9 replies to this topic

[Michael Karpovage]

Not sure if anyone has already posted this topic......if so, feel free to delete this, moderator.

Very interesting demographic maps. Here is the direct link to Atlanta, where I live. More city maps can be seen on the right.

http://www.flickr.co...624812674967/#/

[Jimbo]

Saw the maps through a political site, & this is not the only dot distribution map based on ethnic lines in this series. To bad I can't remember the link.

[natcase]

Really beautiful and striking illustrations of how we divide (and mix). I live in a neighborhood where there is not so much a line as a gradual gradation from poor to better-off, and from of-color to lily-white, It's fascinating to see that sort of gradualism visually contrasted with my-side-of-the-tracks vs your-side-of-the-tracks divides. I like Chicago's map especially for this: the canals and rail lines and freeways create discrete and very distinct color patterns.

Race is one of two main variables in these maps; the other is income. It would be interesting to see similar maps based on religion, GLBT/marital status/gender mix, political persuasion, and other "identity" sorts of tags...but these would be more difficult to get such discrete data for.

[Michael Karpovage]

Yeah, these maps are definitely most striking. Especially the Detroit map. There is a clear line of separation from white folks to black folks along one corridor. Like literally one street forms the divide between north (white) and south (black).

I too live in a large area south of Atlanta where the dots are all jumbled up. Asian, Latino, Black, and White and all income levels. Truly a diversified area. But there are definite pockets of dominant races throughout the city such as DeKalb county which is mostly black. Chamblee mostly Asian. Buford Highway mostly Latino. And Dunwoody mostly white. I too would like to see other demographic breakdowns. And overlays of political representation, crime patterns, housing costs, etc..

These maps are also based on 2000 Census so it would be interesting to see the 2010 results. And to take it further it would be wild to do these maps going back every ten years as far back as possible and then create an animation to see flow patterns of where people live. That would be pretty cool to see how cities changed or didn't.

[Dennis McClendon]

I'm not sure whether to be upset or flattered as this has gone viral in the last week. Eric Fischer's maps are based on one done of Chicago by Bill Rankin on the radicalcartography blog. That, in turn, appears to just be a reconstruction of a map I drew in 2003 for the Encyclopedia of Chicago. Rankin cites a companion map from the Encyclopedia in his post, so I'm sure he knew of my map.

Now, back in 2003, I thought of my map as being somewhat innovative, and had to push the editors to include it in addition to the standard choropleth maps of race or ethnicity. Was it? Had there been previous examples of dot-density maps that mixed different-color dots to also show quantitative phenomena?

[Michael Karpovage]

Dennis, I just looked at your map from 2003. Yeah, you definitely were the originator. I would give Eric Fisher or Bill a friendly shout to ask to include your name somewhere - and a link back to your map possibly - as a way of giving you credit for setting this trend and innovative technique. Hopefully they could give you some free press for your company as these maps continue to go viral. Wouldn't hurt to ask, ya know?

[Dennis McClendon]

Well, it would be better if someone other than me urged Bill Rankin to mention the earlier map. However, the radicalcartography blog has no comment section that I can find.

[Michael Karpovage]

Hey Dennis, coming from you - the originator - would have more serious punch to the credit claim rather than an indirect third party response. In my opinion, coming from you would carry more weight, if you will. No need to be humble or timid about this because you WERE the innovator and deserve credit. Now's the time to get your name out there as this thing is hot. I would approach Fischer's FlickR site too.

[Dennis McClendon]

No, it would sound like sour grapes. No matter, Bill Rankin is on his way to becoming a professor at Harvard. I'm on my way to pay my electric bill for last month. Only half way there!

[Michael Karpovage]