Mapping the Census: A Dot for Every Person
Brandon Martin-Anderson, a graduate student at MIT’s Changing Places lab, was tired of seeing maps of U.S. population density cluttered by roads, bridges, county borders and other impediments.
Fortunately for us, he has the technological expertise to transform block data from the 2010 Census into points on a map. One point per person, and nothing else.
Read more. [Images: Brandon Martin-Anderson]
![Crowdsourcing an Israeli-Palestinian Border
A new interactive tool allows you to decide how many Israeli settlers to annex and what constitutes a viable Palestinian state.
One day after the Palestinians successfully upgraded their state at the United Nations General Assembly, the Israeli government announced “preliminary zoning and planning preparations” for a plot of land just outside of Jerusalem known as E1. Many were quick to condemn the move as a significant blow to the already-gridlocked peace process, perhaps even more so than other settlement construction announcements, since construction in E1 would separate the major Palestinian cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem from Jerusalem. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon decried the plan as “an almost fatal blow to remaining chances of securing a two-state solution,” while The New York Times declared that “If such a project were to go beyond blueprints, it could prevent the creation of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.”
[Image: S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace/SAYA/Is Peace Possible?]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_memkizGR0I1qcokc4o1_1280.png)
Crowdsourcing an Israeli-Palestinian Border
A new interactive tool allows you to decide how many Israeli settlers to annex and what constitutes a viable Palestinian state.
One day after the Palestinians successfully upgraded their state at the United Nations General Assembly, the Israeli government announced “preliminary zoning and planning preparations” for a plot of land just outside of Jerusalem known as E1. Many were quick to condemn the move as a significant blow to the already-gridlocked peace process, perhaps even more so than other settlement construction announcements, since construction in E1 would separate the major Palestinian cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem from Jerusalem. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon decried the plan as “an almost fatal blow to remaining chances of securing a two-state solution,” while The New York Times declared that “If such a project were to go beyond blueprints, it could prevent the creation of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.”
[Image: S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace/SAYA/Is Peace Possible?]
![Red State, Blue City: How the Urban-Rural Divide is Splitting America
The new political divide is a stark division between cities and what remains of the countryside. Not just some cities and some rural areas, either — virtually every major city (100,000-plus population) in the United States of America has a different outlook from the less populous areas that are closest to it. The difference is no longer aboutwherepeople live, it’s abouthowpeople live: in spread-out, open, low-density privacy — or amid rough-and-tumble, in-your-face population density and diverse communities that enforce a lower-common denominator of tolerance among inhabitants.
The voting data suggest that people don’t make cities liberal — cities make people liberal.
Read more. [Image: Robert Vanderbai]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mebaodN3KP1qcokc4o1_1280.jpg)
Red State, Blue City: How the Urban-Rural Divide is Splitting America
The new political divide is a stark division between cities and what remains of the countryside. Not just some cities and some rural areas, either — virtually every major city (100,000-plus population) in the United States of America has a different outlook from the less populous areas that are closest to it. The difference is no longer aboutwherepeople live, it’s abouthowpeople live: in spread-out, open, low-density privacy — or amid rough-and-tumble, in-your-face population density and diverse communities that enforce a lower-common denominator of tolerance among inhabitants.
The voting data suggest that people don’t make cities liberal — cities make people liberal.
Read more. [Image: Robert Vanderbai]
![Mapping Acceptance of Same-Sex Marriage
According to the rule books, same-sex marriage is mostly unacceptable in the U.S. But that’s not the case when looking at the opinions of the American people. According to anew set of maps from Esri, same-sex marriage is popular in large swaths of the country.
The maps break support for same-sex marriage down by county. Green and yellow dots represent counties where people support same-sex marriage, while orange and red dots represent places where people do not. As you can see, there’s no consensus across the country.
