The word visualization used here, is related with the use of computation for data exploration in a visual form, helping comprehension. It is a process of transformation of raw data in images, in information and visual communication. GIS and cartography precede computers. In it development GIS benefited from information technologies development and in this process emphasis goes from treatment of great amount of data to analyze of that data. Computer graphics make possible process and present visually great volume of data, thing that was not possible by conventional methods. Digital data are the key for the plain utilization of potential already available with geoprocessing technologies. Information that interest urban planners came from several sources and information technologies beside integration and manipulation permit visual analyze of spatial data in diverse aspects, from witch the most evident but not less effective a map, tool that let us correlate a great variety of qualitative and quantitative data, for organization, interpretation, presentation and communication. In digital cartographic basic elements of cartographic science were preserved, but through new products, each one execute one of the roles that traditional map plays in different ways. Database replace paper map as way of geographical information storage and cartographic visualization replaces a second role - understanding and explanation - that was satisfied by printed maps. Salvador is one of the most important brazilians metropolis. The project that we discuss have as targets construction of salvador database to permit understanding of urban space through use of thematic cartography. Several steps of project include data acquisition, database formation using data conversion and results visualization through interactive, hypermedia and thematic cartography