National Geographic has a look at where and how we live:

The map shows population density; the brightest points are the highest densities. Each country is colored according to its average annual gross national income per capita, using categories established by the World Bank (see key below). Some nations — like economic powerhouses China and India — have an especially wide range of incomes. But as the two most populous countries, both are lower middle class when income is averaged per capita.

It's interesting, but the map is a little wonky, because the income levels and population densities differ in granularity. It kind of works. Kinda doesn't. There seems to be a lot of missing data — or does population density in northern Africa really drop off that quickly (it is desert land, albeit)? A little more explanation in the description or the legend would have been useful.

There are also three other slides that follow the map (like the one below), but they're mostly just run-of-the-mill list of facts with cutesy icons to show percentages. Not a fan of those at all. Actually, they kind of bother me.

I dunno, I'm on the fence here. What do you think?

[National Geographic | Thanks, Laura]

FRONTLINE - Doctor Hotspot (full report) #healthcare #mapping #data

Pratt Manhattan Gallery will present “You Are Here → Mapping the Psychogeography of New York City,” an exhibition of work by a selection of contemporary artists that will map the emotional terrain of the world’s most famous and influential urban center, New York City, and explore the effect of the city’s powerful moods on those who live and work here. “You Are Here” will run from September 24 through November 6, 2010, and will be celebrated with an opening reception on Thursday, September 23 from 6–8 PM. The exhibition and opening reception are free and open to the public.

Be there or be elsewhere.

"Some people interpreted the Geotaggers' World Atlas maps to be maps of tourism. This set is an attempt to figure out if that is really true. Some cities (for example Las Vegas and Venice) do seem to be photographed almost entirely by tourists. Others seem to have many pictures taken in piaces that tourists don't visit.

Blue points on the map are pictures taken by locals (people who have taken pictures in this city dated over a range of a month or more)."

"India Vector GIS Map data - ESRI SHP Format"

An excellent interactive mapping feature that lets you drill down to your zip code for the Census participation rate.

...in one layer and one point in another.

Researchers extracted the dateline from about 72,000 wire-service news stories from 1994 to 1998 and modified a standard map of the Lower 48 US states (above) to show the size of the states in proportion to the frequency of their appearance in those datel