Aggregate/Bin Hexagon Grid to behave like an Aggregated/Binned Point Layer?

[EKandD]

Question:

How do I make a hexagon grid (created with the "Generate Tessellation" tool) aggregate/bin in the same way a point feature class would?

What I want my end result to look like:

I want my grid of hexagons to scale dynamically with zoom. They wouldn't be reliant on data being somewhere, because the hexagon grid would still be visible in regions where no data exists. But the hexagons with data would be symbolized with a different color than hexagons without data. 

I want the user to be able to zoom out, and have the hexagons merge together to make less but larger hexagons. And similarly, I want the user to zoom in, and have the hexagons divide and make more but smaller hexagons. This is the same behavior that occurs when you aggregate/bin a point feature layer using hexagons. But I am looking to make this aggregate/bin behavior occur with my hexagon grid layer, based on the data in each hexagon. 

Situation:

I have a grid of hexagons over multiple nature preserves. I have a point layer that shows where projects occur in these preserves. In the hexagon grid attribute table, I have a field that indicates how many projects have occurred within each hexagon. I am symbolizing with graduated colors to show what hexagons do and do not have projects in them

What I have already tried:

- Symbolizing by using graduated symbols. This does not scale dynamically with zoom.

- Setting a scale range in the Symbology pane. This also does not scale dynamically, and makes the hexagons disappear at certain zoom levels. I want my hexagons to stay visible, but to merge/divide with zoom levels. 

- Aggregate Polygon Tool. This just merges polygons together, which is not what I am trying to do. I only want my hexagons to visually merge when the user zooms out, I don't want them to be actually merged together.

For Example:

Image #1 shows a point layer being aggregated into hexagons. I am totally zoomed out in this imagine. Image #2 shows what happens when I zoom into  Image #1. This is what I hope to apply to my hexagon grid, which is in Image #3 and #4.

Image #1 (zoomed out binned point layer)

Image #2 (zoomed in binned point layer)

Image #3 (zoomed out hexagon grid)

Image #4 (zoomed in hexagon grid)

As you can see, the zoomed-out hexagon grid in Image #3 isn't as very helpful. I want the hexagons to not stay microscopic, but to merge together to show general symbolized hexagons, and then when you zoom in, you get more detailed hexagons/information.

Let me know if that doesn't make sense. 

Thank you for any help you can give!

[BrendanNewell]

hi @EKandD,

I believe that the workflow you are looking for is outlined here where the result will be dynamic bins based on a field - https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/mapping/layer-properties/symbolize-binned-feature-laye...

You will have to apply it directly to your point feature layer.

The other option to create many layers, one for each scale and apply visibility ranges to each layer. I believe this will give you the most flexibility  

[EKandD]

Thanks for the response!

That article explains how to aggregate point feature layers, but I am looking to aggregate the hexagons (a polygon feature layer) in my hexagon grid.

Is there a way to do that, without making a new layer? I just want to aggregate/bin my hexagons so that they have the same dynamic scale with zoom level that the point feature layer would have.

[EKandD]

Here is an example of what I am trying to make my hexagons do:

[DanielFox1]

Hi @EKandD 

Could you try the following workflow:

1. Generate the Hexagon Grid:

   • Use the Generate Tessellation tool to create a hexagon grid. You can find this tool under Data Management. Set the shape type to hexagon and specify the extent and size parameters.

2. Spatial Join:

   • Perform a Spatial Join between your hexagon grid and the point or polygon layer you want to aggregate. This will count the number of points or sum the attributes within each hexagon.

3. Symbolize the Aggregated Data:

   • Open the Symbology pane for your hexagon grid layer. Choose graduated colours or proportional symbols to visualize the aggregated data.

4. Dynamic Aggregation (Optional):

   • If you want the hexagons to dynamically merge and divide based on zoom levels, you might need to use a combination of scale-dependent rendering and custom scripts. This is more advanced and may require additional customization

[EKandD]

Sorry, I really only included the point feature layer in my post because I wanted to show an example of what that layer looks like when I aggregate/bin it, and that's what I want my hexagons to do. I will not be working with any point feature layers for this map. I only used that point feature layer to count how many projects are occurring within each hexagon, which I then document in the attribute table of the hexagon grid, but that point feature layer will not be a part of this map. So there is no need for any sort of spatial join.

As mentioned in my original post, I tried using the graduated symbols (proportional symbols), and did not get the dynamic scale with zoom that I was looking for. And I am already currently using graduated colors for my symbology. 

If you know how to do the dynamic aggregation you mentioned, that would be a huge help! Is dynamic aggregation an option within tessellation?

[EKandD]

Here is a link to a map that has the behavior I want to replicate in my hexagons: https://knb.ecoinformatics.org/portals/SASAP/Data