We admit it, we love mapping San Francisco. Something about the not-quite square profile of the city, the boldness of the peninsula jutting into the mouth of the bay, the jigsaw-like arrangement of neighborhoods and street grids, and the bristling appendages of the waterfront infrastructure just beg to be painted in a rainbow of color-coded data.
When it comes to feeding our map obsession, the National Trust For Historic Preservation’s interactive map silo is the mother lode. Part of the trust’s "Older, Smaller, Better" study to preserve the character of old school architecture in major US cities, the map collective sprays San Francisco with colorful shades representing almost every statistic you can possibly measure about the city’s population and housing stock.
Here are a few favorites, although of course these images don’t quite do justice to the full package. We're in favor of any data archive that makes prominent neighborhoods looking like a medley of delicious orange sherbets. Dig in.
Character Score
This is one is the trust's block-by-block estimation of the quality of local buildings. Warm colors indicate high scores.
Median Age of Buildings
Warm colors indicate older buildings. Note that construction dates prior to the 20th century are always a bit hazy in San Francisco records.
Median Age of Residents
Warmer colors indicate younger neighbors.
Median Rent
A classic. Warmer colors mean higher rents.
Rate Of Property Value Increase
Businesses Owned By Women/Minorities
Warmer colors means greater density of diverse businesses. Yikes, we should probably work on this one.
Cafe Seating
Based on permit data. No wonder we can't find a place to sit.
Vacant and Undeveloped Properties
Note that in planning terms, "vacant" can include parking lots and other spaces that are technically developed.
Jobs in Creative Fields
This data is five years old, though, making it more of a historical artifact at this point.
Number of Flickr Photos Uploaded
Cell Phone Use, 10 PM Friday
Cell Phone Use, 4 PM Sunday
Access to Transit
- Older, Smaller, Better maps [National Trust]
- Older, Smaller, Better report [National Trust]
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