Origin-Destination Menses Maps

Earlier this calendar month I read an interesting article inward the Cartography together with Geographic Information Science journal, examining Design Principles for Origin-Destination Flow Maps. In the newspaper the authors advise 3 practiced blueprint principles for visualizing origin-destination flows where specific routes betwixt the source together with finish are unknown or unimportant.

One of the 3 blueprint principles suggested inward the article is that "curved flows are to a greater extent than effective than forthwith flows". Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 practiced illustration of this blueprint regulation tin live on seen inward exercise inward Bostongraphy's Hubway Trip Explorer. In this interactive map Bostongraphy has mapped trips taken on Boston's bike portion network.

The map allows you lot to explore trips taken on the network past times fourth dimension of day, twenty-four hours of the week, calendar month of the year, inward dissimilar atmospheric condition conditions together with past times the sex & historic menstruum of the rider. Once you lot direct maintain used these options to filter the information the origin-destination flows are together with thus visualized on a map of Boston using curved current lines.

The purpose of these curved lines to present the origin-destination flows on the map seems much to a greater extent than effective than assigning specific routes (for illustration past times using the shortest road betwixt the source & destination), The purpose of wider curves for longer distances ensures that the private origin-destination flows tin live on clearly differentiated on the map. If forthwith job routes betwixt the private bike stations had been used instead of these curved job flows the private origin-destination flows would live on much harder to read on the map. It in all probability every bit good wouldn't direct maintain been every bit aesthetically pleasing every bit this rather beautiful looking map of the traffic flows betwixt Boston's Hubway stations.