Not all transportation is made equal: cars may zip by, but they get snarled up in traffic; walking is slow, but you’ll never get caught in a jam. Isoscope mashes together information sets to tell you how far you can get within your city via car, bike or foot — at any time of day.
A class project by by Flavio Gortana, Sebastian Kaim and Martin von Lupin, the result is an interactive map that lets you explore what they call mobility around the world. They explain:
We drive to the closest supermarket, take the bike to the gym or walk to the cafe next door for a nice chat among friends. Getting around — thus mobility — is an essential part of our being. We were especially intrigued by those situations when our mobility is compromised such as in traffic jams or during tough driving conditions. How do those restrictions impact our journeys through the city and who is affected most? Obviously, a car can hardly bypass a traffic jam, whereas a bike is more flexible to continue its journey. Let alone the pedestrian who can stroll wherever he wants to. Isoscope tries to answer the questions above by comparing different means of transport and their sensitivity for disturbances.
So, the map lets you choose a day and time period — say, Tuesday at 11am or Friday at 6pm — then see how far you can get from a central point in 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 minutes. It’s an interesting take on other commute maps in that it lets you consider different times of day, which is pretty handy. Maybe you should shift your commute? [Isoscope via Flowing Data]