Visualizing commute time

tommyseattle.com

This was an exploration of a few things:

• Google's Geocoding API
• Google Maps - Displaying lines
• GIS - Overlaying shapes with d3 and Turf.js

The goal was to see how long commutes are to various parts of Metro Seattle from the center of downtown Seattle. I chose the public transit mode because I think that's the 2nd best way to get around Seattle (biking is the #1 way).

Initially I color-coded the commute paths in 10-minute buckets. I then tried a more ambitious approach of adding shapes to see the commutes at a more broad level across the metro area.

Issues and challenges:

• Need more of a grid-based approach to the destination locations, rather than homes for sale.
• Working with the polygons was challenging. There's a good bit of code and complexity. Could probably use some of d3's geojson to make it easier.
• I'm a bit skeptical of these commute times. They seem low/ambitious and might not factor in traffic well.