Magical Urbanism, a website about urbanization, design and social change, is maintained by Mike Ernst. I'm an urban planner and designer based in San Francisco. I am a graduate of the Visualizing US Expansion through Post Offices
Derek Watkins created this visualization showing how formal US territorial control expanded in North America from 1700 to 1900, as seen through changes in the spatial distribution of post offices:
It’s a time capsule of manifest destiny. Watch the South in the 1860s, where there’s no activity due to the Civil War. Land rushes and gold rushes are apparent, as are the expansion of railroads. Do you spot anything interesting?
Link to the video on Vimeo via boingboing. For the full description of how Derek created the visualization, check out his website.
