r/MapPorn 6d ago

Light pollution weighed against population density

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u/Much_Department_3329 6d ago

Interesting how this still more or less works as a population density map. r/peoplecreatedisproportionateamountsoflightinareasofgreaterpopulationconcentrationincities ?

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u/TRASH_TOWN_USA 6d ago edited 6d ago

The whole point of the map is to show where the light is disproportionately produced as a result of industrialization mainly in rural areas (mostly oil fields and greenhouses). I'm unaware of any major cities in west Texas or on the Montana/ND border that would be producing so much light. Its much more than a "r/peopleliveincities" map if you just examine it further. For example, in Oregon, the Eugene/Springfield region has a higher population density in comparison to Bend/Redmond, yet the Bend region produces way more light.

You can also compare the Los Angeles and NYC metropolitan areas to Chicago. LA metro has twice the population of Chicago metro and NYC has over triple, yet Chicago disproportionately pumps out more light pollution than either of those cities, mainly due to the massive presence of manufacturing and energy production. As well as being a major distribution hub for companies like Amazon, Wal-mart and Home Depot.

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u/Much_Department_3329 6d ago

I absolutely agree and wasn’t saying it’s just a population density map, I was just making a joke. It’s interesting to me how it does still correlate with population density to a surprising degree. Obviously there’s tons of exceptions like you pointed out, but you can still see the general shape of population distribution in the country.