Spring Spree from the MIT Senseable City Lab

Explained: All of the transactions in Spain during Easter week 2011.

Chosen: Beautiful visualizations. I appreciate the presentation of data, but that analysis is left to the viewer to discover.

Critiqued: So what? As much as I appreciate the data presented, why does it matter?

Related: Spring Spree was born out of collaboration with Spanish bank BBVA. They claim that research will continue, but there hasn’t been a peep since 2012.

Mapnificent from Stefan Wehrmeyer

Explained: How far you can travel with public transportation in a set period of time, overlaid on a map.

Chosen: APIs are so cool — the implementation with Google Map’s database of locations in combination with the “intersect” option from the video above seems like an incredibly useful thing. Overall, the concept behind the application is poignantly relevant.

Critiqued: I would like to see actual bus and subway routes overlaid as well, and possibly even opportunity for user input to adjust results according to real-life use.

Related: There are other applications with duplicated functionality to Mapnificent — Mapumental is one. The app utilizes a bunch of APIs from cities around the world to work.