Mapping Our Biases

After five and a half years of our newsletter, with about 250 issues published and hundreds of maps, we realize that we are frequently but inadvertently showing our biases on what places we should map. It’s not that we don’t like Columbus, Ohio. It’s a fine place. But...

March Madness

Every year, the spectacle of March Madness takes over, and brackets determine the moods of many Americans. While cheering for your college or local team may be fun, it is also big business for local economies that host these events. Who is watching NCAA basketball...

Food Insecurity

Talk to friends, watch the news, or log into your favorite social media app, and it’s hard to not hear the chatter about the price of groceries, especially eggs. Sure, everything is more expensive than ever before, and where you often feel it is in your everyday...

Demographic Shifts: Median Age

It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that the American population is getting older. The average number of children born to women of childbearing age has been falling steadily, and the distribution of population by age most certainly shows this: The percentage of the...

Weather Impacts to NFL Games

A few weeks ago, the San Francisco 49ers played the Buffalo Bills in an epic game after Highmark stadium was buried in 2 feet of snow. The snow was so heavy before the game that they paid fans $20 an hour to shovel snow inside the stadium to get it ready. Obviously,...

Worth A Thousand Words?

If the purpose of a site report is to convey an understanding of trade area demographics, it only makes sense that maps were soon included. Even cut-and-paste topographic maps, with hand drawn radii, brought the numbers on the page to life. The early attempts at...