Alan McConchie
Was @mappingmashups on Twitter. Now I’m all-in on Mastodon, so go follow me there: subdued.social/@alan
Just here to run the socials for @stamen.com and to nag you all to join Mastodon.
Advocate of the #BellinghamWA hashtag
- Reposted by Alan McConchie🏁 The race is on! Can we count on each of you to ask 3 friends to sign in PRO for the Millionaires Tax? Let's show lawmakers that we're ready to balance our tax code and fund the necessities! Send your friends this link ➡️ investwanow.org/sign-pro-millionair…
- Another action to help #RankedChoiceVoting in Washington State: If you're a Washington voter, sign in "pro" for SHB 2210 before its hearing at the House Appropriations Committee tomorrow (Thu Feb 5) at 10:30am app.leg.wa.gov/csi/Testifie...
- My friend Nathan Carnes generated a full set of #BellinghamWA maps using #OpenStreetMap data and the #MapToPoster script by Ankur Gupta. View and download them here: bellingham-maps.nathancarnes.com Make your own here: github.com/originalanku...
- Loving the new "Constellation Map" view on Native Land Digital: native-land.ca/maps/constel... #NativeLand #IndigenousMapping #NativeLandDigital
- Good news for #ProportionalRepresentation: "48% of adults say they would support a system where states are required to assign seats in the U.S. House in proportion to the number of votes won statewide, while 19% are opposed. 32% of respondents said 'don’t know'" open.substack.com/pub/gelliott...
- www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/s... Gerrymandering researcher Moon Duchin: "I think taking a hard look at the design of electoral systems could get us out of this nuclear moment. One system I’m studying is proportional ranked choice voting, also known as the single transferable vote method."
- Reposted by Alan McConchieWhat do we map in the shadows? Our iconic Toner map style, now in dark mode! Read about how we developed "Toner Dark" and "Toner Blacklite" on the blog now: stamen.com/what-we-map-.... Both styles are available from our friends at @stadiamaps@en.osm.town here: stadiamaps.com/explore-the-....
- Reposted by Alan McConchieOur pretty new train is on its way to the east coast for more tests. In 2026, Amtrak Cascades will operate 8 new trains. The trains feature a Pacific Northwest-inspired design, comfy seats, big windows, and regional food and beverages.
- Beautiful map of precipitation and tree canopy height around the #SalishSea, by Dave Taylor of Pathfinder Geospatial: www.maps.com/the-soaked-c...
- Reposted by Alan McConchieHello friends! No, Maptime HQ is not "back", we are still on indefinite hiatus. But! There are still many decentralized #maptime chapters that are active around the world, so we wanted to create a centralized MaptimeHQ account to *occasionally* repost that mappy goodness. We miss you all! ❤️🌈
- Reposted by Alan McConchieOur politics is as dysfunctional as ever. Voters want change, but our elections leave tens of millions w/out real choices on their ballot or a voice in our democracy. A new report from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences shows how #ProportionalRepresentation can change that. Full report below🧵
- Reposted by Alan McConchieImportant alert for people who like working while a light white noise is playing in the background, there is a family of whales singing next to the Moss Landing Marine Lab hydrophone right now and you should listen! radio.garden/visit/moss-l...
- It was so much fun working on these fascinating brain maps for UCSF neuroscientists! Check it out:
- How is a brain like a mountain? Read "Brain Cartography: Mapping a place that everyone knows, but (almost) no one has ever been" here: stamen.com/brain-cartog...
- This looks awesome: "Join us for the first ever Bellingham Subdued Saunter! A self-paced nearly 20 mile walk exploring Bellingham." givebutter.com/subduedsaunter #BellinghamWA
- I just added one of these to #OpenStreetMap. Need to get these local tree experts involved in mapping! #BellinghamWA
- Commentary from 25 county auditors in #WashingtonState: "Vote-at-home is the law in Washington — and it works" washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/09/16/v... #Elections #VoteByMail #uspol #USPolitics
- Happy National Voter Registration Day to those who celebrate
- It’s #NationalVoterRegistrationDay! If you recently moved, changed your name, became a citizen, or haven't already registered to vote, today is a GREAT day to get #VoteReady. Register to vote/check your #VoterRegistration status at bit.ly/2025nvrdreg
- Reposted by Alan McConchiegerrymandering in pre-warp cultures
- Reposted by Alan McConchie
- This is a big deal! #RankedChoiceVoting & #ProportionalRepresentation are in the top 5 issues that local voters care about. Voters are fed up with dysfunctional government, and they know electoral reform can fix our democracy. Now will our local elected officials pay attention to what voters want?
- Reposted by Alan McConchieOne of my customers had so much fun visiting the Map Center that he came back a few days later with a camera. He made this magnificent short documentary about my store, about me, and why I bother to do any of it at all. It's really lovely and I hope you watch it! youtu.be/Dj9uKpk3Idk?...
- We managed to go 7 years since the last proposal to partition #California. I just updated #Wikipedia with a map of the latest Republican plan to split off inland California from the coastal counties. (And no, it's never going to happen). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partiti...
- Map projections in the news! And we cartographers are all relieved that it's not the Gall-Peters Projection again. Via Reuters: "African Union urges adoption of world map showing continent's true size" www.reuters.com/world/africa... #CorrectTheMap
- The newer Equal Earth Projection is a much better alternative to Mercator. More about the #CorrectTheMap campaign is here: correctthemap.org and you can learn more about the #EqualEarthProjection here: equal-earth.com/equal-earth-...
