Blog & Writing
Technical writing on GeoAI, spatial data science, open-source tools, and geospatial research.
All Posts 18 posts
2026
23 Jun
Demystifying Token Prediction: How Temperature Actually Shapes What an LLM Says Next A from-first-principles explanation of next-token prediction: logits, softmax, and temperature, demonstrated with a real bigram language model trained and run live in JavaScript, with an adjustable temperature slider and real probability bars computed on every step — plus what changes (and what doesn't) once you scale up to an actual transformer.
09 Jun LLMAIMachine LearningJavaScript
How Semantic Search Actually Works: A Tiny Search Engine You Can Run in This Tab A from-first-principles walk through vector search: build a real TF-IDF and cosine-similarity search engine that runs live in the browser, see exactly where lexical search fails on synonyms, and understand precisely what neural embeddings change about the picture — with real code for generating and comparing actual embeddings.
22 May EmbeddingsSemantic SearchAINLP
Vibe Coding: When to Let an AI Agent Drive (and When to Take the Wheel) An honest look at vibe coding: what changes about the review process when you stop reading every line an AI agent writes, a steppable diagram of the agentic loop, and a real scoring tool you can use to decide whether a given task is safe to vibe through, review closely, or drive yourself.
08 May Vibe CodingAIAgentsDeveloper Tools
Building an MCP Server: A Practical Introduction to the Model Context Protocol A hands-on introduction to the Model Context Protocol (MCP): what problem it solves, the JSON-RPC 2.0 messages exchanged between host and server, a live in-browser protocol simulator, and a real Python server built with the official SDK that exposes an H3 geospatial tool.
22 Apr MCPAILLMAgents
H3 Density Mapping: Visualising Urban Point Data as Hexagonal Heatmaps Learn how to aggregate point data into hexagonal density maps using H3 and Leaflet. This tutorial covers spatial binning, choropleth colouring, power-scaled colour ramps, and interactive multi-resolution analysis — all running in the browser.
15 Apr H3 GridsSpatial ComputingJavaScriptMapping & Visualization
What Do Large Language Models Know About Place? A reflective piece on how large language models represent place: the difference between spatial and platial knowledge, what LLMs do well (cultural associations, character, narrative), what they get wrong (boundaries, recency, under-represented places), and how to build applications that use this capability honestly.
22 Feb LLMAIPlace TheorySpatial Computing
Introducing GEON: A Semantic Format for LLM-Native Spatial Intelligence GEON (Geospatial Experience-Oriented Notation) is a preprint introducing a new text-based format for encoding places with semantic richness: identity, geometry, purpose, experiential qualities, spatial relationships, and temporal patterns. Evaluated against GeoJSON, GEON achieves 20% fewer tokens while encoding 31% more semantic facts per token.
14 Feb GEONLLMsGeospatial DataSpatial Intelligence
Introducing Islamica: A Digital Ramadan Assistant Islamica is a free Progressive Web App with prayer tracking, fasting logs, Qur'an reading progress, and educational modules for daily Islamic practice. All data stored locally for privacy.
05 Feb Islamic AppsRamadanWeb DevelopmentPWA
Spatial Narrative: A Rust Library for Spatiotemporal Event Analysis Spatial Narrative is a high-performance Rust library for modelling, indexing, and analysing events that unfold across geographic space and chronological time. Built for researchers, digital humanists, and data scientists, it provides spatial indexing, movement analysis, named entity recognition, and multi-format I/O.
Spatial NarrativeRustcrates.ioSpatiotemporal
2025
05 Oct
PlaceAgents: Modelling Multi-Stop Pedestrian Itineraries as Platial Flows PlaceAgents is an open-source framework for simulating platial pedestrian flows in urban environments. Using OpenStreetMap data, H3 spatial indexing, and interpretable routing algorithms, it models how people chain together sequences of places for errands, work, and leisure.
03 Oct PlaceAgentsAgent-Based ModellingOpenStreetMapH3 Grids
PlaceCrafter: Curating Urban Functional Regions through Platial Clustering PlaceCrafter is a web-based platform that enables researchers to identify meaningful urban regions through clustering OpenStreetMap Points of Interest. Built with React, Leaflet, and D3.js, it provides interactive clustering, statistical validation, and platial visualisation of how cities are actually used.
16 Sept PlaceCrafterOpenStreetMapUrban AnalyticsGIS
Reflection on the Leisure Walking Systems Working Group Impact Project A comprehensive reflection on a three-month Horizon CDT Impact Grant project that delivered industry-ready resources for leisure walking systems, exploring achievements, challenges, and broader implications for academic-industry collaboration.
14 Sept Walking SystemsResearch ImpactPlace Theory
Diabetes Disparities in Mexico: A Spatio-Temporal and Marginalization Index Analysis An overview of our W2GIS 2025 paper analysing diabetes-related hospitalisations and deaths in Mexico from 2005–2022, using the marginalization index to understand how social inequalities shape health outcomes.
14 Sept Health GeographySpatial ComputingUrban Analytics
OS³: Open Source Security Studio - Launching A Hands-On Cybersecurity Teaching Platform Explore OS³: an open teaching platform with modular labs covering SQLi, XSS, CSRF, SSRF, access control, cryptography, logging, monitoring, and network defence. Ideal for higher education, professional upskilling, and community workshops.
13 Sept CybersecurityTeachingOpen SourcePython
Platial vs Spatial: Why the Distinction Matters An extended reflection on the difference between the spatial and the platial, why it matters for data, design, and everyday life, and how embracing both can transform how we map the world.
02 Sept Place TheorySpatial ComputingMapping & Visualization
Platial Atlas: Mapping How People Experience Places Discover how the Platial Atlas project proposes capturing and representing places as they are lived and perceived by communities, using the PlaceCrafter framework to move beyond conventional geographic boundaries.
16 Aug PlaceCrafterPlace TheoryGISMapping & Visualization
Getting Started with H3: The Hexagonal Grid System for Spatial Analysis This hands-on tutorial introduces H3, Uber's open-source hexagonal grid system that's transforming spatial analysis. Learn why hexagons outperform traditional grids, set up H3 in JavaScript, and build interactive mapping applications with step-by-step code examples.
H3 GridsSpatial ComputingJavaScriptMapping & Visualization