An Asian in New York

The latest U.S. census has revealed that for the first time the number of Asians in New York has topped one million. This means that now nearly 1 in 8 New Yorkers are Asian.

This Google Map from the New York Times shows the distribution of the Asian population in New York by country of origin. You can refine the data shown on the map by country and you can also view the New York Times' summary of a number of districts via the links in the sidebar.

Asians in New York City

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A Seasonally Adjusted Google Map

Ottawa Pastoral has created a very nice looking Google Map to quickly find outdoor spaces of play based on your current location in Ottawa and the time of the year.

The map shows the location of outdoor spaces where you can play various sports, however, the locations shown vary according to the time of year. In the summer baseball, basketball, lawn bowling, soccer, tennis and volleyball locations are shown. If you change the map to other seasons then other sports are displayed. For example, in winter the markers change to show where you can skate and sled.

As well as showing different sports depending on the season the map also changes colour to match the season. The circular border of the map displays as an appropriate chilly blue in winter, green in spring, yellow in summer and red in the fall.

Ottawa Pastoral

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HTML5 Elevation with Google Maps

Vizzuality, the Spanish developers of some of the coolest Google Maps apps, has created a Google Map that allows you to view all the world's mountain ranges.

The map uses an HTML5 canvas overlay to visualise elevation data worldwide. The map includes a slider that allows you to adjust the elevation above sea level that is shown on the map.

If you set the slider to 0 metres then most of the world's land is shaded on the map. If you drag the slider up to 5400 meters then suddenly the Himalayas look very lonely.

Visual Raster

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Scrolling Backgrounds with Google Map

Tourism New Zealand has implemented a very clever and striking website using Google Maps in conjunction with a series of related background images.

As you use scroll through the New Zealand 100% Pure website the background images change to create some impressive effects. The scrolling images are used to create animated clouds moving across still landscape images or to provide a narrative, for examples as the people portrayed in the images move around.

The effect of the scrolling images is hard to explain, so you really need to see it yourself on the 100% Pure website. When you visit the page notice how the Google Maps inset changes as you scroll the page to reflect the location of the current background image shown on the page.

New Zealand 100% Pure

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A Google Maps Trading Game

A Map of the Floating City is an interesting looking new game that has created its own game world with the help of Google Maps.

You can sign up for the game with Twitter or Facebook and you are then given your own ship, which will magically appear on the Google Map. The main objective of the the game is to trade with other players in order to move your ship forward on the map.

When you have a trade accepted you get to move your trading partner north on the map. If you accept a trade from another player then your ship gets to move.

This game does require a little patience. The game requires responses from other players so it is obviously never going to be an all out action game. You'll need to make your trade offers and then come back later to see if they have been accepted.

A Map of the Floating City

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Friday Fun with Google Maps

Bill Guffey's Street View Paintings

Artist Bill Guffey paints scenes captured by the Google Maps Street View car. This scene from Jonesport, Maine has already been sold but if you like the look of his work Bill's website has many more of his paintings available for sale.

Street View by Tim Mincin
In this song comedian Tim Minchin takes a more negative look at Google Maps Street View.


Stealth Iconography: The Google Maps Pin

In this essay writer Rob Walker argues that the Google Maps marker has become an iconic design. He looks at how the Google Maps marker has been appropriated into unexpected settings, for example, into other designs and into many art projects.

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