#  WorldMap 

 



[WorldMap](https://doi.org/10.1080/19475683.2012.668559) is a collaborative mapping project based at the Harvard Center for Geographic Analysis. It began in 2007 with an effort by [Suzanne Blier](https://aaas.fas.harvard.edu/people/suzanne-p-blier) and [Ben Lewis](https://gis.harvard.edu/people/ben-lewis) to create an online platform for visualizing Suzanne's large collection of Africa-related materials called AfricaMap. The system soon grew into a vibrant community with contributions from researchers and organizations around the world.

[AfricaMap](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2009/03/mapping-africa) was the first scholarly mapping platform to use the revolutionary technology of pre-rendered tiles, and client-side JavaScript) made famous by Google. It was 5 years before Esri caught up, and during this time WorldMap grew by leaps and bounds. WorldMap was also the first big data mapping platform when it introduced [TweetMap](https://gis.harvard.edu/geotweets-archive-v20) in 2014.

After evolving for many years, in 2021 WorldMap was moved from [ GeoNode ](https://geonode.org/) to [ ArcGIS Online ](https://www.arcgis.com/) (AGOL) to improve performance and opportunities for collaboration. The [ new system ](https://worldmap.maps.arcgis.com/) supports most of WorldMap's original capabilities and adds many new ones.

[ ![silk road map image](/sites/g/files/omnuum9996/files/2025-08/banner.jpg)

 ](https://worldmap.maps.arcgis.com/)

 



 

 See also:- [ Web Services ](/research/web-services)