Information Maps - International Networks Archive
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 09. 1.06
We were recently sent a link to these amazing ‘maps’ and thought they were so interesting that we just had to share them with you. Then we realised that Collin wrote a post on the Transportation map only last week! Never mind there are several more maps in the series which we think are worth looking at, especially the Map of the world's water, pictured above. The International Networks Archive is based at Princeton University and is described as, ‘A global alliance of scholars who believe that geography is becoming increasingly irrelevant. INA is developing a new way of mapping our world, based on global transactions instead of geography.’ The artist Jonathan Harris, aka Number 27, formerly Flaming Toast Productions, collaborated with the INA to create these powerful and informative graphics. Jonathan describes the project as 'an experimental mapping philosophy, merging data, maps and technology.' Click over the page to see other maps depicting the global impact of Starbucks and McDonalds, the arms trade and the tobacco industry Thanks to Gustavo for the tip. :: International Networks Archive
I'll comment on the water infographic.
It's an interesting idea that there could be wars over water. The US has requested more water from Canada each year by pipelines to supply an ever thirsty industrialised nation. It's interesting that more water crosses the border in small consumer packaged bottles for retail sale than was ever actually requested by the US government!
Graphics like this make the prospect of technology improvements in stormwater harvesting and reuse all the more important from a social and environmental perspective in our cities.
What a great way to present information to a non technical but informed public, kind of like poster presentations at conferences, only 100 times better.