Free Classification of Canadian and American Emergency Management Map Symbol Standards

Emergency management in transnational contexts can be a challenging endeavour. Cultural and language differences among multiple countries can hinder the exchange of information during dynamic emergency response. With increasing international threats and the explosion of near real-time data availability, the emergency response process has become mired in complex communication practices. Maps have the potential to provide an intuitive medium for communication and means for establishing situation awareness during emergency events. The development of map symbol standards is one method for improving communication efficiency. This paper evaluates how the design of two national emergency management map symbol sets (American ANSI and Canadian EMS) influences map-readers’ conception of represented information.