Assorted Links

1. The world’s largest subway system goes cashless as Shanghai Metro adopts QR code
   
   
   
   
2. Fitness tracking app Strava data gives away location of secret US army bases
   
   
   
   
3. Marriages have on average long lasting positive effects on well-being and life satisfaction HT Cesar Hidalgo I cannot confirm nor deny
   
   
   
   
4. Most Americans didn't approve of Martin Luther King Jr. before his death
   
   
   
   
5. Sprawling Mayan 'cities' uncovered under Guatemala jungle using LIDAR data - "The study estimates that roughly 10 million people may have lived within the Maya Lowlands"
   
   
   
   
6. What factors are associated with population projection accuracy? by Guangqing Chi and Donghui Wang
   
   
   
   
7. The World's 15 Most Complex Subway Maps and our cognitive limits: "Multimodal transportation systems in large cities have thus already exceeded human cognitive limits and, consequently, the traditional view of navigation in cities has to be revised substantially"
   
   
   
   
8. The total seasonal snowfall in the continental US for 2017–Jan 2018, shown as a relief map. Beautiful dataviz by Garrett Dash Nelson
   
   

Map of the day: the public transport network of Tokyo

Simon Kuestenmacher tweeted the other day this map that shows the public transport network of Tokyo metropolitan area (higher quality image in Japanese here). Tokyo is today the largest metro area with almost 38 million people. The amount of planning and daily work they put in their transport network overt the decades it just jaw dropping, as this maps can tell. 

Related Links:

• Compare the subway systems of Rio and Shanghai between 1979 and 2014
• The impressive expansion of subway systems in China
• Walking Tube map, or the most important map when you are in London
• 15 Subway Maps Compared to Their Actual Geography

Assorted Links

1. Horizonless maps of New York City and Paris, by Peter Richardson (Github repo)
   
   
2. Stunning videos:Flying by Jupiter  and Mars
   
   
3. How to Make the World’s Smallest Cup of Coffee
   
   
4. Deriving Hägerstrand's space-time visualisations from mobility isochrones, by Sebastian Meier
   
   
5. A collaborative collection of Origin-Destination (flow) maps, started by RJ Andrews
   
   
6. Beautiful photographs: 'The North American Indian' 1904-1924
   
   
7. Shrinking cities: the rise and fall of global urban populations – mapped
   
   
8. Subway Maps Compared to Their Actual Geography, by Peter Dovak

via GIPHY

The impressive expansion of subway systems in China

I have posted in the past a GIF that compares the expansion of the subway systems of Rio and Shanghai between 1979 and 2014. This is a bit embarrassing for Rio, for sure, but let's be honest. Pretty much any developing country and even the USA in their efforts to develop mass transport infrastructure pales in comparison to China. Needless to say that massive expansion of infrastructure like this usually comes at high social and environmental costs that should not be neglected.

Peter Dovak (twitter) has created a new GIF that shows the expansion of subway systems in China between 1990 and 2020, giving a glimpse of the Chinese urban powerhouse. Peter has other great projects you might want to check out, including the Mini Metro Maps of the world.

ps. I saw this on the Transportation Planning and Analysis Facebook group, via Gonçalo Correia. 

Assorted Links

1. The gap in life expectancy between the rich and the poor in the US is expanding
   
   
2. Using maths and maps to figure out the identity of the world's most famous anonymous artist. Here is the paper
   
   
3. Refugee camps from above, and here
   
   
4. Using a 3D projection of the globe in QGIS
   
   
5. Now you can rent Van Gogh’s Famous Bedroom on Airbnb in Chicago
   
   
6. New SEDAC Hazards Mapper lets users estimate population in proximity to hazards, and assess exposure
   
   
7. Mesmerizing ceilings of Mosques
   
   
8. Nice chart showing how deadly is Ebola compared to other infectious diseases
   
   
9. The average cost of a house at every London Underground stop

click on the image to enlarge it

Assorted Links

1. The domestication of Amazonia before European conquest via Leo Monasterio
   
   
2. A city of Pure imagination: great visual work of Víctor Enrich
   
   
3. Places in the US with streets named after Martin Luther King Jr via Geoff Boeing
   
   
4. paper: Based on CBA analysis, the cost of car driving in Copenhagen is more than six times higher than cycling
   
