Kyle Walker
@kylewalker.bsky.social
Demographics | Geospatial | Data Science | Open Source
The upcoming release of the mapgl #rstats package supports donut charts for circle clustering.
This won't be everyone's favorite technique, but I like how you can visualize the internal composition of clusters.
Try it out live by clicking the "Clusters" option: walker-data.com/maps/census-...
This won't be everyone's favorite technique, but I like how you can visualize the internal composition of clusters.
Try it out live by clicking the "Clusters" option: walker-data.com/maps/census-...
September 30, 2026 at 2:43 PM
The upcoming release of the mapgl #rstats package supports donut charts for circle clustering.
This won't be everyone's favorite technique, but I like how you can visualize the internal composition of clusters.
Try it out live by clicking the "Clusters" option: walker-data.com/maps/census-...
This won't be everyone's favorite technique, but I like how you can visualize the internal composition of clusters.
Try it out live by clicking the "Clusters" option: walker-data.com/maps/census-...
The improved clustering engine in the next release of freestiler can scale beyond a billion points with smooth performance.
I've got a powerful MacBook but I did all the processing on a laptop.
So many possibilities are getting unlocked in geospatial right now.
I've got a powerful MacBook but I did all the processing on a laptop.
So many possibilities are getting unlocked in geospatial right now.
September 28, 2026 at 4:52 PM
The improved clustering engine in the next release of freestiler can scale beyond a billion points with smooth performance.
I've got a powerful MacBook but I did all the processing on a laptop.
So many possibilities are getting unlocked in geospatial right now.
I've got a powerful MacBook but I did all the processing on a laptop.
So many possibilities are getting unlocked in geospatial right now.
"Fade on zoom" is one of my favorite cartographic techniques.
Interpolate a layer's opacity by zoom level to progressively show more data and eventually show all data at full zoom.
Try it live in my latest project which maps the 2020 US Census by age group:
walker-data.com/maps/census-...
Interpolate a layer's opacity by zoom level to progressively show more data and eventually show all data at full zoom.
Try it live in my latest project which maps the 2020 US Census by age group:
walker-data.com/maps/census-...
September 28, 2026 at 3:36 PM
"Fade on zoom" is one of my favorite cartographic techniques.
Interpolate a layer's opacity by zoom level to progressively show more data and eventually show all data at full zoom.
Try it live in my latest project which maps the 2020 US Census by age group:
walker-data.com/maps/census-...
Interpolate a layer's opacity by zoom level to progressively show more data and eventually show all data at full zoom.
Try it live in my latest project which maps the 2020 US Census by age group:
walker-data.com/maps/census-...
The classic Racial Dot Map inspired me and a whole generation of mapmakers.
Today, I'm publishing a modern take on this map, built with the geospatial tools I've been developing over the past decade.
Interact with the map here: walker-data.com/maps/census-...
Today, I'm publishing a modern take on this map, built with the geospatial tools I've been developing over the past decade.
Interact with the map here: walker-data.com/maps/census-...
September 25, 2026 at 5:12 PM
The classic Racial Dot Map inspired me and a whole generation of mapmakers.
Today, I'm publishing a modern take on this map, built with the geospatial tools I've been developing over the past decade.
Interact with the map here: walker-data.com/maps/census-...
Today, I'm publishing a modern take on this map, built with the geospatial tools I've been developing over the past decade.
Interact with the map here: walker-data.com/maps/census-...
New post: how to visualize millions of parcels on a map.
Learn how I go from 14.3 million Texas parcel records in a 7GB geodatabase to a published interactive map.
Featuring tools like DuckDB, PMTiles, R, and Cloudflare R2.
Read it here: walker-data.com/posts/millio...
Learn how I go from 14.3 million Texas parcel records in a 7GB geodatabase to a published interactive map.
Featuring tools like DuckDB, PMTiles, R, and Cloudflare R2.
Read it here: walker-data.com/posts/millio...
August 21, 2026 at 3:37 PM
New post: how to visualize millions of parcels on a map.
Learn how I go from 14.3 million Texas parcel records in a 7GB geodatabase to a published interactive map.
Featuring tools like DuckDB, PMTiles, R, and Cloudflare R2.
Read it here: walker-data.com/posts/millio...
Learn how I go from 14.3 million Texas parcel records in a 7GB geodatabase to a published interactive map.
