A public safety heatmap on the open data portal uses color intensity with no legend or units, and residents cannot tell what the colors mean. What visualization standard should be required?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
A heatmap without a legend is like a traffic light with the colors scrambled—people see urgency but don't know what it means. Add units, a clear legend, and encodings that still work when color alone fails. Public audiences deserve maps they can actually read.
Full Explanation
Accessible civic visualization requires explicit legends, units, and encodings that convey meaning beyond color alone. Omitting these elements prevents interpretation and can mislead residents about risk or intensity. Publication standards should block public heatmaps that lack interpretive metadata.