From the Urban Edge: Houston in 2016, as Told Through 5 Maps

For our look at cities in 2306.

- Click here for the article.

Here's one that showcases the "suburbanization of poverty."

As inner-loop real estate heats up, Houston is experiencing what many urban areas across the country are seeing: the suburbanization of poverty, presenting new challenges for communities that often lack infrastructure like a robust public transportation system. It also means that service providers may need to reorient themselves. One example of this can be seen from our Opportunity Youth report, which tracked young adults ages 16-19 who are not enrolled in school or employed. Many of the areas with the highest number of these so-called “disconnected” or “opportunity youth” are outside the loop, challenging stereotypes about “inner cities.”

Another example of the suburbanization of poverty comes from our Disparate City report. Looking at poverty rates by census tract across the county, researchers found that not only has poverty increased but it has become more concentrated as the wealthy have become more segregated. The concentration of poverty, along with the suburbanization of poverty, is one of the biggest challenges metro areas face today. In Harris County, the problem is particularly acute. From 1980 to 2010, the percentage of high poverty census tracts in Harris County more than quadrupled to 39 percent, which is nearly double the national rate of 20 percent. The researchers also found that “high poverty areas, largely confined to within or just beyond Houston’s Inner Loop in 1980, have since emerged in the areas beyond the Inner Loop … These high poverty areas largely supplanted areas that were considered middle class in 1980.

America's Territorial Expansion Mapped (1789-2014)

Territorial History of the USA: Every Month for 400 Years

For our look at counties in 2306.

For more, click here.

From Vox: The real state of the union, in 33 maps and charts

If you like maps and charts, you'll like this page.

- Click here for it.

It contains info about both the state of the union and the relative status of each state. So it's useful for both 2305 and 2306.

Here's a sampling:

From the Atlantic: The Most Famous Brand From Every State

The most and least religious metropolitan areas

The Atlantic maps them out. The break down mirrors the cultural breakdown across state we discuss in 2306. Big surprise that no Texas cities were at the top of the list of religious areas. Mostly Utah and the Deep South. The west coast, New England and upper Midwest were least religious - along with Colorado. This almost looks like the electoral map of 2012.

The latest ideological ratings of Congress

The National Journal uses votes in the 2012 Congress to rank state congressional delegations according to ideology. You can find the entire results for the Senate here. Click here for the results for the House. Perhaps the most important part of the study is the votes on the specific bills used to determine who the liberals and conservatives are. Click here for the list. This takes the abstract ideological positions of "liberal" and "conservative" and makes them more concrete. It gives them some context.

Here's a map showing which state delegations are liberal, centrist, or conservative. Texas has the 13th most conservative state delegation.

A great site: A Handsome Atlas

If you like old maps anyway. I do.

All it is really is a site devoted to three versions of the statistical atlas of the United States. The ones published in 1870, 1880, and 1890.

This page describes religious denominations in the states in 1870:

Where is Dixie exactly?

I stumbled across this map describing what is and is not "the South." It seems as good as any other.

More maps

. . . if you're into this sort of thing, I am.

Here's the ever important church v beer map:

One dot, one person

Click here for an explanation of this map: