Exploring Romantic London

Romantic London is a website which allows you to explore various aspects of life and culture in London as it existed at the turn of the Nineteenth Century. The site uses Richard Horwood’s pioneering Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster to present a number of artistic images of London. It also maps a number of historical textual descriptions of places around London, for example from Wordsworth's Prelude and from Fores's New Guide for Foreigners.

Horwood's Plan (produced between 1792 and 1799) was an attempt to map every single building in London. Horwood had originally planned to include every house number on the map. The finished map did show every building but the numbering of the buildings was never completed. Romantic London uses a digitized version of Horwood's Plan and William Faden's later 1819 revised edition of Horwood's map. You can learn more about Horwood's Plan on Romantic London's Introducing Horwood's Plan.

The last time that Romantic London featured on Maps Mania was to explore Harris' descriptions of London prostitutes. Harris’s List of Covent-Garden Ladies was an annual 18th century directory of London prostitutes. The directory not only provided the addresses and rates of London's prostitutes it also included descriptions of their physical appearance and sexual specialisms. Romantic London has mapped the 93 entries in the 1788 edition of the directory. Mapping Harris’s List of Covent-Garden Ladies (1788) plots the addresses of the 93 entries on top of Horwood's Plan of London (1792-9). Select a marker on the map and you can read the 'lewd and frequently misogynistic' account given in the directory.

My favorite maps on Romantic London, however, are those which map vintage images of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century London. These include maps of the drawings of London in Thomas Malton’s A Picturesque Tour Through the Cities of London and Westminster, John Papworth's Select Views of London and Richard Phillips 1804 guide Modern London. All three of these maps include some wonderful images which help to show how London looked at the turn of the Nineteenth Century.

Modeling Migration from Rising Seas

Earlier today we explored how the rate of sea level rise is increasing around the United States. That post ended with news that nearly 40% of the U.S, population lives near a coastline. If sea levels rise by 5 feet 11 inches then 13.1 million people in America will be at risk of losing their homes.

A new study by scientists from the University of Southern California, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Waterloo examines how sea level rise will effect internal migration in the United States. In Modeling migration patterns in the USA under sea level rise a model of predicted sea level rise was coupled with population models to visualize how and where people will be effected by migration caused by rising seas by the end of this century.



The map above shows how counties across the country will be effected by migration caused by sea level change. The counties colored blue on the map will be the most directly effected. If sea levels rise by six feet then these counties will be prone to flooding and people will have to migrate to other counties. Counties on the map which are colored pink and red will experience higher than normal levels of incoming migration as people from the coast are forced to move inland. You can see that many of the darker counties (those which will see the biggest population increases) are close to counties that will experience the most direct effects of rising sea levels.

Counties in the southeast of the United States, such as those in New Orleans and Miami, have large populations living in areas which will experience flooding. The East Coast and the eastern United States as a whole will be more effected than the West Coast because of the large coastal population centers on the East Coast and the shallower coastlines.

The Increasing Rate of Rising Seas

The rate at which sea levels are rising is increasing on both the east and west coasts of the United States. This increasing rate can clearly be seen in the 2019 data from NOAA tide stations.

NOAA operates tide stations on all U.S. coasts in order to measure and record data on tide heights, current speeds and current directions. Data from 32 of those tide stations, positioned around the coast of the USA, has been used by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) to explore the latest trends in sea level movements. These measurements show that the rate of sea level rise is accelerating around the United States.

The VIMS Sea Level Report Cards includes two interactive maps visualizing the Rate of Rise/Fall and the Rate of Acceleration/Deceleration measured at 32 tide stations during 2019. These two values show year-to-year changes in sea level relative to the land at each station. Both the rate of sea level rise and the rate of acceleration of sea level rise increased in 2019 on the East, Gulf and West coasts. In Alaska both the rate of rise and the acceleration of sea level rise decreased.

It is clear from the data that during 2019 nearly every coastal location in the U.S. experienced an upturn in both sea levels and the rate at which those levels are rising. The only exceptions were the Northeast Coast and Alaska. Geologic uplift from tectonic plate movement means that the land in Alaska is rising faster than the rising sea. This means that Alaska is one of the few places on Earth which isn't seeing relative sea level rise.

You can view Sea Level Trends over the long term on NOAA's own interactive map of Sea Level Trends. NOAA's map uses scaled arrows to show the long-term rising sea level trends at tide gauges around the United States, based on the historical data from each tidal gauge.

NOAA's long-term sea level map shows a similar pattern to the 2019 VIMS data. Sea levels are rising around the whole of the United States, except in Alaska. The Gulf Coast and East Coast are also seeing bigger rates of sea level rise than the West Coast. Land on the eastern seaboard is gradually sinking, which is why the West Coast is seeing relatively smaller levels of sea level rise than the Gulf and East Coasts.