Featuring tools like DuckDB, PMTiles, R, and Cloudflare R2.
Read it here: walker-data.com/posts/millio...
Mapped: % of US-born adults, by PUMA (~100k-200k people), born in their current state of residence.
Lots to unpack in this one.
Explore the interactive map: walker-data.com/maps/born-in...
For those so inclined, the source code is here: gist.github.com/walkerke/875...
Lots to unpack in this one.
Explore the interactive map: walker-data.com/maps/born-in...
For those so inclined, the source code is here: gist.github.com/walkerke/875...
August 10, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Mapped: % of US-born adults, by PUMA (~100k-200k people), born in their current state of residence.
Lots to unpack in this one.
Explore the interactive map: walker-data.com/maps/born-in...
For those so inclined, the source code is here: gist.github.com/walkerke/875...
Lots to unpack in this one.
Explore the interactive map: walker-data.com/maps/born-in...
For those so inclined, the source code is here: gist.github.com/walkerke/875...
Identifying possible gas-flare operators from satellite heat signals.
Mapping persistent NASA VIIRS thermal detections across Texas, then matching the strongest candidates to nearby on-schedule RRC wells and their operators.
Mapping persistent NASA VIIRS thermal detections across Texas, then matching the strongest candidates to nearby on-schedule RRC wells and their operators.
July 17, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Identifying possible gas-flare operators from satellite heat signals.
Mapping persistent NASA VIIRS thermal detections across Texas, then matching the strongest candidates to nearby on-schedule RRC wells and their operators.
Mapping persistent NASA VIIRS thermal detections across Texas, then matching the strongest candidates to nearby on-schedule RRC wells and their operators.
I'm excited to share that I've received a grant from R Consortium to modernize R's tigris and tidycensus packages this summer.
Over the past decade, tigris and tidycensus have become fixtures in R's demographic and spatial data ecosystems.
Over the past decade, tigris and tidycensus have become fixtures in R's demographic and spatial data ecosystems.
July 17, 2026 at 1:32 PM
I'm excited to share that I've received a grant from R Consortium to modernize R's tigris and tidycensus packages this summer.
Over the past decade, tigris and tidycensus have become fixtures in R's demographic and spatial data ecosystems.
Over the past decade, tigris and tidycensus have become fixtures in R's demographic and spatial data ecosystems.
Understanding site accessibility by time-of-day is critical for emergency services, supply chain management, retail analytics, and more.
Communicate this with @mapbox.com isochrones visualized with mapgl's new slider control in R.
Communicate this with @mapbox.com isochrones visualized with mapgl's new slider control in R.
June 28, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Understanding site accessibility by time-of-day is critical for emergency services, supply chain management, retail analytics, and more.
Communicate this with @mapbox.com isochrones visualized with mapgl's new slider control in R.
Communicate this with @mapbox.com isochrones visualized with mapgl's new slider control in R.
mapgl 0.5.0 for R lets you sync up as many maps as your browser can handle.
Shown here: 16 distinct demographic maps for the Atlanta area; interact with one, the other 15 are kept in sync.
Now I'm not necessarily recommending a 16-panel map... but it's fun to see what's possible.
Shown here: 16 distinct demographic maps for the Atlanta area; interact with one, the other 15 are kept in sync.
Now I'm not necessarily recommending a 16-panel map... but it's fun to see what's possible.
June 26, 2026 at 6:45 PM
mapgl 0.5.0 for R lets you sync up as many maps as your browser can handle.
Shown here: 16 distinct demographic maps for the Atlanta area; interact with one, the other 15 are kept in sync.
Now I'm not necessarily recommending a 16-panel map... but it's fun to see what's possible.
Shown here: 16 distinct demographic maps for the Atlanta area; interact with one, the other 15 are kept in sync.
Now I'm not necessarily recommending a 16-panel map... but it's fun to see what's possible.
Vignette: optimized corridor routing over cost surfaces in R.
Useful for pipeline routing, transmission line planning, trail planning, wildlife connectivity modeling, and more.
walker-data.com/spopt-r/arti...
Useful for pipeline routing, transmission line planning, trail planning, wildlife connectivity modeling, and more.
walker-data.com/spopt-r/arti...
June 25, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Vignette: optimized corridor routing over cost surfaces in R.
Useful for pipeline routing, transmission line planning, trail planning, wildlife connectivity modeling, and more.
walker-data.com/spopt-r/arti...
