BuzzFeed has gathered 38 prime examples of "maps you never knew you needed." And while some are fascinating (such as how much space the world's population would take up if everyone lived in one city) others are just Ludacris.
Ever wonder what time zones look like in Antarctica or where in the U.S. each of the seven deadly sins are committed most frequently? Tanner Ringerud at BuzzFeed has got you covered. While some of the "map porn" he's collected is just plain silly (I'm thinking of you: map that shows every area code in which Ludacris has "hoes"), others are incredibly informative.
One of our favorites is Per Square Mile's map of "how much space the world's population would take up if everyone lived in one city." It's a fascinating comparison of urban densities. But, as Tim de Chant explains, what's missing from the exercise is how much land it would actually take to support such a city. While such info is hard to come by at the city level, data on resource use is available for countries. So, we'll add a 39th map, developed by de Chant, that compares the ecological footprints of different countries:
FULL STORY: 38 Maps You Never Knew You Needed
Maps: How Much of Your City is Parking?
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Mapping Climate Impact at the Neighborhood Level
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research