Visualizing France with Cartograms

Jonathan Haughton () and Dominique Haughton ()
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Jonathan Haughton: Suffolk University, Department of Economics
Dominique Haughton: Bentley University, Department of Mathematical Sciences

A chapter in Advances in Contemporary Statistics and Econometrics, 2021, pp 653-668 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract France has a long tradition of using statistical (choropleth) maps, which use shading to represent the spatial distribution of a variable, such as population, by department. Such maps lead the observer to underestimate the importance of urban areas, especially Paris. A solution that complements the choropleth map is to create a cartogram, which deliberately distorts each department so that the area is in proportion to the variable (such as population). Shading can then be used to show a second variable, typically representing density, on the same map. We illustrate the use of cartograms for the case of metropolitan France, with maps that show the spatial distribution of social housing, unemployment, immigration, suicides, election patterns, and the advance of COVID-19. The maps are relatively straightforward to construct, using ArcMap, but attention is needed to the use of colors and classifications. The cartograms reveal patterns that would not be clear based solely on traditional statistical maps.

Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-030-73249-3_33

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-73249-3_33

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