The 3D Dot Map

Everybody loves a good dot map, such as:

• CNN's Racial Data Map of the USA
• The UK's ONS Census Dot Density Map
• The Dot Map of South Africa

However the Toronto Dot Density Map is not just your average, run-of-the-mill dot map of census data. Yes, the map uses 2021 Canadian Census data to create dot map layers of gender, age, income, ethnicity, immigration, commute modes and commute time in Toronto - but it is also much more.

Press the 3D View button on the map and the hundreds of thousands of dots become a shimmering point cloud, forming a landscape of population density across the city. Peaks reveal Toronto’s most crowded neighbourhoods, while valleys trace the less densely populated areas of the city. The colours of the dots still represent the chosen demographic variable, letting you see not only where people live, but also how age, income, or cultural background shape the city.

The Toronto Dot Density Map is the work of the School of Cities at the University of Toronto.