Identifying a visual center of a polygon

A method for digitally displaying a map, the method comprising:

• receiving, at a computing device, electronic map data describing a shape having a boundary, the shape being a geometric representation of a real-world object represented by the electronic map data;
• generating a first plurality of cells, each cell of the first plurality of cells corresponding to a respective portion of the shape such that the shape is divided among the first plurality of cells;
• selecting the first plurality of cells as a selected set of cells to process;
• recursively processing the selected set of cells to determine a maximum distance cell that corresponds to a portion of a cell of the first plurality of cells, the maximum distance cell having a highest distance to the boundary of the shape, and the center of the maximum distance cell being located within the boundary of the shape;
• and
• providing an electronic map based on the electronic map data describing the shape, the electronic map comprising an image of the shape and additional data that is displayed at a location of the maximum distance cell within the shape.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer program instructions that, when performed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations for digitally displaying a map, the operations comprising:

• receiving, at a computing device, electronic map data describing a shape having a boundary, the shape being a geometric representation of a real-world object represented by the electronic map data;
• generating a first plurality of cells, each cell of the first plurality of cells corresponding to a respective portion of the shape such that the shape is divided among the first plurality of cells;
• calculating, for each cell of the first plurality of cells, a distance metric for the cell based on a distance from a center of the cell to a nearest point upon the boundary of the shape;
• selecting at least one cell of the first plurality of cells as a selected set of cells to process;
• recursively processing, based on the calculated distance metrics, the selected set of cells to determine a maximum distance cell that corresponds to a portion of a cell of the first plurality of cells, the maximum distance cell having a highest distance metric, and the center of the maximum distance cell being located within the boundary of the shape;
• and
• providing an electronic map based on the electronic map data describing the shape, the electronic map comprising an image of the shape and additional data that is displayed at a location of the maximum distance cell within the shape.