ngdon-LookingOutwards07

All streets limited by Ben Fry

http://3rdfloor.fathom.info/products/all-streets

This visualization simply draws all the streets in the U.S. without any other information such as terrain, boundaries, etc. However we can clearly see where the cities are and how the terrain probably look like from the density and shape of the streets.

I’m particularly interested in this type of visualization because it does not attempt to extract information for the reader but instead let the reader explore it themselves. It has a very simple idea (just drawing all the streets) but has a very complex effect. Different people with different interest can find out different things from the data, and the more you look at it, the more you see.

Also I find the visualization aesthetically pleasing. The way the delicate thin black lines divide the cells when you look up close and the texture of the image when look from afar are really beautiful.