Read more. [Image: Esri]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mapgrnmdn41qcokc4o1_1280.jpg)
Mapping Acceptance of Same-Sex Marriage
According to the rule books, same-sex marriage is mostly unacceptable in the U.S. But that’s not the case when looking at the opinions of the American people. According to anew set of maps from Esri, same-sex marriage is popular in large swaths of the country.
The maps break support for same-sex marriage down by county. Green and yellow dots represent counties where people support same-sex marriage, while orange and red dots represent places where people do not. As you can see, there’s no consensus across the country.
Read more. [Image: Esri]
![A National Report Card
A visual look at the educational successes and failures of the past year.
[Image: Kiss Me I’m Polish]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mannb6lngT1qcokc4o1_1280.jpg)
A visual look at the educational successes and failures of the past year.
[Image: Kiss Me I’m Polish]
![A Map of Muslim Protests Around the World
The uproar over a 14-minute anti-Islam YouTube video has sparked furious protests from Somalia to Egypt to Sudan to Tunisia to Libya to Bangladesh to Indonesia to Pakistan. With new reports of protests surfacing every minute, we’ve compiled the latest reported incidents into this interactive Google Map.
[Images: Reuters/Google Maps]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_macj3heKjr1qcokc4o1_1280.jpg)
A Map of Muslim Protests Around the World
The uproar over a 14-minute anti-Islam YouTube video has sparked furious protests from Somalia to Egypt to Sudan to Tunisia to Libya to Bangladesh to Indonesia to Pakistan. With new reports of protests surfacing every minute, we’ve compiled the latest reported incidents into this interactive Google Map.
[Images: Reuters/Google Maps]
The World’s Leading Cities for Fashion
New York, not surprisingly, is first and L.A. second. This pattern is similar to the more general one for arts, media and entertainment, and music, in which these two superstar cities also dominate.
But some surprises follow. Columbus, Ohio, is third. Its high ranking likely reflects its position as the headquarters of Limited Brands, the parent company of Bath & Body Works, Victoria’s Secret, and Henri Bendel. Nashville is fourth. Nashville of course is a leading music center, and musicians and fashion have long been connected[…]
Read more. [Image: Reuters, MPI’s Zara Matheson]
Mapmaker, Artist, or Programmer?
The 39-year-old Fischer, who lives in Oakland, developed his cartographic interest while at the University of Chicago, when he came across the windy city’s 1937 local transportation plan. (It was a “clearly insane plan” to replace the transit system with a massive freeway network, he recalls.) Until a few weeks ago Fischer worked as a programmer at Google, gathering the data that guides his projects in his spare time.
Over the years Fischer has rendered loads of raw numbers into informative and visually powerful maps on a diverse range of topics: from race tolanguageto the use of social media. The work is published in sets on Flickr (alongside an impressive collection of retro urban maps and street signs). His most popular set —“Locals and Tourists”— used geotagged photos from Flickr and Picasa to examine where visitors and natives take pictures in 124 cities.
“It’s a simple concept, but revealing about where the edges are where people turn back and stop exploring,” says Fischer.
Read more. [Images: Eric Fischer]
![Obama’s Plans Benefit More of America Than Romney’s Plans
Both candidate claims their proposals are better for Americans, but Obama’s plans will benefit more of them, according to data analysis by statisticians at Politify.com, as laid out in an interactive map showing a geographical breakdown.
The result: Lots and lots of blue to represent Obama. The glimmers of red represent places where Romney plans will benefit Americans.
Read more. [Image: Politify.com]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m980c1KIUD1qcokc4o1_1280.png)
Obama’s Plans Benefit More of America Than Romney’s Plans
Both candidate claims their proposals are better for Americans, but Obama’s plans will benefit more of them, according to data analysis by statisticians at Politify.com, as laid out in an interactive map showing a geographical breakdown.
The result: Lots and lots of blue to represent Obama. The glimmers of red represent places where Romney plans will benefit Americans.
Read more. [Image: Politify.com]
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![A Terrifying Map of Boy Scout Sexual Abuse Allegations
[Image: LATimes.com]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcb1ojODbn1qcokc4o1_1280.png)