Visualizing the Coronavirus Pandemic

Mapping of the crisis is producing a fascinating and important trove of cartographic records.

1 minute read

May 18, 2020, 8:00 AM PDT

By Camille Fink


Coronavirus Map

Martin Sanchez / Unsplash

Laura Bliss interviewed modern cartography and GIS specialist John Hessler from the Library of Congress about the explosion of maps and visualizations coming out of the coronavirus crisis.

Hessler is collecting pandemic-related maps, which are coming out at a dizzying pace. "I’m just amazed at the sheer volume of geospatial images. It’s really an historic mapping moment like no other I remember."

Mapping today is no longer the domain of governments and private companies, says Hessler. "Now a lot of amazing cartography is coming from people sitting in their offices, cafés, and at home, visualizing geospatial data in ways that early cartographers couldn't have imagined."

Monday, May 4, 2020 in CityLab

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