An American Mosaic

Coool interactive web map by the NYT: An American Mosaic

There is an article to go along, but that's behind the NYT paywall.

The Cost Of Living

Excellent data set & web map from the Economic Policy Institute: The Family Budget Map. This map shows (by county) the cost-of-living for a 'normal' two-parent, two-child family broken down into housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, taxes, and other necessities.

Even better: the data are accessible as MS Excel!

Our Demographic Future

In the 20 century: the demographic transition theory.

Here, countries transitioned from high fertility/mortality to low fertility/mortality due to modernization and development such as female empowerment, access to health care, and more.

Today: most countries are past this transition and in many countries fertility has fallen below replacement levels (which is about two children / woman). This applies to about 5.8 billion people and include countries such as Brazil, India, China, and more - these countries are already experiencing population decline. Fertility is still very high in sub-Saharan Africa & this will drive global population growth for many more decades.

Now, the main factors in population dynamics are a) migration and b) longevity. This means that in high-income countries immigration is and will be the main driver of population growth & that is ultimately what is behind the rise of MAGA & other types of nationalism / populism that we see.

Plus the so-called second demographic transition that is playing out in wealthy countries: fewer children = lower fertility due to rising individualism, new models of partnerships, and gender equality.

More details @ https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aed1652

Census Dots

Finally updated for the 2020 Census: Census Dots (1 person = 1 dot)

Mapping Historical New York: A Digital Atlas

Mapping Historical New York: A Digital Atlas visualizes Manhattan’s and Brooklyn’s transformations during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Drawing on 1850, 1880, and 1910 census data, it shows how migration, residential, and occupational patterns shaped the city.

Awesome!

US Immigration since 1850

Nice analysis & maps from the Pew Research Center: How the origins of America’s immigrants have changed since 1850.

AI, Images, & Stereotypes

This type of kind was entirely missing from GTC: How AI reduces the world to stereotypes

The Distressed Community Index

Nicely-Done! The Distressed Community Index has 15.6% percent of its population living in a distressed zip code and 24.4% percent living in a prosperous zip code. Start at the state level, then switch to counties, and perhas even zip codes.

Not cool: you need to pay them for the data!

Urban Exodus

Here's a great interactive analysis by the SF Chronicle of net migration in & out of counties across the USA. These spatial patterns are really interesting and the analysis looks at driving factors such as income, etc.

The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (Version 1.0 & 2.0)

Just released: The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (Version 1.0). Looks promising, especially the data download option.

Here's Version 2.0 (released December 2024): https://screening-tools.com/climate-economic-justice-screening-tool

1990 - 2020 US Census Dot Density Dashboard

This is just cool: 1990 - 2020 US Census Dot Density Dashboard

The Legacy of Redlining

Not Even Past is a great data viz / web map comparing redlining in the 1930s to the CDCs Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) scores. The interactive diagram visualizes changes, e.g. cementing of privilege, decline of relative privilege, or gentrification.

Not Even Past: Social Vulnerability and the Legacy of Redlining explains how to use it and Downloads & Data provides, well, access to the data. Details for each city can also be accessed via Mapping Inequality.

For additional context and examples, read The Lasting Legacy Of Redlining.

The Lasting Legacy Of Redlining

The Lasting Legacy Of Redlining shows that redlining indeed worked as inteneded: cities still segregated.

The Black Elevation Map

The Black Elevation Map is a great data viz: chose what is mapped as 'elevation' and tour the black culture across the USA.

US Population Dynamics

Seen here: Animation: U.S. Population Pyramid From 1980-2050

The Logistics of the US Census

It only sounds boring!

Census Mapper

Census Mapper is a great tool to visualize demographic changes across the USA between 2010 and 2020 and you can export/embed the visualizations.

Poverty Maps

 Here are two interesting ways to map poverty:

• Which U.S. Counties Have the Most People Living in Poverty? is a classic choropleth map created in Tableau. Look, I like Tableau, but for mapping there are just better options.
• All metro high-poverty neighborhoods looks at change: which neighborhoods are newly poor, persistently poor, deepening poor, or turning around. This map is created in ArcGIS Online.

An Extremely Detailed Map of the 2020 Election

An Extremely Detailed Map of the 2020 Election by the NYT shows the 2020 election results down to the precinct level - good to know who your neighbors voted for!

Racism, Redlining, and Global Warming

 Great mapping by the NYT: How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering