Alex B. Hill

We did the same, but using OldInsuranceMaps.net

Discount bundles on allllll published 50 Maps books: 10% off if you buy one, 20% off if you buy two, 30% off if you buy three, 40% off if you buy four, and 50% off if you buy five. Stock up for the holidays!

Extralibrary Loan: Making the Civic Infrastructure We Need Amid a war on public knowledge, libraries are pushing outward, enlarging the commons through new configurations of civic and creative life.

I wrote about public libraries as spaces of civic solidarity, common knowledge, and public infrastructure — all endangered by commercial and federal saboteurs

Happy logical Halloween

Event: Detroit GIS Day 2025 We are very excited this year to have Sharon Cornelissen as our keynote speaker this year. She is director of housing at the Consumer Federation of America and soon-to-be published book based on her dissertation work: “The Last House on the Block: Black Homeowners, White Homesteaders, and Failed Gentrification in Detroit.” Check out the full list of panels, lightning talks, and workshops!

Event: Detroit GIS Day 2025

We are very excited this year to have Sharon Cornelissen as our keynote speaker this year. She is director of housing at the Consumer Federation of America and soon-to-be published book based on her dissertation work: “The Last House on the Block: Black Homeowners,…

Event: #Maptime Fall 2025 Series WHEN: Mondays, starting September 15th, from 12-4PM WHERE: Prentis Building Fishbowl, Wayne State University, 5201 Cass Ave. WHAT: Come co-work on your mapping project, get support learning GIS, or just chat about maps! RSVP: Let us know you're coming!

Event: #Maptime Fall 2025 Series

WHEN: Mondays, starting September 15th, from 12-4PM WHERE: Prentis Building Fishbowl, Wayne State University, 5201 Cass Ave. WHAT: Come co-work on your mapping project, get support learning GIS, or just chat about maps! RSVP: Let us know you're coming!

I am such a fan of this kind of reporting -- and so well done! Congrats, @detdocumenters.bsky.social and @kobylevin.bsky.social.

(Full disclosure: I did a deep dive on food prices in Detroit for Slate when Whole Foods opened in 2013.)

African Union urges adoption of world map showing continent's true size The African Union has backed a campaign to end the use by governments and international organisations of the 16th-century Mercator map of the world in favour of one that more accurately displays Africa's size.

The Mercator Projection was never supposed to be a standard for showing people what the world looks like and it's quite bad at that. Switching to Equal Earth is a good call even if I think some of the rhetoric is hyperbolic. www.reuters.com/world/africa...

Detroit By The Numbers: July 2025 Data Roundup I'm so excited that Detroit By The Numbers will be a new monthly segment on the Authentically Detroit podcast! We'll highlight significant data and numbers from the past month for Detroiters! Listen to the July Data Roundup 62 percent of active voters are aged 60 or over (BridgeDetroit). If you need to check your voting options and polling place visit…

Detroit By The Numbers: July 2025 Data Roundup

I'm so excited that Detroit By The Numbers will be a new monthly segment on the Authentically Detroit podcast! We'll highlight significant data and numbers from the past month for Detroiters! Listen to the July Data Roundup 62 percent of active voters…

Where’s my polling place? Search new online tool to see voting location The Vote Detroit tool was created by Detroit activist Alex Hill in partnership with the Detroit Democracy Project and EngagedMI.

Where’s my polling place? Search new online tool to see voting location

The Vote Detroit tool was created by Detroit activist Alex Hill in partnership with the Detroit Democracy Project and EngagedMI.

Map: “Detroit” places inside and outside the city limits I hear this question all the time, sometimes it is a vulgarity thrown at suburban businesses using “Detroit” in their name to profit from the city. The data show that truly the majority…

Oh hey! Still so relevant: detroitography.com/2022/02/04/m...

DBF x DPL live talks: Mark Crilley, Dr. Ricky Ross, Curtis Chin, The AstroTwins, and more! (Friday, July 18th, 2025) – Detroit Festival of Books DBF x DPL live talks: Mark Crilley, Dr. Ricky Ross, Curtis Chin, The AstroTwins, and more! (Friday, July 18th, 2025) Detroit Public Library   Detroit Festi

Find Belt's @alexbhill.bsky.social, author of Great Lakes in 50 Maps, at Detroit Book Fest!
detroitbookfest.com/detroit-book...

Map: Analysis of Speed Hump Efficacy in Detroit Check out the interactive version of this map: by: Ted Tansley, Data Analyst The city of Detroit has been installing thousands of speed humps all around the city in the last couple of years, but ar…

Map: Analysis of Speed Hump Efficacy in Detroit detroitography.com/2025/06/09/m... by @tedtansley.bsky.social

A look back at the 18 days when there were six Great Lakes In March 1998, Lake Champlain had a taste of greatness.

For a span of less than three weeks in 1998, Lake Champlain tasted greatness.

Great Lakes in 50 Maps The largest freshwater system on Earth, like you’ve never seen it before. The Great Lakes region is home to one-tenth of the United States’ population, and one-quarter of Canada’s. Even if we remember...

Welcome to the world, Great Lakes in 50 Maps!!! 🌊https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/collections/50-maps/products/9781540270009 @alexbhill.bsky.social

Detroit dropped slumlord lawsuits against notorious speculators The City of Detroit quietly dropped slumlord lawsuits against Michael Kelly and Stephen Hagerman without notice or settlement.

