Data visualisations with a twist!
This is a fascinating data visualization site worth a look.
Some of the visualizations makes one wonder their use or veracity (porn
searches) but they all provide some great talking points, demonstrating the
power of spatial technology. Here are
just three of the ones I found most interesting.
Personal space How much space each person has in some of the
world's major cities? The interactive shows 20 countries and each is represented
by a circle sized by average square feet per person. Of course, as with
population density, this data is broad with land distribution and usage to
consider, but it's informative from a general viewpoint.
The map shows a sample of locations across the country, and line length
represents distance to the nearest store. For example, in areas with a lot of
lines headed to one spot is an area with fewer grocery stores. In contrast,
mostly small line segments mean more grocery stores, and therefore less
distance to travel to buy groceries.
Places where residents have limited access to grocery stores are called food deserts.
For a country that features the word United so prominently in its
name, the U.S.
is a pretty fractious place. The country is split along fault lines of income,
education, religion, race, hyphenated origin, age and politics. Then too
there’s temperament. We’re coarse or courtly, traditionalist or rebel, amped up
or laid-back. And it’s no secret that a lot of that seems to be determined by —
or at least associated with — where we live.
Now a multinational team of researchers led by psychologist and American
expat Jason Rentfrow of the University
of Cambridge in the U.K. has sought
to draw the regional lines more clearly, literally mapping the American mood,
with state-by-state ratings of personality and temperament.
