The Power of Imagery

The devastation of the Boxing Day Earthquake and Tsunami of 2004 reached for beyond Sumatra, Indonesia. These images illustrate the drastic change in Banda Aceh. Ten years later, they remain strongly compelling. I will try to search for more recent imagery to compare how the area has recovered.

BEFORE

AFTER

Wha? Get a Job? I'm trying to think...

In my search for this week's blog post I have found an awesome geo-centric site called... geoawseomeness.com, of course!

This image shows jobs that match a user defined search. Jobs  are color-coded by job type.

Yes, the article is right; this map is awesome: Job Accessibility in New York. The accessibility factor is based on commute. You can alter your parameters, including job type. Wish every city had one of these.

Lab 10 aka "I Ain't Gonna Work On Mappin' Farms No More"

Oh what fun it is to re-build this darn map all nite! Oh, Jingle Bells... Jingle Bells...

Finally Done... For Now

Fill 'er up!

The holiday season has provided us with some of the lowest prices in months... years. In celebration, here's a proportional symbol map that shows an interesting pattern in pricing for Maryland residents.

Hard Times and Easy Livin'

This multivariate map is part of a story from the New York Times in late June 2014. It appears to have been researched and consolidates multiple varibles into a bi(better or worse)-variate map describing the socio-economic health of our nation. The Upshot blog features some insghts from the story, data, and map.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/26/upshot/where-are-the-hardest-places-to-live-in-the-us.html?_r=2&abt=0002&abg=0

Only Connecticut, Hawaii, and Wyoming are filled entirely with blue. No single state is entirely orange, but three states in the South (Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia) do not contain a single county colored deepest blue.
While the map has an interactive element, it tells its story well as a static map.

The author(s) selected multiple factors to determine habitability and then distilled what mattered into a easily digestable graphic. (a rare treat) Regardless of whether the research or methodology is botched, coherent and effective representation is very challengeing. This is a fine product. Most of the other bivariate maps I found were boring, ugly, improperly used, or inappropriate for the theme and data. This map aligns perfectly with the concept and desired message. While it is likely many of the data sets had limited granularity, census block level data would improve the relevence and accuracy of the map. An additional description of the top factors that determine rank should be included for the reader. Furthermore, a breakout feature to immediately spotlight the best and worst counties could make the map more complete. I have yet to double check ColorBrewer for printability and visual issues, but I find the color scheme appealing.

I am your density.

Maybe you are what you eat. This restaurant's national distribution seems to define our shape.

I don't know about you, but my eye caught a curious absence of dots in the general shape & location of West Virginia.
Are all of their locations on or near the state border? What is the design or method of the dispersion?
Tell me, Mr. Von Worley: Why do the dots glow?

I don't buy in to all the Super-Sized bashing of convenient targets when it mostly boils down to making (or having the opportunity to make) good choices and the (dreaded) personal responsibility. Don't try to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Let traditional fast food do what it has done for decades. If  "MacDowell's" started serving the absolute tastiest and healthiest organic and vegan burgers, wouldn't everyone be just a little skeptical? (Soylent Green?) New vendors of healthy fast foods should be supported in the market as alternatives to the same ole stuff. But this coversation digresses quickly due to capital, power, demand, etc and is not the point of this blog... BUT, while there may be some room for cartographic improvement, this map certainly makes a statement. Compare and contrast with a previous blog entry. Bon Appetit!