Ryan J. Richter

Maps

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Planning Nerd Tools

Source: Smart Magazine

My employer not long ago received a license for Remix, one of the coolest data visualization and transport planning tools I’ve seen. Essentially, Remix is used for planning of bus routes overlaid on a geospatial platform, similar to a GIS, but internet based. What I like most is the ability to call up a transit provider, or import a GTFS feed and quickly ascertain particular details on a route. Details such as operating cost, hours of service, and frequency for bus service metrics. The geospatial overlay allows a planner to see particular census details such as environmental justice populations, population and job density. I have used this tool for clients and have found it to be incredibly nimble and excellent for model building, while also far more time efficient than GIS.

Check out the video for a preview:

 

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Recent Map Efforts

I’ve been playing around in Google Maps. Here are two maps made locally for my Chicago neighborhood of Jefferson Park.

The first, a map of all parking lots in downtown Jefferson Park.

 

The second, a map of election results from the February 24, 2015 municipal election in Chicago. I’ve mapped the results of the 45th Ward, where I live, by precinct.

 

The purpose of these maps is to illustrate and illuminate discussion amongst my neighbors. I find data visualization to be helpful in that regard. In my neighborhood, we often talk about a parking problem, but as you can see in the first map, clearly there is no shortage of land devoted to the storage of automobiles.

The election map is not surprising to residents of the 45th Ward that follow politics. The Alderman, John Arena, has his base of support in the southwest, near the Six Corners intersection of Milwaukee, Cicero and Irving Park Roads. His challenger, John Garrido, lives in the northwest part of the ward and has a base there. I’ve found potential precincts that might be in play and those precincts are notable for the issues that have occurred locally there. This map does a decent job of highlighting all of that.

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Civil War Mapping

Another great use of GIS!

Gettysburg
Source: Smithsonian Museum

We are on day 2 of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and the Smithsonian has a fascinating look into the troop movements via an interactive map for the three days of the battle (July 1-3, 1863).

The above map is from July 3, the day of Pickett’s Charge. Troop movements were carefully digitized, informed on research on battle interpretation. As you zoom in, more details become clear as you see arrows showing how whole divisions of troops moved. A panorama image was developed to show sight lines as they might have looked from various vantage points throughout the battle. What is fascinating about this interactive map is how you can see that the Union recognized early in the battle where the high ground was. This was instrumental in winning or losing the battle, in the case of Pickett’s Charge. The power of GIS allows us to see the battle in a new light.

Sidebar

I don’t discuss this enough except among friends in the know, but I am deeply interested in Civil War history. To be honest, I don’t care as much about the military history of the war, important as that is. Though, clearly, the military movements that have been mapped are deeply interesting to me as a geography major.

I will be writing in an upcoming post more about specific subjects and readings of the Civil War that have really changed my thinking.