Images for Planners: More Resources

Some time ago I noted a number of terrific image resources for urban planners. This blog highlights some additional sources.

First of all, last year some of the undergraduate students in my class on Global Cities collaborated in finding sources for images on that subject. The links to web sites are online but a bit buried under "Student Links" halfway down this page. The students found sites of well known organizations such as National Geographic and the World Bank (for photos, not just charts), and others you may not have heard of like Saudi Aramco World.

Also worth a look is Visualizing Economics, a site with thought-provoking graphs and charts. The "most popular" links on the right side navigation bar are typically worth a look. Charts are also classsifed by topic-for instance resources about the very wealthy.

In a similar vein with a focus on international development, health, and globalization, Gapminder shows what it is possible for Swedish statisticans to to do with flash animations and time on their hands on long cold nights. You can see founder, Hans Rosling, in action on video and then try it yourself with online and downloadable animations. His most famous video is at now a few years old. You might want to check out what he said at the U.S State Department in Washington DC last year.

YouTube is coming to be better source for planning information so if you don't want to burn fossil fuels to see some important planning places you can visit virtually. Type "Kibera," the name of one of the largest squatter settlements in Africa and toward the top is a compelling video, "The Women of Kibera," produced by Amnesty International. Type "Poundbury," the name of a mixed-income development sponsored by Britain's Prince Charles, and several quite well-produced videos appear. I've had much more luck searching YouTubewith specific personal and place names than merely putting in more general terms like city or planning.

Finally, in terms of my previous list of image resources, while all the entries contain really interesting items, I do find myself returning to the blog Strange Maps, a site that can be relied on to provoke.