A smarter, more digital world must grasp the power of a map | Public Leaders Network | The Guardian
▻http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2015/aug/07/smarter-digital-world-power-map-technology-location
The UK has a long history of innovation in mapping. One of the earliest examples occurred when a cholera outbreak swept through Soho, London, in 1854. Not satisfied with the authorities’ explanation that bad air was the cause of the epidemic, local physician John Snow created an accurate map of the area, plotting on it the exact location of each of the hundreds of deaths.
Using this map and the accounts of local witnesses, Snow was able to prove that shared neighbourhood water pumps were responsible. His insight prompted a decade’s worth of improvements to public health and sanitation facilities that we still benefit from today. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a map is surely worth a million.