London tube game is a surprise hit and three geography books by Marshall are bestsellers
In a world where we get from A to B by following the shortest route on our phones or satnavs, are cartographers mapping their way back into our national psyche?
Rather than ignoring what’s around us, we appear to be increasingly fascinated with locations and their significance, whether it’s through a viral tube map game, YouTube videos or books about geopolitics.
Continue reading...Nicolas Baudin’s voyage at the height of the Napoleonic wars gave us dozens of French place names, and left with kangaroos for the Empress Josephine
From La Perouse in Sydney to Victoria’s French Island and South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, hints of early French exploration dot the country’s coastline.
In fact, French familiarity with our region was such that they were the first to print a near-complete chart of Australia’s coast in 1811, beating the British by three years. But for a few other historical quirks, at least part of the nation might now be Francophone.
Continue reading...Long after two people have gone their separate ways, some partings still rankle. Readers reflect on the beloved items they left behind
Even though my breakup was amicable, I felt a lot of guilt – so when I moved out I said: “Keep it all.” But, in the years since, there have been a few items of kitchenware that I wish I’d held on to: a Le Creuset casserole dish, my favourite mug, a digital cooking thermometer, the plastic bowl attachment for my stick blender (the blender itself I retained at her insistence, but I forgot all the accessories that came with it). There never seemed like a good time to ask for any of it back – I hope she’s at least getting some use out of them. Anonymous, Australia
Continue reading...Open-source UK tech company cites copyright issues, rising costs and prospect of more influence in EU
OpenStreetMap, the Wikipedia-for-maps organisation that seeks to create a free and open-source map of the globe, is considering relocating to the EU, almost 20 years after it was founded in the UK by the British entrepreneur Steve Coast.
OpenStreetMap Foundation, which was formally registered in 2006, two years after the project began, is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Following Brexit, the organisation says the lack of agreement between the UK and EU could render its continued operation in Britain untenable.
Continue reading...Archaeologists believe 4,000-year-old engravings on Saint-Bélec Slab resemble topological features
Archaeologists in France have uncovered a stone with 4,000-year-old etchings they believe may be the oldest three-dimensional map in Europe.
The engravings on the broken stone appear to resemble topological features including hills and a river network.
Continue reading...Spatial analysis by Esri UK has found that most pavements around the country are less than 3 metres wide, making it difficult for pedestrians to remain 2 metres apart and follow government guidelines for social distancing. Using measurements from Ordnance Survey, Esri UK has created a map of all pavement widths, discovering that only 30% of Great Britain’s pavements are at least 3 metres wide, 36% are between 2 and 3 metres and 34% are less than 2 metres wide
Continue reading...Artist Jake Berman plots old public transport systems in period style. From LA to Toronto, San Francisco to Buffalo, he has created maps of cities’ modern transit too, so you can click and compare
Continue reading...The LSE Cities Urban Age Programme has created density diagrams showing the number of people living in each square kilometre of a 100km by 100km area for cities around the world. Can you identify them?
Which city is this?
Dhaka
Chicago
Shanghai
Lagos
Which city is this?
London
Paris
Rome
Madrid
Which city is this?
Buffalo
Accra
Marseilles
Brisbane
Which city is this?
Islamabad
Kabul
Karachi
New Delhi
Which city is this?
Mumbai
Cairo
Jakarta
Hong Kong
Which city is this?
Los Angeles
Vancouver
Cape Town
Taipei
Which city is this?
Recife
Newcastle
Havana
Dar es Salaam
Which city is this?
New Orleans
Malaga
Melbourne
Rio de Janeiro
Which city is this?
Toronto
New York
Sao Paulo
Barcelona
Which city is this?
Buenos Aires
Mexico City
Nairobi
Beijing
10 and above.
Well done!
3 and above.
Oh dear
4 and above.
Not bad
2 and above.
Oh dear
0 and above.
Oh dear
1 and above.
Oh dear
LSE Cities says: “Residential density measures how closely people live together. More compact cities have higher densities, while cities that sprawl and have wide open spaces between buildings have lower densities. The pattern of streets, squares and urban blocks – as well as how many people live in residential units – determines the density of a city alongside the height of individual buildings.
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