Bridging Scales in Map Generation: A scale-aware cascaded generative mapping framework for seamless and consistent multi-scale cartographic representation

Abstract: Multi-scale tile maps are essential for geographic information services, serving as fundamental outcomes of surveying and cartographic workflows. While existing image generation networks can produce map-like outputs from remote sensing imagery, their emphasis on replicating texture rather than preserving geospatial features limits cartographic validity. Current approaches face two fundamental challenges: inadequate integration of cartographic generalization principles with dynamic multi-scale generation and spatial discontinuities arising from tile-wise generation. To address these limitations, we propose a scale-aware cartographic generation framework (SCGM) that leverages conditional guided diffusion and a multi-scale cascade architecture. The framework introduces three key innovations: a scale modality encoding mechanism to formalize map generalization relationships, a scale-driven conditional encoder for robust feature fusion, and a cascade reference mechanism ensuring cross-scale visual consistency. By hierarchically constraining large-scale map synthesis with small-scale structural priors, SCGM effectively mitigates edge artifacts while maintaining geographic fidelity. Comprehensive evaluations on cartographic benchmarks confirm the framework's ability to generate seamless multi-scale tile maps with enhanced spatial coherence and generalization-aware representation, demonstrating significant potential for emergency mapping and automated cartography applications.