Earlier quoted context omitted.
How much "fixing up" can you do in a long weekend and still find time for all the other activities?
Fixing up is part of the fun.
Did I ever indicate I felt otherwise?
Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population
61–70 of 107 posts
Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population
#62North Dakota is the only clearly discernible state boundary. Anybody know why that is? Does something about the legal regime of North Dakota really change the settlement patterns that much? Or is it some kind of artefact of the way that ND census block are formed, compared to the surrounding states?
> Update: On a more detailed examination of those two states, I’m convinced the contrast here is due to differences in the sizes of the blocks. North Dakota’s blocks are more consistently small (StDev of 3.3) while South Dakota’s are more varied (StDev of 9.28). West of the Missouri River, South Dakota’s blocks are substantially larger than those in ND, so a single inhabitant can appear to take up more spaaaaaace. Be…
Yep, I grew up in ND, and my nearest non family neighbor was 7 miles away. This was pretty common. So if you parcel things up smaller than say 5 miles you'll miss people there pretty easily.
Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population
#63North Dakota is the only clearly discernible state boundary. Anybody know why that is? Does something about the legal regime of North Dakota really change the settlement patterns that much? Or is it some kind of artefact of the way that ND census block are formed, compared to the surrounding states?
> Update: On a more detailed examination of those two states, I’m convinced the contrast here is due to differences in the sizes of the blocks. North Dakota’s blocks are more consistently small (StDev of 3.3) while South Dakota’s are more varied (StDev of 9.28). West of the Missouri River, South Dakota’s blocks are substantially larger than those in ND, so a single inhabitant can appear to take up more spaaaaaace. Be…
I assume the census data doesn't have enough information to divide it up into equal size areas?
Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population
#64Maybe I'm the only one, but is anyone else impressed about the amount of populated areas in the country? It makes me wonder how long we have until we start shoving each other into the oceans.
The chart only shows presence or absence of human settlement. Just because there are people there doesn't mean there are a lot of people there. Outside of big urban areas like SF, LA, NYC, and Chicago, the US isn't a particularly crowded place. I was born in Shanghai, China and went back to visit family about 4 years ago. I also lived in Manhattan for 3.5 years. Times Square cannot even compare to the absolute crush…
Just have to point out that the population density is hard thing to talk about in the U.S. because the reality is that NYC is far more dense that any other city. We talk about a few cities as though they are equals when in reality it's NYC and then a giant dropoff to everyone else.
Also there's a perception of a few places as being the "big cities" even though population has changed a lot over the years. Perception hasn't changed. So even though SF is definitely dense, there are other places that are equally dense, like Miami, Philadelphia, and Louisville that people don't really think of that way. And then there are emerging big cities (but not necessarily dense) like San Antonio that people perceive as being small.
Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm a recluse and I've actually considered one day retiring to a state like Montana, Wyoming, or Idaho. This infographic just made my eyes light up. "Oh my god I can finally get away from everyone" I thought.
Native wyomingite here - I wouldn't live anywhere else. Cheyenne (state capital) isn't even that densely populated and it's about the busiest city I'd ever want to live in. Here, life seems mostly laid back and relaxing where just a few tens of miles to the south in either Fort Collins or Denver, CO, life feels hectic and claustrophobic. I'd call this city just about perfect, though - it's still in Wyoming, so there'…
I don't know. I lived in Cheyenne for five years (nuke officer), and to this day, whenever I get caught in an afternoon, car door bending wind, I think of those days; the air continuously rolls down the Front Range whipping through town...but Vedauwoo was beautiful, and thankfully Ft Collins was just a hop away.
Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population
#66And if you shrink the size of the census block even further you'll find that an amazing 90+% of land isn't actually being occupied!
If you shrink it even further still you'll find 100% isn't being occupied! That's assuming each person occupies only a point, or pretty close to. That's why this map is so misleading even if it is fascinating. The size of the blocks has a huge effect on the result.
Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population
#67On a side note: Is there any reason they ommited the Baja Peninsula? it's a big part of Mexico ...
Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
I did no such thing. I responded to someone's statement that he's a recluse with the suggestion that perhaps that's not a natural state. Somehow this is offensive? Then I went on to make what I considered a positive and constructive suggestion, that assuming I did not understand the person, he might look in places other than zero-population areas for suitable but more convenient habitation. I'm sorry you see that as…
I have no idea what your comment was before it was deleted, but based on how defensive you've gotten since, maybe you should seek therapy for your anger management issues?
Please don't pile on.
Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population
#69Related to this is a PDF from the USGS showing the average distance to the nearest road: https://www.fort.usgs.gov/sites/default/files/products/publi...
And related to roads is the concept of McSparseness, and be sure to follow the update links for a fun adventure:
http://www.datapointed.net/2009/09/distance-to-nearest-mcdon...
Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population
#70For the purpose of assessing how densely populated places are, this map is extremely misleading. A rural area with one farmer in each block will look just the same as a city, and both will look more populated than part of a busy highway or waterway with no permanent residents. It's mixing up information about the discretization with information about the population. It reminds me of those global statistics maps that…
Is anybody suggesting this should be used for assessing population density? You seem to be attacking a straw man.
The accompanying text states:
> The map tends to highlight two types of areas: places where human habitation is physically restrictive or impossible, and places where human habitation is prohibited by social or legal convention.
And the creator states his purpose (emphasis mine):
> Ultimately, I made this map to show a different side of the United States. Human geographers spend so much time thinking about where people are. I thought I might bring some new insight by showing where they are not, adding contrast and context to the typical displays of the country’s population geography.
I for one found it very interesting to see the vast expanses of the U.S. that record no permanent residences. Of particular interest to me is the administrative effort that must go into maintaining almost five million census blocks that have no citizens to report!