Mapping Human Activity

Mapping Human Activity — page 1 — HUMAN BEHAVIOR Modern maps are a useful way to record and visualize human behavior They reveal patterns that help understand and predict how people act Maps can record a huge range of information about humans Almost any sort of data about people can be represented visually on a map For example cartographers can represent where different groups of people live in an area such as people who speak certain languages or follow certain religions They can also map where most people die in the hospital or where in a city or country supporters of rival sports teams are more likely to live In 1889 Charles Booth mapped London England’s wealthy homes in gold and red colors and poorer homes in blue His map showed exactly where the wealthy and poor lived within the city 4

Mapping Human Activity — page 2 — Washington Minn. Oregon Boise State Wyoming Utah B.Y.U. Nevada Nebraska Cal Stanford Colorado Fresno State Kansas Wisconsin Michigan Syracuse Mich. State UConn Penn State lowa Rutgers Notre Dame Ohio State Purdue Illinois Maryland W.Va. Missouri Louisville Virginia Tech Kentucky North Carolina Tennessee Arkansas South Carolina Ole Miss Alabama Georgia Mississippi State Auburn L.S.U. Florida State U.S.C. Arizona State New Mexico Oklahoma Texas Tech Arizona T.C.U. Texas A&M Baylor Oregon Ducks Florida Hawaii Miami Visualizing Statistics Maps that represent human activity are sometimes called behavioral maps These maps are usually based on statistics Since the middle of the 1800s governments and other organizations have kept statistics or records of human activity These statistics are often difficult to interpret It is not always possible to see patterns or trends from lists of figures Representing statistical information in visual form on a map makes it much easier to understand Maps are powerful tools City Councils can use them to identify the road intersections with most traffic accidents for example or areas with poorly performing schools Governments can use them to record things such as areas with many immigrants This map shows areas of strong and weak support for U.S. college football teams Each color represents the named team The bolder shades of each color show areas of strongest support with lighter tones of the color showing weaker support 5

Mapping Human Activity — page 3 — Breakthroughs The Map that Helped Cure Cholera In 1854 a severe outbreak of cholera occurred in the center of London England Cholera a deadly infection was assumed at the time to be caused by bad air Trying to find the cause of the infection a physician named John Snow made a map of the area He marked all the houses where people were sick or had died In the middle of the area was Broad Street Snow realized that the sick people had all used the water pump in the street To test his discovery Snow had the handle removed so the pump could not be used The cholera stopped spreading Snow had discovered that cholera was caused by dirty water This information can be used to decide which areas need more social services or where funding or government money needs to be given to help people Doctors can see places where cases of infectious diseases have broken out Retail chains or groups of many stores can map the amounts and types of goods that are sold from each store By doing so they can make sure each store has enough of the right goods in stock Fire and police departments can also map areas to figure out where to concentrate their resources For example fire departments will make sure that an area that is at-risk for wildfires will have a lot of fire-fighting resources John Snow’s map of cholera cases was the first example of using mapping to identify the source of an infection Did You Know Maps of human behavior show one of two types of data Some maps illustrate quantities of things such as how many supporters a football team has Other maps shows things that are not quantities such as the locations of teams Some maps use both methods together 6

Mapping Human Activity — page 4 — HUMAN BEHAVIOR On Charles Dupin’s map of France darker shading indicated the areas of least education They were also among the poorest areas of the country Showing Data on Maps Maps have been used to visualize and display information about people since the 1800s In 1826 Charles Dupin drew a map of the regions of France To show how many boys attended school in each region he shaded the regions dark for many school attendees and light for few attendees Dupin was trying to figure out the link between literacy and wealth His map clearly showed that the poorest regions of France had the worst numbers of boys who attended school therefore having the lowest literacy Dupin’s map persuaded the government to build more schools in the areas with the lowest literacy to help poorer people have better opportunities for education In the Real World The Department Store Route Have you ever noticed that when your family goes to a department or grocery store you follow roughly the same route through the aisles Stores do a lot of analysis of the routes shoppers take through their aisles They analyze where shoppers are most likely to stop and pick up items That helps them figure out how to arrange their shelving They make sure that the best-selling items and new promotions are positioned along the routes most shoppers use This map of a large retail store shows routes with the most footfall Yellow and red indicate the routes that most people take through the store Women’s wear Cards and candy 7

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