I’m a bit of both this week, and that’s my rather tenuous link to this project which compares the location of images shared on social media by… well… locals and tourists.
The blue dots represent local people’s images and the red dots are pictures taken by tourists.
Here – for example – is Oxford:
Down at half past six is Abingdon and up at 11o’clock is Blenheim Palace. Off to to west is Witney, but no-one really goes there. It’s no surprise (especially if you’re familiar with Oxford) that all the tourist stuff is happening up the High Street and down Broad Street:
Pretty University buildings, innit? That sidearm heading off to east is the road out to Headington, with a nice bit of red around Oxford Brookes.
Oxford is a good example of how divided a city can be, both in real life and on these maps. London is bright red around Westminster, the West End, the river and its bridges.
But perhaps unsurprisingly, no-one goes to Croydon.
It’s worth looking through any cities you know. It’s amazing how many bridges are key tourist spots: see London above, Budapest and San Francisco, for examples.
My only gripe with this project is that it only makes it into Africa as for as the Pyramids, while places like Minsk still get a map. And no-one’s being Belarus-hing there lately.
I would love to see Cape Town’s version.
