Map Porn

Watch the rise and fall of human civilizations over time and place as this data visualization maps the history of urban settlements and world population growth over the last 6, 000 years, from 3700 BC to 2000 AD. The dataset used, developed by Yale researchers, provides the first spatially explicit archive of the location and size of urban populations over the last 6, 000 years, contributing to an improved understanding of contemporary and historical urbanization trends. Why does the history of urbanization matter Whether it is for timely response to catastrophes, the delivery of disaster relief, assessing human impacts on the environment, or estimating populations vulnerable to hazards, it is essential to know where people and cities are geographically distributed. Additionally, the ability to geolocate the size and location of human populations OVER TIME helps to understand the evolving characteristics of the human species, especially human interactions with the environment. Now that humans are predomi