Maps In The News
It’s easy to take the things we use in our everyday life for granted. Maps are one of those things we use over and over again, but rarely take note of just how useful or influential they really are. Let’s take a look at how maps have helped, influenced, and made our lives more interesting today.
Mexico Drug War Interactive Map
Kidnappings, death threats, police deaths – drug-related crime and violence related to the Mexico illegal drug industry has been heating up. According to the University of San Diego Trans-Border Institute, there have been about 7,337 deaths related to the drug war in Mexico from January 1, 2007 to December 18, 2008. To visually represent the violence hotspots, the L.A. Times created an interactive map of Mexico that reveals how many deaths occurred in each city. The map also links the reader to stories that the paper covered about the incidents that took place in the city. Although the map’s focus is starkly serious, it’s a fascinating example of traditional mapping techniques coming together with modern technology.
Mapping the Early Life of President Obama
With the first ever Hawaiian-born president in office, Hawaii has seen a small surge of interest in the places where President Obama lived, worked and played in his youth. Hawaiian businesses have even started “Obama Tours” for people interested in a guided look at the area. For those who would like to explore the Hawaiian landscape on their own, there is now an “Obama’s Oahu” map. Thus far, the map has been popular, but it’s uncertain for how long the “Obama” buzz will last on the islands.
Controversial Roadway Map Images Upgraded to Higher Resolutions
In a previous post, we talked about the controversy over the Google Maps “street view”. Critics of the service say the images violate personal privacy, even though the pictures are taken on public streets. This week the Tampa Tribune reported that another company, Blue Dasher Technologies, has started taking higher resolution images of the Tampa Bay area. They are snapping up more pictures of each area than Google previously did to create “cinema-quality scenes of roadscapes.” The article also mentioned that Google will be returning to the streets to re-take the pictures at a higher-resolution in the near future.
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