Pointillist data map shows the changing face of Texas

Joanna Carver, reporter

(Image: Kirk Goldsberry/KK Outlet)

Welcome to Texas. You may have heard there was a little election on that side of the pond this week. Who won? Who can remember? To see what the next one might hold, take a look at this visualisation of voting trends in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, by Kirk Goldsberry, an assistant professor of geography at Michigan State University in East Lansing. It's now on display at the KK Outlet gallery in London as part of its Mapping America exhibition.

The top half shows how people voted. Each red dot, unsurprisingly, is a Republican voter, while blue indicates Democrats. On the bottom half, each dot represents four people: blue is Asian, pink is black, green is Hispanic and orange is white.

Why did Goldsberry choose to work on Texas, rather than a swing state? "I'm particularly fond of Texas," he says. "I think a lot of people tend to stereotype Texas. I don't think people realise how blue the cities are, particularly cities like Austin and San Antonio. The work was partly to challenge people's perception of Texas. It's increasingly urban, it's increasingly Democratic, and therefore increasingly blue."

In 2004 there were 2.8 million Democratic votes, and in 2008 there were 3.5 million. While Latinos do tend to vote Democratic, they're becoming increasingly independent, while Republicans also court them for their fiscally and religiously conservative beliefs.

In fact, Goldsberry said, Texas could be following a similar trajectory that California did post-Reagan. Once a solid Republican lock, California is now almost solidly liberal.

KK Outlet print producer Marla Ulrich said the exhibition is meant to show how big and diverse the US is. Ulrich recalled how poorly Mitt Romney was received in London this year, and found it curious that Europeans didn't think he might win. The election, however, proved to be tight.

"Often Europeans really think of the US as New York and San Francisco," Ulrich said. "[The exhibition] was to show people how big the US is and how diverse it is. The main intention wasn't to go one side or another," Ulrich said.

Goldsberry did find it amusing that his Texas illustrations are being displayed in London in US election season.

"I think it just shows how influential US politics are, for better or for worse," he said. "People have a legitimate interest in the outcome."

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/25624936/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cshortsharpscience0C20A120C110Cmapping0Etexas0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

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