Mapping in the Modern World MAPPING HUMAN ACTIVITY Tim Cooke Crabtree Publishing Company www crabtreebooks com
HUMAN BEHAVIOR Modern maps are a useful way to record and visualize human behavior They reveal patterns that help understand and predict how people act Maps can record a huge range of information about humans Almost any sort of data about people can be represented visually on a map For example cartographers can represent where different groups of people live in an area such as people who speak certain languages or follow certain religions They can also map where most people die in the hospital or where in a city or country supporters of rival sports teams are more likely to live In 1889 Charles Booth mapped London England’s wealthy homes in gold and red colors and poorer homes in blue His map showed exactly where the wealthy and poor lived within the city 4
Washington Minn. Oregon Boise State Wyoming Utah B.Y.U. Nevada Nebraska Cal Stanford Colorado Fresno State Kansas Wisconsin Michigan Syracuse Mich. State UConn Penn State lowa Rutgers Notre Dame Ohio State Purdue Illinois Maryland W.Va. Missouri Louisville Virginia Tech Kentucky North Carolina Tennessee Arkansas South Carolina Ole Miss Alabama Georgia Mississippi State Auburn L.S.U. Florida State U.S.C. Arizona State New Mexico Oklahoma Texas Tech Arizona T.C.U. Texas A&M Baylor Oregon Ducks Florida Hawaii Miami Visualizing Statistics Maps that represent human activity are sometimes called behavioral maps These maps are usually based on statistics Since the middle of the 1800s governments and other organizations have kept statistics or records of human activity These statistics are often difficult to interpret It is not always possible to see patterns or trends from lists of figures Representing statistical information in visual form on a map makes it much easier to understand Maps are powerful tools City Councils can use them to identify the road intersections with most traffic accidents for example or areas with poorly performing schools Governments can use them to record things such as areas with many immigrants This map shows areas of strong and weak support for U.S. college football teams Each color represents the named team The bolder shades of each color show areas of strongest support with lighter tones of the color showing weaker support 5