Useful for pipeline routing, transmission line planning, trail planning, wildlife connectivity modeling, and more.
walker-data.com/spopt-r/arti...
Version 0.2.0 of freestiler, a Rust-powered vector tiling engine for R and Python, has landed on CRAN and PyPI.
The highlight: produce vector tiles with dynamic H3 hexagonal binning built-in.
Learn how:
walker-data.com/freestiler/a...
The highlight: produce vector tiles with dynamic H3 hexagonal binning built-in.
Learn how:
walker-data.com/freestiler/a...
June 24, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Version 0.2.0 of freestiler, a Rust-powered vector tiling engine for R and Python, has landed on CRAN and PyPI.
The highlight: produce vector tiles with dynamic H3 hexagonal binning built-in.
Learn how:
walker-data.com/freestiler/a...
The highlight: produce vector tiles with dynamic H3 hexagonal binning built-in.
Learn how:
walker-data.com/freestiler/a...
The new slider control in R's mapgl package (v0.5.0) isn't just for time-based filtering.
Give it a list of paint expressions and you can animate changes over time on your map.
Example: population changes at the tract level in Florida, animated in 3D.
Give it a list of paint expressions and you can animate changes over time on your map.
Example: population changes at the tract level in Florida, animated in 3D.
June 24, 2026 at 2:48 PM
The new slider control in R's mapgl package (v0.5.0) isn't just for time-based filtering.
Give it a list of paint expressions and you can animate changes over time on your map.
Example: population changes at the tract level in Florida, animated in 3D.
Give it a list of paint expressions and you can animate changes over time on your map.
Example: population changes at the tract level in Florida, animated in 3D.
A bivariate look at high-tech employment share and net migration across NUTS2 regions in Europe.
Interactively mapped with R's mapgl using the new bivariate choropleth feature, now available in the package's 0.5.0 release.
Credit to @milos-makes-maps.bsky.social for his inspirational examples!
Interactively mapped with R's mapgl using the new bivariate choropleth feature, now available in the package's 0.5.0 release.
Credit to @milos-makes-maps.bsky.social for his inspirational examples!
June 23, 2026 at 6:51 PM
A bivariate look at high-tech employment share and net migration across NUTS2 regions in Europe.
Interactively mapped with R's mapgl using the new bivariate choropleth feature, now available in the package's 0.5.0 release.
Credit to @milos-makes-maps.bsky.social for his inspirational examples!
Interactively mapped with R's mapgl using the new bivariate choropleth feature, now available in the package's 0.5.0 release.
Credit to @milos-makes-maps.bsky.social for his inspirational examples!
Animated, hierarchical origin-destination commute flows in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.
Downtowns, medical districts, airports, and suburban job hubs light up from 2023 LODES data.
Now available in R's mapgl 0.5.0.
Credit to @ekotov.pro for the implementation and @ilyabo.bsky.social for Flowmap.gl!
Downtowns, medical districts, airports, and suburban job hubs light up from 2023 LODES data.
Now available in R's mapgl 0.5.0.
Credit to @ekotov.pro for the implementation and @ilyabo.bsky.social for Flowmap.gl!
June 22, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Animated, hierarchical origin-destination commute flows in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.
Downtowns, medical districts, airports, and suburban job hubs light up from 2023 LODES data.
Now available in R's mapgl 0.5.0.
Credit to @ekotov.pro for the implementation and @ilyabo.bsky.social for Flowmap.gl!
Downtowns, medical districts, airports, and suburban job hubs light up from 2023 LODES data.
Now available in R's mapgl 0.5.0.
Credit to @ekotov.pro for the implementation and @ilyabo.bsky.social for Flowmap.gl!
The upcoming v0.5 release of mapgl for #rstats is going to be massive.
Included: a slider control that allows for interactive data filtering - no Shiny required.
Thanks to @ekotov.pro - brush a window over a histogram, see your data filter in real-time
Lots more examples to share this week
Included: a slider control that allows for interactive data filtering - no Shiny required.
Thanks to @ekotov.pro - brush a window over a histogram, see your data filter in real-time
Lots more examples to share this week
June 17, 2026 at 3:39 PM
The upcoming v0.5 release of mapgl for #rstats is going to be massive.
Included: a slider control that allows for interactive data filtering - no Shiny required.
