World Map

World Map is a highly interactive, open source mapping platform, which allows users at any level to create, manipulate, and collaborate using spacial representations of data from diverse sources.  Bridging a gap between intensive GIS software and consumer level mapping options, World Map allows users to create visualizations of data as small as a neighborhood block, or zoom out to the entire globe.  One of the most appealing features of World Map is the ease with which users can collaborate, and by accessing data from disparate sources, unexpected correlations may be drawn. 

In the above maps of Kenya and Tanzania, data is displayed from three unique sources detailing ecological subclimates, organizations advocating health services, and population data. In the first, terrestrial ecoregions are classified.  Along the coast of Kenya and Tanzania the green band indicates coastal mosaic forest, and the magenta blips along the seaward perimeter denote East African mangroves. Moving to inland Kenya, the peach section marks Northern acacia-commiphora bushland and thickets, while the orange inland section in Tanzania is the slightly wetter Souther acacia-commiphora bushland and thicket ecoregion.  This data tells us that the stretch of the Swahili coast from Kenya to Tanzania is ecologically similar, yet as we move into the hinterlands the terrain becomes unique.  This information could be useful for researchers in agriculture, disease control, or conservation. 

The second map marks the locations for organizations that promote health and well-being.  In individual cities marked, like Dar Es Salaam or Nairobi, a list of organizations and details about their mission, services, and contact information is easily found.  This representation seems to show more cities and towns with available services in Kenya than in Tanzania, though it would be worth further exploration on this point. While this map is not as useful in visual representation, it is a useful repository of information and could be paired with other data about the demand for services in specific areas, disease outbreak data, or population information.  

The third figure shows population data and country growth rate from the 2010 World Census.  Darker colored regions had a higher rate of growth, Kenya with 2.89%, Tanzania with 2.17%.  Drilling down on the countries, we can also see that life expectancy in Kenya is 61.8 years, and 52.5 in Tanzania, and that infant mortality rates are higher in Tanzania.  The Tanzanian population is growing more slowly than the Kenyan population, and this data points to the possible relationship between growth rate, infant mortality, and life span. Information about population size and growth is important to urban planners, agricultural and economic researchers, advocates for social programming, and others.