Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania have created Earth Timelapse, an interactive map showing global refugees flows from 2000 to 2015. It allows the user to visualize the movement of people from one country to another graphically and intuitively.
The map, designed using technology developed by Create Lab, functions like a video divided into sections, allowing users to choose to visualise global flows in a particular year or to concentrate on a specific country. The map also contains explanations of the main migration phenomena in the last 15 years, such as the flight of refugees from Darfur in 2003-2004 and of Syrians to Turkey in 2015-2016. The platform also confirms that the largest number of refugees have found shelter in developing countries.
Technology against prejudice
The map has been developed using UNHCR figures. The diagram showing the flows has been created using coloured dots: yellow for people leaving their country, red for those arriving. Every dot corresponds to 17 refugees. "With these moving maps that we can now create ... this highly interactive visual animation moves people beyond bias, enabling viewers to achieve common ground, fast," Create Lab director Illah Nourbakhsh told the website Mashable.
The map is part of the project Explorables, which aims to develop platforms that allow simpler access to complex data. "Instead of mere observers, (the users) become participants in making meaning of data," Nourbakhsh said. "Then, they can work to answer the questions we really should be asking: Why does our world view allow this sort of harm to exist? How can we work together to change the status quo for the better?."
Here is a link to check out the interactive maps for yourself:
https://explorables.cmucreatelab.org/explorables/annual-refugee s/examples/webgl-timemachine/