2024 - the Year in Maps

Election Maps

There were a lot of elections in 2024. Which meant there were also a lot of election maps. In the UK, cartograms dominated the media's visualizations of the Labour Party's sweeping victory in the General Election. These UK Election Maps effectively highlighted the vast number of seats won by Labour, offering a clear and impactful representation of the results.

In the United States, Presidential Election Maps largely favored arrow swing maps. For instance, this Guardian map used red and blue arrows to depict the significant shift towards the Republican Party across urban and rural areas alike. This shift was evident even in majority-Black and heavily Latino counties, demonstrating the widespread nature of this electoral swing towards Trump.

The Year of AI

2024 was undeniably the year artificial intelligence made its mark on culture and technology - and cartography was no exception. Interactive maps began to harness large language models (LLMs), enabling natural language searches of spatial data.

Platforms like Godview and Fuzzy Maps emerged as pioneers, offering AI-powered natural language search capabilities. Although still in their infancy, these tools hint at a future where searching and interacting with maps becomes more intuitive. During 2025, we could well see major players like Bing and Google more visibly integrate robust AI search capabilities into their own mapping platforms.

AI and machine learning also continued to revolutionize the field of remote sensing. Machine learning algorithms are increasingly adept at detecting objects in satellite imagery, enhancing our ability to monitor deforestation, illegal fishing, and wildlife, and to respond to disasters. As climate change intensifies, the role of AI in Earth observation will likely continue to expand, helping to monitor and (hopefully) mitigate its effects around the world.

One of the most entertaining uses of AI in 2024 was Panoramai., a playful tool that allowed users to modify the appearance of Google Maps Street View panoramas using simple AI prompts. Despite its lighthearted nature, the tool became so popular that it was eventually shut down due to the high costs associated with its heavy usage.

Free Maps for All

Two platforms stood out as my Maps of the Year: OpenFreeMap and VersaTiles. These open-source platforms offer map developers free access to custom map tiles for websites and applications, leveraging data from OpenStreetMap.

With commercial map providers' costs continuing to rise, OpenFreeMap and VersaTiles provided a much-needed alternative for developers. Their commitment to open-source principles and accessibility hopefully ensures that in 2025 even more developers can bring exciting map-based projects to life (and without prohibitive costs).