Maps: February 2018 Archives

Interactive map shows uploaded activity routes of fitness-trackers users who share their routes socially through the Strava app. Popular pedestrian routes and jogging paths show up, as do cut-through streets, commuter routes, and even ferry routes. Over a billion activities have been aggregated in the map, which is controversial because western outposts in otherwise primitive or uninhabited areas (like US military bases in the desert) light up rather conspicuously. Here's how Strava processed the raw data to make this map. Close to Tulsa, the map highlights popular walking and jogging paths, like those around LaFortune Park and Lynn Lane Reservoir. Paths around popular tourist attractions like Australia Zoo and Hobbiton are relatively faint, but the Te Waihou Walkway, a path that leads to New Zealand's Blue Spring is white-hot. This may just reflect that people are likelier to be running their fitness apps when exercising than while on vacation.