NOAA is reporting that the increasing rate of sea level rise means that the the worst case scenarios in sea level change are becoming more likely. These worst case scenarios predict an increase of up to 8.2 feet by the end of this century, compared with 2000 levels. This level of sea level rise will have a devastating impact on the United States, where nearly 40% of the population live near the coast.

Is Your Country Ready for the Coronavirus?

Thirteen days ago I posted a link to Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Global Cases interactive map. On that day (January 23rd) the map was reporting 555 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus and 17 deaths. Today the map is reporting 24,597 confirmed cases and 942 deaths.

In the last thirteen days confirmed cases of the Coronavirus have been reported in many more countries around the world. The relative cheapness and popularity of international air travel means that a virulent outbreak, such as we are now witnessing with Coronavirus, is capable of quickly spreading across borders and to all corners of the world. The ease with which a virus might spread around the globe is one reason why the Global Health Security Index was started.

The Global Health Security Index assesses the abilities of countries around the world to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats. It is designed to spur improvements in national health security and improve how countries respond to infectious disease outbreaks, international epidemics and pandemics.

The GHS Index Map can give you some idea about how prepared countries across the world are to respond to a the threat of an infectious disease. The map colors 195 countries around the globe based on how ready they are to prevent, detect and respond to epidemics of potential international concern. The map shows overall scores for health security and individual health security scores in a number of different categories.

The United States is ranked number one, indicating that of the 195 countries on the map, it is the most capable of preventing, detecting and responding to the outbreak of an infectious disease. If you select a country on the map you can click-through to view how it scores in all the different categories used to determine its overall Global Health Security Index ranking.

At Last - The Iowa Results Map

On Monday the New York Times published what it called The Most Detailed Map of the Iowa Democratic Caucus. Then for 24 hours the NYT had to suffer what I'm calling ' the most desperate levels of hubris ever', as their map, remained as blank as every other 'less detailed' map of the Iowa Democratic Caucus.

However the wait is now finally over. The Democrats have finally managed to count the Iowa caucus precinct results (or at least they have managed to count 71% of the votes) and the Times map finally has some of that much heralded detail.

The NYT's map colors each precinct by the vote leader. At the time of writing Pete Buttigieg has a slight lead over Bernie Sanders. Buttigieg has 26.8% of state delegate equivalents, while Sanders has 25.2%. The most disappointed candidate will probably be Joe Biden with only a worrying (for him) 15.4% of state delegate equivalents. The map also allows you to view the size of lead held by the leading candidate in each precinct using proportional colored circles.

You can view other (perhaps less 'detailed' maps) of the Iowa Democratic Caucus on the CNN and Guardian websites.

Google Maps is not the Territory

You may rely on Google Maps for directions but it is important to remember that Google Maps does not portray a single objective reality. In fact the Google Map that you see depends on where you live. If you live in China then you will see a different version of the world than if you live in India. Use Google Maps in Ukraine and you will not see the same Google Map as someone in Russia.

As long as country borders exist then arguments and disputes over those borders will also exist. Because of this Google decides to show different borders in different countries. In order to conform to the different laws of different countries around the world Google has agreed to show different country borders to people in different countries.



The different versions of Google Maps which exist in different countries is perfectly illustrated in artist Simon Weckert's project Google Maps Borders. In Google Maps Borders Simon shows disputed borders around the world as they are shown by the Google Maps of different countries. For example look at the border between China and India in the two versions of Google Maps shown above. Google Maps in India (seen on the right) shows Arunachal Pradesh as being entirely within the borders of India. Google Maps in China (seen on the left) shows the disputed areas south of the McMahon Line as being in China and removes the label 'Arunachal Pradesh' entirely from the map.

Google Maps borders includes a number of embedded Google Maps from neighboring countries to show how a number of disputed borders around the world are portrayed differently in different countries. The dispute over the Crimean Peninsula, as shown in the maps of Ukraine and Russia, seems to have featured rather prominently in the news recently. Google Maps Borders also looks at the disputed borders between China and Russia, China and Taiwan, and China and Bhutan.

The Dammed River Nile

The Nile is the disputed longest river in the world (Brazilians say the Amazon is longer). 280 million people from 11 different countries live along the Nile and largely depend on it for water. Any disruption to the Nile's ecosystem could have devastating consequences not only for the Nile but for the millions of people who depend on it for their survival.

Since 2011 Ethiopia has been constructing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. When completed the dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa. The dam's reservoir will take at least 5 years to fill. The reduction of water downstream from the dam while it is being filled and the subsequent permanent reduction because of evaporation from the reservoir will probably have negative impacts on Sudan and Egypt. The Blue Nile is the source of most of the water and silt of the Nile in Sudan and Egypt. Without that water and silt both Sudan and Egypt could experience permanent food insecurity.

