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Cartogram thematic map (where areas are sized according to their population)

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Cartogram thematic map (where areas are sized according to their population)
Proportion of people claiming benefits in English cities, 2003.
Visual types
Level of expertise
Source:
CLG (2006) State of English Cities, Volume 1: page 119 (Government report)
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/citiesandregions/pdf/143999.pdf
Interactive features
None
Benefits & pitfalls to avoid
  • Shaded maps can emphasise large areas much more than small ones - for example highlighting rural areas over urban, if fixed population areas such as Super Output Areas are shown. Consider providing an alternate mode in which values are represented by circles, or values are scaled by the area size (ie showing density).
Create your own
  • Chloropleth maps can be created in a range of desktop GIS applications such as MapInfo and ArcGIS.
  • There are currently no commercial applications that create cartograms, although some routines are available on the web from Cartogram Central and World Mapper.