https://bergstromgis.com/blog.html Weekly and biweekly GIS projects and write-ups from Brian Bergstrom: civic data journalism, humanitarian mapping, and personal-interest builds. en-us Sun, 30 Aug 2026 18:00:00 GMT https://bergstromgis.com/work/lake-america-rename.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/lake-america-rename.html Sun, 30 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT A single executive order renamed a Great Lake for U.S. Google Maps users. A real toggle map showing what changed, and why OpenStreetMap doesn't work that way. https://bergstromgis.com/work/nepal-flood-response-map.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/nepal-flood-response-map.html Fri, 28 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT The real HOT/NAXA volunteer mapping response to the August 2026 Rasuwa flood in Nepal, alongside cloud-masked before/after satellite imagery and the real, still-rising toll. https://bergstromgis.com/work/us-disease-surveillance-map.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/us-disease-surveillance-map.html Fri, 28 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT A national map of real, state-by-state case counts for every CDC-notifiable disease, tracked against the actual dated timeline of federal vaccine policy changes since RFK Jr. took over HHS. https://bergstromgis.com/work/us-territorial-timelapse.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/us-territorial-timelapse.html Fri, 28 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT A timelapse map of who actually controlled North American territory, 1492 to today: Indigenous nations, colonial powers, and the United States. https://bergstromgis.com/work/chicagoland-activity-space-divide.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/chicagoland-activity-space-divide.html Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT Testing a 2026 Demography paper's finding about shared activity space and segregation, at the Chicagoland municipality level. https://bergstromgis.com/work/chicagoland-third-places.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/chicagoland-third-places.html Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT Every cafe, library, community center, and social facility across 319 Chicagoland municipalities, mapped per capita so towns of any size can be compared fairly. https://bergstromgis.com/work/illinois-mental-health-map.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/illinois-mental-health-map.html Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT County-level suicide rates, mental distress, and uninsured rates swiped directly against mental health facility locations across all 102 Illinois counties. https://bergstromgis.com/work/illinois-turning-wood-map.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/illinois-turning-wood-map.html Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT Where 16 prized wood-turning species actually grow across Illinois, based on real USDA Forest Service survey data. Built for my uncle, a wood turner in the Chicago area. https://bergstromgis.com/work/food-pantry-transit-map.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/food-pantry-transit-map.html Wed, 22 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT An interactive map of 285+ Chicago-area food pantries cross-referenced against real CTA, Metra, and Pace transit lines. https://bergstromgis.com/work/wildfire-smoke-dashboard.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/wildfire-smoke-dashboard.html Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A live, auto-updating dashboard tracking Canadian wildfire smoke and its impact on Chicago-area air quality. https://bergstromgis.com/work/food-desert.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/food-desert.html Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A 2023 GIS capstone proving real food insecurity in one of the wealthiest counties in the country, now being rebuilt open-source at a 90-mile Chicago radius. https://bergstromgis.com/work/hospitals-accessibility.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/hospitals-accessibility.html Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A live dashboard analyzing healthcare accessibility across Illinois, streaming cloud-native geospatial data in real time. https://bergstromgis.com/work/ice-detention-map.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/ice-detention-map.html Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A dashboard mapping every U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility and its reported population. https://bergstromgis.com/work/illinois-weather-dashboard.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/illinois-weather-dashboard.html Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Live precipitation and humidity across Illinois weather stations. https://bergstromgis.com/work/nami-storymap.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/nami-storymap.html Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A StoryMap built from 31 in-person community interviews, mapping mental health resources across DuPage County. https://bergstromgis.com/work/transit-heat-vulnerability.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/transit-heat-vulnerability.html Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A dashboard rating CTA stations by heat vulnerability in walkable zones, layering climate and demographic data. https://bergstromgis.com/work/tree-cover-analyzer.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/tree-cover-analyzer.html Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Analyzes canopy cover and trail elevation across DuPage County Forest Preserves to find the shadiest walking routes. https://bergstromgis.com/work/vampire-film-atlas.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/vampire-film-atlas.html Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A temporal heat map of roughly 500 vampire and horror film locations across the U.S., 1960-2026. https://bergstromgis.com/work/world-religions-dashboard.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/world-religions-dashboard.html Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A map of global religious distribution, with particular methodological care on Norse/Neopagan Ásatrú data. https://bergstromgis.com/work/worldcup-fatigue-dashboard.html https://bergstromgis.com/work/worldcup-fatigue-dashboard.html Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Tracks player and team fatigue across the 2026 World Cup, combining travel distance with days of rest between matches.