Thanks to @ekotov.pro - brush a window over a histogram, see your data filter in real-time
Lots more examples to share this week
Included: a slider control that allows for interactive data filtering - no Shiny required.
Thanks to @ekotov.pro - brush a window over a histogram, see your data filter in real-time
Lots more examples to share this week
Working on H3 integration into freestiler, my R/Python vector tiling tool.
The new feature uses @duckdb.org internally to dynamically aggregate points into a multi-layer hexagonal tileset based on some function (summary stats, or your own custom SQL).
Tiled here: 12M US groundwater wells
The new feature uses @duckdb.org internally to dynamically aggregate points into a multi-layer hexagonal tileset based on some function (summary stats, or your own custom SQL).
Tiled here: 12M US groundwater wells
May 25, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Working on H3 integration into freestiler, my R/Python vector tiling tool.
The new feature uses @duckdb.org internally to dynamically aggregate points into a multi-layer hexagonal tileset based on some function (summary stats, or your own custom SQL).
Tiled here: 12M US groundwater wells
The new feature uses @duckdb.org internally to dynamically aggregate points into a multi-layer hexagonal tileset based on some function (summary stats, or your own custom SQL).
Tiled here: 12M US groundwater wells
I grew up in Oregon without air conditioning, it seemed quite normal at the time, we just pulled out the box fans when it got hot in the summer.
Fascinating to explore the patterns in this new Census data - lots of areas around Oregon / the US where AC prevalence isn't as high as you might expect.
Fascinating to explore the patterns in this new Census data - lots of areas around Oregon / the US where AC prevalence isn't as high as you might expect.
May 22, 2026 at 3:45 PM
I grew up in Oregon without air conditioning, it seemed quite normal at the time, we just pulled out the box fans when it got hot in the summer.
Fascinating to explore the patterns in this new Census data - lots of areas around Oregon / the US where AC prevalence isn't as high as you might expect.
Fascinating to explore the patterns in this new Census data - lots of areas around Oregon / the US where AC prevalence isn't as high as you might expect.
Final reminder: today's the last day to grab my Census / mapping workshop catalog before the store shuts down tonight.
Lifetime access to 25+ hours of recordings, 11 custom tutorials, $99.
I really appreciate all of you who have bought it this week!
Lifetime access to 25+ hours of recordings, 11 custom tutorials, $99.
I really appreciate all of you who have bought it this week!
All workshops clearance bundle
CLEARANCE: All past workshops can be purchased together for only $99!Get access to over 25 hours of recordings for thousands of dollars in savings. Workshops will be retired May 22nd - so act now!
walkerdata.gumroad.com
May 22, 2026 at 2:44 PM
Final reminder: today's the last day to grab my Census / mapping workshop catalog before the store shuts down tonight.
Lifetime access to 25+ hours of recordings, 11 custom tutorials, $99.
I really appreciate all of you who have bought it this week!
Lifetime access to 25+ hours of recordings, 11 custom tutorials, $99.
I really appreciate all of you who have bought it this week!
Mapped: the % of occupied housing units without air conditioning by Census tract.
Uses the new U.S. Census Bureau LACE dataset.
Map the data yourselves: gist.github.com/walkerke/71e...
Uses the new U.S. Census Bureau LACE dataset.
Map the data yourselves: gist.github.com/walkerke/71e...
May 22, 2026 at 1:03 PM
Mapped: the % of occupied housing units without air conditioning by Census tract.
Uses the new U.S. Census Bureau LACE dataset.
Map the data yourselves: gist.github.com/walkerke/71e...
Uses the new U.S. Census Bureau LACE dataset.
Map the data yourselves: gist.github.com/walkerke/71e...
I'm archiving my R mapping & Census data workshop catalog permanently on Friday.
walkerdata.gumroad.com/l/all-worksh...
I've had a great time building examples for these workshops over the years. Here are a few of my favorites:
walkerdata.gumroad.com/l/all-worksh...
I've had a great time building examples for these workshops over the years. Here are a few of my favorites:
All workshops clearance bundle
CLEARANCE: All past workshops can be purchased together for only $99!Get access to over 25 hours of recordings for thousands of dollars in savings. Workshops will be retired May 22nd - so act now!
walkerdata.gumroad.com
May 20, 2026 at 2:18 PM
I'm archiving my R mapping & Census data workshop catalog permanently on Friday.
walkerdata.gumroad.com/l/all-worksh...
