Chicago Market Maps

A weblog for members of the Canadian Cartographic Association and other individuals interested in all things cartographic

Published Thursday, July 13, 2006 by CCAer | E-mail this post

The ESRI blog, Geography Matters, points out Chicago Market Facts, a web page put together by Chicago Business. The site hosts an interactive map of the city that displays layers of all the standard census statistics, including income, population, and employment as well as a couple of unusual one (MP3 player demand). The map is zoomable, pannable and queryable.

More interesting, however, all the static maps and charts accessible by category from the main page of the Market Facts page. The maps and charts are in pdf format and cover a wide range of data including energy consumption, travel, spending and weather. The maps and charts are very colourful, clear and simple but sometimes border on the USA Today style of “info-tainment” graphics (see, for example if Chicagoans are dog people or cat people). As well, it’s interesting to note the selective inclusion of data on some of the charts and maps in order to put Chicago in a good light.

4 Responses to “Chicago Market Maps”

Anonymous on 8:32 AM

Here is an interactive map with a lot more detail (block group). It is also nationwide.

http://www.fairdata2000.com/SocioEconMapper/
Anonymous on 11:37 AM

The graphics do border on the "infotainment" side, but as my cartography prof used to state, "Cram as much information on the map without confusing the reader." That's exactly what I glean from these graphics, tons of data presented in a relatively clean and concise fashion. Not that dog vs. cat statistics make for compelling viewing (unless you work for Purina!).

BTW, your blog is one of the best map/GIS related sites on the web. Keep up the good work!
Anonymous on 4:10 PM

Pretty wild... Who doesn't love a good map??
Anonymous on 9:47 PM

Unbelievable the amount of data that's now being moved to graphic depictions. I worked in a market-research firm in Quebec from 89-91, and they always struggled with looking for better visual representations of complex data. Wonder what they're doing today ...