   
5. This will change your internet  porn  habits sooner than you think
   
   
6. Where the population of Europe is growing – and where it’s declining
   
   
7. The capital of Indonesia is the world's largest city without a subway. via Deden Rukmana
   
   
8. Mapping the electrification of India over the past 20 years via Tanvi Misra
   
   
9. John Lennon jams with Eric Clapton, Keith Richards & Mitch Mitchell
   
   
10. Fertility in Jpan and USA, 1947-2010 via Randy Olson
     * Bonus: It is ridiculously simple to create animated charts (.gifs) in R using gganimate

Walking Tube map, or the most important map when you are in London

Map of the  last  week: Transport for London (TFL) has recently published new map that shows how long it takes to walk between stations on the London Tube (a.k.a. underground or subway).

Click here for the full size map.

Compare the subway systems of Rio and Shanghai between 1979 and 2014

A nice GIF comparing the expansion of the subway systems in Rio de Janeiro and Shanghai between 1979 and 2014.

[image credit: ? via Lucas Gaspar on FB]

We've seen this before, but I couldn't resist posting this GIF (it covers a wider time span, it is quite straightforward and I love gifs

Transport disruptions, big data and travel behavior

A new discussion paper shows how a strike in the underground system of London could actually improve general welfare and make individuals' travel behavior more efficient. (via Tyler Cowen).

Larcomy, S., Rauch, F., Willems, T. The benefits of forced experimentation: striking evidence from the London underground network. University of Oxford. Department of Economics Discussion Paper Series (Ref: 755 )

Abstract: We estimate that a significant fraction of commuters on the London underground do not travel their optimal route. Consequently, a tube strike (which forced many commuters to experiment with new routes) taught commuters about the existence of superior journeys -- bringing about lasting changes in behaviour. This effect is stronger for commuters who live in areas where the tube map is more distorted, thereby pointing towards the importance of informational imperfections. We argue that the information produced by the strike improved network-efficiency. Search costs are unlikely to explain the suboptimal behaviour. Instead, individuals seem to under-experiment in normal times, as a result of which constraints can be welfare-improving.

The researchers examined 20 days' worth of anonymised Oyster card data, containing more than 200 million data points, in order to see how individual tube journeys changed during the London tube strike in February 2014.

Here is a very interesting point to emphasize and that I'm sure cartographers will like: "The London tube map itself may have been a reason why many commuters did not find their optimal journey before the strike. In many parts of London, the actual distances between stations are distorted on the iconic map. ... the researchers found that those commuters living in, or travelling to, parts of London where distortion is greatest were more likely to have learned from the strike and found a more efficient route."

Soundtrack:

The shifting patterns of how Londoners live and work

Here is an interesting piece about passenger trends in London’s Underground system since 2001 and how this piece of information helps us better understand how the city's economy is changing (I saw this via Iain Docherty).

One obvious change in passenger patterns captured by this chart shows the notion of 'peak time' has widened over the past fifteen years or so. As the article suggest, this is likely a reflex of some of the changes observed both in the labor market (with the increase in the number of workers that are self-employed and have more flexible time shifts) and in the housing market, where the prohibitive housings costs of London are pushing people farther from the city.

NYC Subway From Above

Cameron Booth (who runs the great blog Transit Maps) points out to this beautiful map of the New York city subway as seen from above.

[image credit: Arnorian]

Soundtrack:

The London Underground In 3-D

Bruno Imbrizi is a  Brazilian web developer and programmer that moved to London three years ago. Using publicly available data from Transport For London, Bruno has created and awesome interactive 3D map of the London Tube that I think some of the millions of readers of this blog might find interesting.

Sophie Weiner has written a nice piece on Bruno's work and you can check it here. You can also check some other cool dataviz of London underground in the Related Links, below.