I've had a great time building examples for these workshops over the years. Here are a few of my favorites:
walkerdata.gumroad.com/l/all-worksh...
I've had a great time building examples for these workshops over the years. Here are a few of my favorites:
146 million US jobs.
Visualized by sector on a fast, filterable interactive map.
Fly from market to market smoothly with @maptiler.bsky.social's geocoder.
Explore for yourselves: walker-data.com/freestiler/l...
Visualized by sector on a fast, filterable interactive map.
Fly from market to market smoothly with @maptiler.bsky.social's geocoder.
Explore for yourselves: walker-data.com/freestiler/l...
May 19, 2026 at 9:51 PM
146 million US jobs.
Visualized by sector on a fast, filterable interactive map.
Fly from market to market smoothly with @maptiler.bsky.social's geocoder.
Explore for yourselves: walker-data.com/freestiler/l...
Visualized by sector on a fast, filterable interactive map.
Fly from market to market smoothly with @maptiler.bsky.social's geocoder.
Explore for yourselves: walker-data.com/freestiler/l...
One of my favorite features in R's mapgl package: create custom, branded pop-ups for your interactive maps.
Build a map template then use your AI agent to craft a pop-up that looks just the way you want.
Learn how - workshops go away for good on Friday: walkerdata.gumroad.com/l/all-worksh...
Build a map template then use your AI agent to craft a pop-up that looks just the way you want.
Learn how - workshops go away for good on Friday: walkerdata.gumroad.com/l/all-worksh...
May 18, 2026 at 8:31 PM
One of my favorite features in R's mapgl package: create custom, branded pop-ups for your interactive maps.
Build a map template then use your AI agent to craft a pop-up that looks just the way you want.
Learn how - workshops go away for good on Friday: walkerdata.gumroad.com/l/all-worksh...
Build a map template then use your AI agent to craft a pop-up that looks just the way you want.
Learn how - workshops go away for good on Friday: walkerdata.gumroad.com/l/all-worksh...
The largest cities by area in the US that are not consolidated city-counties are:
1. Houston
2. Oklahoma City
3. Phoenix
4. San Antonio
Here's NYC (inclusive of interior water) super-imposed over all four.
Explore city sizes with my tool: walker-data.com/maps...
1. Houston
2. Oklahoma City
3. Phoenix
4. San Antonio
Here's NYC (inclusive of interior water) super-imposed over all four.
Explore city sizes with my tool: walker-data.com/maps...
May 16, 2026 at 6:02 PM
The largest cities by area in the US that are not consolidated city-counties are:
1. Houston
2. Oklahoma City
3. Phoenix
4. San Antonio
Here's NYC (inclusive of interior water) super-imposed over all four.
Explore city sizes with my tool: walker-data.com/maps...
1. Houston
2. Oklahoma City
3. Phoenix
4. San Antonio
Here's NYC (inclusive of interior water) super-imposed over all four.
Explore city sizes with my tool: walker-data.com/maps...
I'm retiring my R workshops.
I'm as committed to R as ever, but the market for workshops has shifted & I'm focusing on other exciting ventures.
I bundled the full catalog for $99; grab it (25+ hours, 11 tutorials) before I archive it on Friday.
walkerdata.gumroad.com/l/all-worksh...
I'm as committed to R as ever, but the market for workshops has shifted & I'm focusing on other exciting ventures.
I bundled the full catalog for $99; grab it (25+ hours, 11 tutorials) before I archive it on Friday.
walkerdata.gumroad.com/l/all-worksh...
All workshops clearance bundle
CLEARANCE: All past workshops can be purchased together for only $99!Get access to over 25 hours of recordings for thousands of dollars in savings. Workshops will be retired May 22nd - so act now!
walkerdata.gumroad.com
May 16, 2026 at 12:06 PM
I'm retiring my R workshops.
I'm as committed to R as ever, but the market for workshops has shifted & I'm focusing on other exciting ventures.
I bundled the full catalog for $99; grab it (25+ hours, 11 tutorials) before I archive it on Friday.
walkerdata.gumroad.com/l/all-worksh...
I'm as committed to R as ever, but the market for workshops has shifted & I'm focusing on other exciting ventures.
I bundled the full catalog for $99; grab it (25+ hours, 11 tutorials) before I archive it on Friday.
walkerdata.gumroad.com/l/all-worksh...