Small Batch Maps

My Services & Expertise

AI-enhanced spatial workflows, guided by care & domain expertise

Geospatial Data Science

I don't just clean data—I interrogate it. With Python, geopandas, and a healthy skepticism for null-filled shapefiles, I build workflows that turn chaos into clarity. Pattern-finding, truth-surfacing, and no black boxes allowed.

Web Cartography

A good map doesn't just inform—it moves. I design web maps and spatial dashboards that load fast, look sharp, and do their damn job. From climate stories to conservation tools, every pixel has a purpose.

AI-Assisted Workflows

I fold large language models and intelligent agents into GIS workflows without losing the plot. Think: faster code, automated insights, and spatial systems that scale—without surrendering to snake oil or one-click magic.

Exploratory Geospatial Data Science (ESDA) brings together location intelligence and exploratory data analysis to uncover patterns, trends, and relationships in our built and natural worlds. I help clients turn messy, siloed datasets into clean, interoperable formats and curated insights—ready to inform smarter decisions in planning, policy, logistics, public health, and client-specific needs.

My Approach to Spatial Science

Raw Geographic Data

Spatial datasets, APIs, field colectiion inputs

Data Cleaning & Analysis

Python + Jupyter for wrangling, exploratory analysis, and QA/QC

Visual Insights

Clear charts, spatial stats, and storytelling visuals

Scalable Infrastructure

Custom APIs, spatial databases, and reproducible pipelines

Interactive Web Maps

Custom UX/UI for intuitive data exploration

Core Capabilities

Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA)

Identify spatial clusters, trends, and outliers using robust statistical and visual methods.

AI-Assisted Predictive Modeling

Forecast future scenarios using spatial machine learning and synthetic data generation.

Time-Series & Spatiotemporal Modeling

Understand how geographic phenomena change over time — seasonal patterns, mobility, and dynamic shifts.

Data Integration & API Design

Clean, combine, and operationalize datasets via modern spatial databases and scalable API pipelines.

Web Cartography Workflow diagram showing a user-centered, performance-oriented process for interactive mapping

With over 14 years of experience in digital cartography, I’ve trained the next generation of web mappers through rigorous academic work and hands-on teaching. I proundly earned my PhD in Geography from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where my research focused on applying emerging web standards—HTML, CSS, and JavaScript—to interactive map design.

As the founding architect of an award-winning online graduate program, I’ve helped students create maps that are both functional and enjoyable to use. My approach blends design ethics, accessibility, and user experience with performance-first practices like tile generation and lazy loading – grounded in the art and science of cartography.

Technical Stack

Mapping Libraries

Leaflet OpenLayers MapLibre D3.js

Data & Backend

PostGIS QGIS Tippecanoe Vector Tiles

Development Tools

React Alpine.js GitHub VS Code Figma

I approach large language models—and the sprawling ecosystem around them—with a mix of curiosity and caution. While the hype around agents, multi-component pipelines, and prompt engineering grows louder, I’ve taken a quieter path: small-scale, high-integrity experiments that test what these tools can actually do in practice.

Through hands-on projects like FlowFinder, Tilecraft, and my ongoing Semantic Land Use Lookup, I’m building fluency in LLM-enhanced development—exploring context management, retrieval pipelines, and modular AI systems (MCPs) in ways that stay grounded, not grandiose. No VC decks. No techno-theology. Just iterative, mindful design.

I see LLMs not as magic bullets but as collaborators—helpful when well scoped, dangerous when unexamined. I’m committed to staying technically agile and strategically skeptical as the AI landscape evolves. The bubble may burst (it always does), but the skills I’m cultivating now—system design, ethical reflection, composable workflows—will outlast any trend.

In practice this means using large language models to:

Validate or refactor geospatial code
Scaffold API endpoints or test suites
Generate symbology styles from structured prompts
Document spatial analysis pipelines
Catch logic gaps in workflows or suggest optimizations

TileCraft application interface showing AI-assisted vector tile generation

A Case Study in Human-AI Collaboration: Tilecraft

Tilecraft is an AI-assisted CLI tool I built that demonstrates these principles in action. It combines OpenStreetMap data processing with AI-powered schema generation and prompt-based style design. Users provide natural language descriptions like "subalpine dusk" or "urban midnight" and the system generates complete vector tile pipelines with beautiful, context-aware cartographic styles.

View on GitHub

Featured Deep-Dive

Building Production AI-Assisted Software

A comprehensive 5-part technical case study covering architecture patterns, testing strategies, and lessons learned from building Tilecraft—from prototype to production.

Architecture Patterns Testing Strategies Performance Analysis

Read the Complete Case Study

                                                
                                                # AI-assisted schema generation

                                                def generate_schema(prompt):

                                                  "subalpine dusk" →

                                                  complete vector pipeline

About Richard Donohue

Crafting Maps with Purpose

With a Ph.D. in Geography, GIS, and Cartography, I specialize in transforming complex geospatial data into meaningful insights and beautiful, functional maps. My approach combines traditional cartographic principles with modern web technologies and current AI-assisted workflows.

I believe in ethical data practices and human-centered design. Every project is treated as a unique challenge, deserving custom solutions rather than cookie-cutter approaches. Whether you need sophisticated spatial analysis, interactive web applications, or AI-assisted workflows, I bring both technical expertise and creative vision to your geospatial challenges.

Born and raised in Durango, CO, I enjoy the outdoors, hiking, and skiing.

Founded curriculum development for 9-course online graduate program in Digital Mapping after earning PhD at UW–Madison

Mentored 30+ MS students and 50+ certificate students with graduates placed at USGS, Cornell, and The New York Times

Award-winning pedagogy supervising student projects that won national awards (NACIS, CaGIS) for cartographic design

Curriculum spanning web mapping, geospatial analysis, UX design, and open-source development

Championed reproducible research using Jupyter Notebooks and version-controlled workflows

Students mentored: 30+ MS, 50+ certificate
Curriculum designed: 9 courses
Teaching experience: 10 years

Recent Projects

Explore my applications of geospatial data science and web cartography. And please get in touch if you'd like to discuss a project.

FlowFinder

Research framework for watershed delineation accuracy and systematic comparison of hydrological analysis tools

Geomockery

AI-powered geospatial data generator for creating realistic mock location data for testing and development

Ghost Forest Watcher

AI-powered forest recovery monitoring using satellite imagery and computer vision after wildfire events

ESDA Web Mapping

Modern web framework for exploratory spatial data analysis with advanced mapping and statistical capabilities

DEM Hillshade Generator

Python tool for processing Digital Elevation Models to g

Tilecraft

AI-assisted CLI tool for generating context-aware vector tile styles from OpenStreetMap datadriven by natural language input

Ready for collaboration?

Get in Touch

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I typically respond within 24 hours. Most projects start with a free discovery call—to find the signal in the noise and chart a direction together.

Let's Make Something Thoughtful Together

Whether you're mapping recovery networks, building smarter dashboards, or just want to talk shop about spatial ethics—I'm all ears.