In 2020, the City of Detroit filed three high-profile lawsuits targeting some of Detroit’s most notorious slumlords and speculators.

Five years later, it dropped them with no settlements, no explanation and no public announcement.

🤔 So ... what changed?

Check out our interview with map-maker and author Alex B. Hill! Great Lakes in 50 Maps comes to stores and mailboxes near you June 3rd, and it's on sale till pub day. 🦆
beltpublishing.com/pages/interv...

Event: Detroit Data Forum: Health Data and Assessments Welcome to our Data Forum where we will discuss City, County, and Hospital health assessments in Detroit. Join us online for lunch-and-learn filled with insightful discussions, tips, and tricks on all things related to the data. We’ll be joined by the Tiffani Stewart and the Detroit Health Department team releasing their latest Community Health Assessment (CHA), Katerina Stylianou sharing the most recent Wayne County health assessment results, and…

Event: Detroit Data Forum: Health Data and Assessments

Welcome to our Data Forum where we will discuss City, County, and Hospital health assessments in Detroit. Join us online for lunch-and-learn filled with insightful discussions, tips, and tricks on all things related to the data. We’ll be…

It’s cute and cozy inside. I hear it has a great brunch offering as well!

New interview with author and cartographer @alexbhill.bsky.social is on Belt's site now --> beltpublishing.com/pages/interv...

Great Lakes in 50 Maps By Alex B. HillJune 3, 2025 The largest freshwater system on Earth, like you’ve never seen it before.  The Great Lakes region is home to one-tenth of the United States’ population, and one-quarter of ...

"Cartographer Hill delivers a diverting compendium of 50 different views of the 'vast inland freshwater seas' along the border between the U.S. and Canada... Readers will be able to while away the hours with this one." -PW beltpublishing.com/products/gre... @alexbhill.bsky.social

Map: The Geography of Voting in Detroit Voting in Detroit is not known to be easy and the numbers of voters reflect that difficulty. Election Day confusion is well-known and documented even amongst regular voters. Polling places have changed and in some cases changed again. In 2020, the City Clerk noted that some 40,000 Detroiters were subject to a polling place update two weeks prior to the election.

Map: The Geography of Voting in Detroit

Voting in Detroit is not known to be easy and the numbers of voters reflect that difficulty. Election Day confusion is well-known and documented even amongst regular voters. Polling places have changed and in some cases changed again. In 2020, the City Clerk…

Great Lakes in 50 Maps By Alex B. HillJune 3, 2025 The largest freshwater system on Earth, like you’ve never seen it before.  The Great Lakes region is home to one-tenth of the United States’ population, and one-quarter of ...

Have 20% of the world's freshwater in your backyard? Grab a nice cold glass and pre-order Great Lakes in 50 Maps. 🥤☺️Refreshing. beltpublishing.com/products/gre... @alexbhill.bsky.social

Check out last month’s newsletter!

April was a busy month, with lots of updates and news to share. Here are a few summaries, but make sure to read the April Newsletter in full!
glos.org/news-events/...

Graphic provided by Union of Concerned Scientists. Text includes, "Science Needs You."

“Save Science Now” is a new initiative created by @ucsusa.bsky.social to raise awareness and highlight support for scientific research in the United States.

Learn how you can #SupportScience and pass it along to others in your life: buff.ly/fYmAfaR #GeoSky #ScienceMatters #GeoSky

I want there to be franchised Map Center stores in every state!

Great Lakes in 50 Maps By Alex B. HillJune 3, 2025 The largest freshwater system on Earth, like you’ve never seen it before.  The Great Lakes region is home to one-tenth of the United States’ population, and one-quarter of ...

Take a long look at the watershed between the US and Canada, find all the lighthouses, track how the birds fly, spot monsters, and more from @alexbhill.bsky.social. Pre-order now and get your copy first (and tell your libraries and bookstores to order)

Event: Detroit Regional Transit Fantasy Support Group with TRU Join the annual and unofficial Detroit Regional Transit Fantasy Support (DRTFS) Group. Come see the great transit fantasy maps of the Detroit region and make your own! Propose people mover expansions or subway tunnel routes. Rocket buses or rail lines. We'll focus the evening with Transit Riders United (TRU) sharing steps we can all take to improve mass public transit in the Detroit region.

Event: Detroit Regional Transit Fantasy Support Group with TRU

Join the annual and unofficial Detroit Regional Transit Fantasy Support (DRTFS) Group. Come see the great transit fantasy maps of the Detroit region and make your own! Propose people mover expansions or subway tunnel routes. Rocket…

Trump’s War on Measurement Means Losing Data on Drug Use, Maternal Mortality, Climate Change and More By slashing teams that gather critical data, the administration has left the federal government with no way of understanding if policies are working — and created a black hole of information whose con...

This is an EXCELLENT article. I teach statistics to public policy students & tell them that data are essential for making the world a better place. We need good data to assess the state of things, see how things have changed over time, & evaluate if policies work.

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Experts explain criticality of regional EPA office | Great Lakes Now Cultural connection to the region allows EPA staff to bring value to the Great Lakes, former EPA executive Dave Ullrich says.

EPA has a new mission under Trump and a downsizing looms. What are the consequences? “What is happening today is far more dangerous than past attempts by new administrations to rebalance EPA priorities,” a former EPA exec says. www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/04/expe...