A Data Visualization Newsletter

2020 was another record-breaking year for wildfires in the U.S., with over 10 millions acres devoured by fires in the western United States. Eleven “megafires” — those that burn over 100,000 acres — accounted for much of the damage. As climate change continues to warm our air and dry out the land, scientists warn that this could become more common.

With the general election three months in the rearview, we’re starting to get a much more granular look at how the election unfolded. The New York Times has created this “extremely detailed” map of the U.S. to show the presidential election results at the precinct level. The map also reveals surprising shifts in voting behavior between 2016 and 2020.

Less than three weeks into his term as president, Joe Biden has already approved 48 executive actions. His orders have spanned a variety of political issues, from health care, to immigration, to rollbacks of Trump’s environmental policies. Biden’s early activity follows a pattern of recent administrations, which have used executive orders more frequently to enact policy.

If you’re trying to get from point A to point B on foot, do you always take the fastest route? Or do you meander — maybe to shop, walk through a park, or find a beautiful view? This article from MIT’s Senseable City Lab explores the streets within Boston that are most “desirable”, based on pedestrian foot traffic.

As news broke last week that Jeff Bezos will step down as CEO of Amazon, many took it as an opportunity to look back at his (and Amazon’s) legacy. This article from Bloomberg, published back in 2019, shows the scale of the empire that Bezos has built, spanning e-commerce, cloud computing, groceries, and other categories.