In Saving the Nile Al Jazeera takes a close look at the impact that large dams, like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, can have on the Nile. Using maps, satellite imagery, tables and charts Al Jazeera examines the possible effect on Egypt from the building of the Ethiopian dam. Sudan and Egypt will not only be effected by the reduction of water from the dam. Both countries are worried that the reduction of silt will impoverish the fertile land along the Nile ensuring that neither country will be able to grow the food that they need to survive.

Where's Null Island?

Yesterday Donald Trump congratulated the Kansas City Chiefs for representing the 'Great State of Kansas'. The only problem for the president is that the Chiefs' stadium is located in Kansas City, MISSOURI and not in the state of Kansas.

This isn't the only time that Trump has revealed that he has a very poor grasp of geography. During the last three years there has been a distinct rise in the number of map surveys asking people to point out locations on maps. It isn't true that Trump has always been responsible for these maps. In fact a little over a week ago the Can you point to Ukraine? interactive map was released in response to the ridiculous actions of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

What is true is that while an idiot remains in the White House there is going to be a big audience for these type of interactive map surveys. That is why I have created a Where's Null Island map in Glitch. My map asks you to point to Null Island on an interactive map and then adds your answer to a database.

The map itself has been kept very simple. In fact it is a very simple adaption of Glitch's 'hello-sqlite' starter application with a database. Glitch's demo map has a simple input text-field for users to submit words which are then saved to a database. I've replaced the text-field with a map. Now when you click on the map the latitude and longitude of that location is saved to the database.

If you want to adapt my application you can just click on the 'Remix on Glitch' button on Where's Null Island. This will allow you create your very own simple map survey. For example you could ask people if they know where Missouri is. I've kept my map as simple as possible so that it can easily be adapted. You could extend the map so that after users submit a location all the locations submitted so far are shown on the map.

I have created a separate map of the answers people gave on my Where's Null Island map. This Null Island map shows all the answers given up to 1 hour ago. The 0,0 location of Null Island is shown on the map with a yellow circle.

The first 76 answers submitted to the map are shown with red circles. A lot of people managed to point to locations very close to Null Island. 7 answers got the location of Null Island exactly right, however those answers were all from people who cheated (which I know because it is practically impossible to click on the map and return '0.00000000000000000000, 0.00000000000000000000' as your answer).

This Google Maps Hack Will Change Your Life

If you've ever used Google Maps in your car then you will know that the current level of traffic is shown on Google Maps with green, yellow and red colored roads. But have you ever wondered how Google knows how much traffic is currently on those roads?

One way that Google determines the level of traffic (which it then feeds back into its suggested route recommendations) is by historical traffic patterns - by how much traffic is usually seen on a road at different times of the day. However Google also uses real-time data from Google Maps users. When people carry mobile phones in their cars Google is able to capture data not only on their location but on how fast they are traveling as well. Using this data Google is able to map in real-time the amount of traffic currently moving on different roads.

This means that if you are clever enough you can hack Google Maps traffic data. Simon Weckert is clever enough. Simon Weckert is a Berlin based artist who realized that you could hack Google Maps real-time traffic data by simulating the amount and speed of traffic currently traveling on a road.

Here's how ...

In Google Maps Hacks Simon placed 99 second hand smartphones in a handcart and then walked around a number of empty Berlin streets. The data from 99 phones slowly moving around Berlin was enough to generate a virtual traffic jam in Google Maps. By walking around the city with 99 phones Simon was able to turn green streets red on Google Maps. This in turn had an impact on Google's suggested driving directions as it began routing real cars away from the empty streets that Simon had fooled Google into thinking were currently jammed with 99 slow moving cars.

So if you are tired of Google routing cars away from busy roads during rush hour and along your residential street instead you now know how to trick Google Maps into sending all that traffic elsewhere.

Where's the Water?

Parts of the Upper Midwest are currently experiencing very high levels of saturation. There is much more natural water in the region compared to the normal historic levels in this part of the USA. The heavy rains of 2019 have led to record river levels in both Minnesota and Wisconsin and many rivers are flowing at levels not normally seen until late spring. These extraordinary natural water levels can clearly been seen on a new interactive map from the USGS.

The USGS's new map shows you the current levels of natural water across the USA. The National Integrated Water Availability Assessments - Concept Map visualizes the daily estimates of natural water currently held in standing water, snowpack, soils, and shallow groundwater compared to long-term averages. Using the map you can view the natural water levels of approximately 110,000 regions across the contiguous United States.

The dark blue shaded regions on the map are currently experiencing very high levels of natural water compared to normal. On the map natural water storage is compared to the normal regional levels. It is therefore not possible to compare the water storage of different regions. What you can see is if the natural water storage in a region is above or below the normal levels for the last 30 years. You can clearly see on the map that both Minnesota and Wisconsin are currently experiencing much higher natural water levels than usual.