Research Edge

Maps – Powerful Data Presentation

Mapping is a powerful way to present information with a geographic component.   Patterns buried in a spreadsheet of data leap out when presented visually, and interactive maps allow the user to explore different aspects of the subject matter.  Several recently released applications illustrate different uses of this tool.   

Trulia, the nationwide residential real estate search engine, has released the interactive Crime Maps that lets you explore, compare and comment on crimes across the country.  The beta version has data for fifty metro areas, including New Orleans, collected from over 1,000 different sources.  Users can access the number and types of crimes by zip code or intersection, and compare one neighborhood against another.  Heat maps show historical crime patterns over the previous twelve months.  Via Facebook’s social plug-in, users can leave detailed comments, providing personal context and relevance to the crime data.  An interesting presentation of hyper-local data combined with social media.

To mark the beginning of hurricane season, the U.S. Census Bureau released an updated version of its map based data tool depicting disasters.  On the Map for Emergency Management tracks fires, floods (both occurring and likely), and tropical storms (including current wind patterns and forecast area).  It automatically incorporates real time data updates from the National Weather Service, Departments of Interior and Agriculture, and other agencies.  Users can also access historical data on previous events, and details on the number of workers impacted by the disasters.  Very relevant during this period of extreme weather conditions.

What a long way we have come from atlas books and highway maps!