Using Flickr Geotags to Map the World's Cities

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We've seen maps of photographic activity around the world, and maps of traffic activity in a city, which reveal how heavily roads are used. And now, photographer Eric Fischer has combined both ideas, creating maps of 50 different cities around the world, using only the geotags of photos uploaded to Flickr and Picasa. What emerges are basically maps of human interest--that is, all the places fascinating enough that someone decided to take a picture. Above, the map for New York, with Manhattan in the center.

 

You'll also notice a bit of color coding on the maps. Apparently, Fischer was able to guess that the picture taker's mode of transportation--presumably using the time stamps and distance traveled between a user's pictures. He then created a color code: Black is walking (less than 7mph), Red is bicycling or equivalent speed (less than 19mph), Blue is motor vehicles on normal roads (less than 43mph); Green is freeways or rapid transit.

San Francisco

London

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Using a bit of ingenious reasoning, Fischer has managed to create maps showing which pictures were taken by tourists, and which were taken by locals.

Fischer's thought process: If a user took pictures in a specific city for only less than a month, she's probably a tourist. If she took pictures over a period longer than a month, she's probably a local. Clever, right? What you get are some elegant maps that fit neatly with your intuitions about where locals flock versus tourists.

New York:

SF:

All images:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/sets/72157624209158632/

source: http://www.fastcompany.com/1652550/infographic-of-the-day-using-flickr-geotags-to-map-the-worlds-cities

The colour coding thing only applies to the two top ones, the others use this:

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Blue points on the map are pictures taken by locals (people who have taken pictures in this city dated over a range of a month or more).

 

Red points are pictures taken by tourists (people who seem to be a local of a different city and who took pictures in this city for less than a month).

 

Yellow points are pictures where it can't be determined whether or not the photographer was a tourist (because they haven't taken pictures anywhere for over a month). They are probably tourists but might just not post many pictures at all

Pretty nice stuff.

very interesting stuff. and i am glad to see a map for Lisbon.

by the way, in the very first picture you posted New York, though it's written San Francisco..

My hood doesn't seem to have much photographic activity. :(