In 1997, the New York Public Library received a very impressive map collection from the estate of the late Lawrence H. Slaughter. Four years later, the remainder of his collection was also given to the Library's Map Division. It is certainly a tremendous offering, and these maps are offered as part of the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery site. Visitors to the site can look over 1000 maps...

Humans are generally fascinated with maps, both as historical and cultural documents, and in a very pragmatic sense in terms of wayfinding and navigating unfamiliar places. For those users interested in a wide array of maps of Scotland during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, this website will be a welcome find. The project was developed within the University of Edinburgh's Department of...

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is committed to providing a high-quality comprehensive plan for future growth and development in the Chicagoland region. It's a tall order, and this website provides great information about their long-term development plan, which is called GO 20 2040. In the About area, visitors can learn more about CMAP, its staff members, budget, and their...

What was Chicago like in the first decade or so of the twentieth century? More importantly, how was it mapped? This rather engaging map collection from the University of Chicago Library offers up almost two dozen maps documenting the railroads, parks, and rapid transit system of the Windy City as it existed during that frenetic time. Visitors can zoom in and out around these maps looking for...

Published under the direction of the China Heritage Project at Australian National University, the China Heritage Quarterly offers articles on all aspects of China's heritage. The Quarterly has been published since 2005, and each issue contains feature articles, reports on recent books and conferences, and news items on recent developments in archaeology and museology. Each issue has a theme, and...

Google Chrome recently introduced Land Lines, a delightful new way to explore the gorgeous satellite images from Google Earth. Landlines invites users to discover new satellite images in two ways: Draw and Drag. With the Draw feature, visitors simply create a small doodle on their monitor or personal device. Next, Landlines, with the aid of machine learning, presents visitors with a satellite...

What if you could look around Asia Minor in the year 200 BCE? You might need a very good time machine, or you could just use the ChronoAtlas. The map viewer here interfaces with Google Earth to create a highly nuanced and completely fascinating interactive experience that allows users to explore various themes and data sets with the option of visitor-contribution of images of historic places and...

Known to several generations of students as a potentially valuable source of basic information about the various nations of the world, the CIA's World Factbook has been published every year since 1962. Since 1971, the Factbook has been available to the general public, and in recent years, the CIA has made new editions of the work accessible via the Internet. From the homepage, visitors can select...

Planners and others continue to explore how the world's cities will be affected by climate change in the coming decades, and this 62-page report released by the United Nation's Human Settlement Programme takes a close look at the subject. This abridged version of the full report argues, "local action is indispensable for the realization of national climate change commitments agreed through...

Drawing on the expertise of a team of editors who reside in Britain, Germany, Spain, Mexico, France, and a number of other countries, the City Mayors organization is an "international network of professionals working to promote strong cities and good local government." Their website takes on all of the important urban issues of the day, including governance, affordable housing, sustainable...