Eric Jaffe profiles the work of "self-proclaimed 'map geek'" Eric Fischer, whose remarkable renderings of urban data seek to uncover a deeper beauty, and truth, in the deluge of information.
The creator of what Jaffe finds to be "some of the most intriguing maps and spatial images found on the Internet," Eric Fischer, who until a few weeks ago worked as a programmer at Google, has a keen ability to convert the dull 1s and 0s of raw urban data into immediately understandable images.
"Ultimately, almost everything I have been making tries to take the dim,
distant glimpse of the real world that we can see through data and
magnify some aspect of it in an attempt to understand something about
the structure of cities," he says. "I don't know if that comes through
at all in the actual products, but it is what they are all building
toward."
Now creating his visualizations as an artist-in-residence at San Francisco's Exploratorium museum, Fischer describes his design philosophy thus: "When the maps succeed, I think it is when they can confirm something
that the viewer already knows about their neighborhood or their city,
and then broaden that knowledge a little by showing how some other
places that the viewer doesn't know so well are similar or different."
FULL STORY: Mapmaker, Artist, or Programmer?

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont