If you haven't already, check out this must-see series of city
maps by
Eric Fischer, representing 100 of the most photographed cities in the world.
The Geotaggers' World Atlas is a simple, but elegantly presented project, dipping into various disciplines, and coming out with something rich with information, meaning and curiosity.
Creator, Eric Fischer has collected raw data from Picasa and Flickr photo-streaming websites, collating 'geotagged' images (when a photographer digitally tags a photograph with its location) against location and density, represented digitally on a series of city maps with simple vector lines.
From the creator Eric Fischer:
"The maps are ordered by the number of pictures taken in the central cluster of each one. This is a little unfair to aggressively polycentric cities like Tokyo and Los Angeles, which probably get lower placement than they really deserve because there are gaps where no one took any pictures. The central cluster of each map is not necessarily in the center of each image, because the image bounds are chosen to include as many geotagged locations as possible near the central cluster. All the maps are to the same scale, chosen to be just large enough for the central New York cluster to fit. The photo locations come from the public Flickr and Picasa search APIs [Application Programming Interface]."
Series overview.
As a set (viewed as thumbnails), the sliding scale of photographic density offers spidery clusters of media interest, some spreading like thick arteries (like Sydney and San Francisco) and others clustering predictably around each CBD. Polycentric cities like Los Angeles and Tokyo offer more complex maps, and some register monuments, tourist attractions and even green space.
Sydney, looking decidedly hearty. Link here to fullsize.
San Francisco. Fullsize here.
The urban interpretation through media (digital photography) could be a very useful resource for urbanists if it could be analysed further, by analysing profiles perhaps (are they tourists, professionals, locals or visitors?) and locations (what are the most photographed locations and routes?) which could then be 'designed' for, in a warped version of urban marketing. Admittedly it's a crude proposition, but nontheless, an incredibly well executed project from Fischer.
What shouldn't be overlooked is that these maps are beautiful. Generously the images are available at incredibly high resolution on a
Creative Commons license, so take advantage of seeing your favourite cities in a new light. Sadly New Zealand hasn't made the list yet, but in the series of 100 photographs you're sure to find a favourite.
My gratitude to Katherine Roberts for the great link.