[image credit: Bruno Imbrizi]

Related Links:

• Visualizing Disabled Freedom Pass trips on the London Underground
• A day in the life of a city
• Oyster Card Touch Ins & Touch Outs

Assorted links

1. MOOC on Questionnaire Design for Social Surveys in Coursera, offered by the University of Michigan
   
   
2. More than half of Beijing’s residents live far from the city center, beyond the fifth ring road, and still Beijing is denser than Los Angeles (via Tyler Cowen)
   
   
3. Just added this to my Survival kit: map of the Breweries of Europe
   
   
4. Jennifer Lundquist has interviewed a number of demographersabout their careers, including big shots like Samuel Preston and Monica DasGupta
   
   
5. Pets outnumber children in Brazil
   
   
6. The world's most beautiful metro stations - in pictures
   
   
7. Beautiful Chemical Reactions Filmed with a 4K UltraHD Camera
   
   
8. The Soviet erotic alphabet picture book from 1931 - you might consider reprinting your research proposal
   
   
9. Measuring Brainwaves to Make a New Kind of Bike Map for NYC

Assorted links

1. Skype Translator is on the way via MR
   
   
2. Paris's history, captured in its streets (using R!)
   
   
3. Compare the actual size of countries
   
   
4. Flowcharts
   
   
5. A systematic approach to interactive visualization and algorithms
   
   
6. Which Countries Require Visas To Visit
   
   
7. The Evolution of Moscow's Subway Maps
   
   
8. Serious scientific progress
   
   
9. Other things I would rather be doing
   
   
10. According to UN projections, nearly 9% of the world’s population will be living in just 41 megacities by 2030. Great Dataviz by The Economist

Visualizing Disabled Freedom Pass trips on the London Underground

Gareth Simons has done an amazing work visualizing Disabled Freedom Pass trips on the London Underground. More details on his website.

obs. @transportforall has also produce nice map showing how the Tube network looks like if you can’t use stairs. Simple map with strong message.

Related Link:

• A Guide To Alternative London Tube Maps

Subway systems of Rio and Shanghai 1993-2013

Alex Bellos points out to this striking comparison of the subway systems of Rio and Shanghai 20 years ago and today.

[image credit: ?]

Related Links:

• Subways of the World at the same scale
• Commute times in Brazilian metropolitan areas
• Beijing Subway - morning rush hour 
• Fake London Underground signs
• Hidden Animals in the London Underground Map

Assorted links

1. A new Guardian website dedicated to cities
   
   
2. The Bad Presentation Bingo to cheer up your next Conference!
   
   
3. Mapping Poverty in the US, by the NYT (via Owen Washburn)
   
   
4. A panel discussion on Global Governance of International Migration, with Paul Collier, Ian Goldin, Cathryn Costello and Martin Ruths.
   
   
5. 12 Reasons Why Sci-Fi Makes Us Think Differently About Future Cities
   
   
6. Leonardo da Vinci’s CV in 1482. A terrible publication record, some would say....
   
   
7. Comparing Bike-share system performance (ITDP report)
   
   
8. Fake London Underground signs (via Benjamin Hennig)

[image credit: ? ]

Assorted Links

1. Why don't Americans ride trains?
   
   
2. Top 200 QS World University Rankings 2013
   
   
3. Red Bull Stratos FULL POV 
   
   
4. The Map That Lincoln Used to See the Reach of Slavery
   
   
5. Egard Blanco and his team at MIT mapping the logistics of megacities
   
   
6. One interesting study I would like to see apllyied to Brasilia/Brazil (via Flowing Data)
   
   
7. Rules for Teachers in 1872 and 1915: "you may under no circunstances dye your hair"
   
   
8. The average destination of international flights from every country in the world
   
   
9. Hidden Animals in the London Underground Map

Assorted links

1. Unbelievable “nail houses” around the world
   
   
2. PAA 2014 - call for papers
   
   
3. Violent Crime Hotspots in London
   
   
4. Undesirable trends in the labor force participation rate 
   
   
5. Life can't get any better than this
   
   
6. Beijing Subway - morning rush hour
   
   
7. What Brazilians mean when they say...
   
   
8. Stratifying PISA scores by poverty rates
   
   
9. The Africa-Driven Demographic Future of Earth
   
   
10. New York City Transit System Morning Peak Flow, 1954 (via Transit Maps)

[click on the image to enlarge it]

Global Innovation and Diffusion in Public Transport

Duncan A Smith has created some great animations of 'Global Innovation Diffusion in Public Transport'. Here is the video showing the diffusion of BRT systems. Neat work! You should check it out the other videos.

Animating Global Innovation Diffusion- Bus Rapid Transit from Duncan A Smith on Vimeo.

[Image Credit: Duncan A Smith]