- Of course, we cartographers will never stop sharing this clip from the West Wing on occasions such as these: "Why are we changing maps?" www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLqC... #CorrectTheMap
- Hey #WhatcomCounty: fill out the poll for Cascadia Daily's "Citizens Agenda" and shape the questions they will ask of local candidates. In particular, I encourage you to pick #15 about Ranked Choice Voting and #36 about Gerrymandering, but there are a lot of other good topics too. #BellinghamWA
- We finally wrote part 3 of Stamen's history of #OpenStreetMap (only four years after we wrote parts 1 and 2, lol). Enjoy a long read including many Stamen maps from over the past two decades, created by the amazing team of coworkers & alums I've had the pleasure of working with over the years.
- This month #OpenStreetMap turns 21! To mark the occasion, we dug into our archives to finish part 3 of Stamen's personal history of OSM, covering the years 2016 to the present. Check it out on our blog, including links to part 1 and 2 of the series: stamen.com/part-3-our-b...
- Very much enjoying the #BlenderMaps in this scrollytelling piece from Reuters about the potential sale of public lands: www.reuters.com/graphics/USA... #cartography #maps #dataviz
- Reposted by Alan McConchieProfessional project work making it's debut!! You can now check out an interactive *generalized* zoning & land use map for almost all of Washington State. It has data up to the end of 2024. So recent municipal middle housing code updates are not captured. Still, a strong tool to check out!
- Reposted by Alan McConchieBoth parties are threatening to gerrymander their way to an advantage in Congress. The Fair Representation Act would end gerrymandering wars with: 🔢 #RankedChoiceVoting 👫 Multi-member districts ✍️ New redistricting rules Learn about the #FairRepAct ⬇️ fairvote.org/press/fair-r...
- Reposted by Alan McConchieShoutout to @beyer.house.gov and @raskin.house.gov for reintroducing this important bill! Learn more about #RankedChoiceVoting, and ask Congress to support the #FairRepAct ⬇️ fairvoteaction.quorum.us/campaign/Fai...
- Reposted by Alan McConchieOur pick-one elections are the root of the problem: ➡️Voters feel forced to pick the “lesser of two evils” ➡️Politicians gerrymander district lines ➡️Tens of millions get no real representation ➡️Elected officials can’t work together That’s where the #FairRepAct comes in.
- Reposted by Alan McConchieA new bill in Congress would stop gerrymandering, and give voters more choice & more voice with #RankedChoiceVoting in US House & Senate elections. Ask your members of Congress to support the Fair Representation Act at the link below, and read on to learn more. #FairRepAct 🧵
- Just came across this adorable video that clearly explains how the new multi-winner #RankedChoiceVoting system works in Portland, Oregon. www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iZL...
- Reposted by Alan McConchieRead our recap of presentations, inspiration, and upcoming projects from the 2025 @stateofthemapus.bsky.social conference last month in Boston on the blog: stamen.com/stamen-at-st....
- Loving this youth-led effort to rename #WashingtonState and design a new state flag! #WashOutWashington
- Our campaign to #WashOutWashington is growing! 🧽🧼✨ Thanks for spreading the word and helping teach people what it will take to get it done!
- "With Ranked Choice Voting in NYC, Women Win" Before 2021, New York’s 51-member council had always been majority male. In 2021, with ranked choice voting (RCV), voters elected not only a women-majority council but nearly doubled the previous high, with 31 seats. thefulcrum.us/electoral-re...
- Reposted by Alan McConchieNew on the blog: we say goodbye to one of our oldest mapping tools... by creating a new map to visualize an archive of a half million user generated images! Read "Farewell, Map Stack" here: stamen.com/farewell-map... Join us at the @stateofthemapus.bsky.social conference this Friday to hear more.
- A fascinating dynamic of #RankedChoiceVoting as seen in the NYC mayoral campaign: here is a candidate for mayor (who has maxed out his allowed campaign donations) raising money for another mayoral candidate, so that either of them has a better chance of defeating their most disliked opponent!
- Reposting for #CascadiaDay: “The Cascadia Flag needs serious design help“ mappingmashups.medium.com/the-cascadia...
- Reposted by Alan McConchieProponents of ranked choice voting say giving voters the option to rank candidates makes elections more competitive, more representative and less susceptible to gerrymandering, while opponents say it can confuse voters and cloud the election process.
- Good article in @cascadiadaily.com about the recent Whatcom County charter review meeting on #RankedChoiceVoting. It was really a fascinating meeting with four invited #RCV experts from around the country. Video of the meeting is linked at the end of the article www.cascadiadaily.com/2025/may/14/...
- Reposted by Alan McConchieVery cool. Don't miss the interactive version citiesmoving.com/visualizatio...
- This is interesting — a recent study of mode share (the % share of transportation trips by car, transit, walking, biking etc) relative to city size and income levels in almost 800 cities in 61 countries. Interesting results. HT @davidzipper.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- Reposted by Alan McConchieStamen has designed a lot of maps across the carto industry over the years. Read about how Stamen uses tooling to debug maps, as we explore how data, tiles, and stylesheets work together to make beautiful maps. Read now at stamen.com/debugging-10...
- Reposted by Alan McConchieWith CBC now having called all ridings it's time for the land-vs-people-vote animation.
- WSDOT is asking for input on the Washington State Rail Plan. Fill out the quick survey here: engagekh.mysocialpinpoint.com/WAStateRailP... #CascadiaRail
- A great article from @sightline.org about how Proportional Representation would benefit Whatcom County: www.sightline.org/2025/04/10/w... #BellinghamWA
- Nice article in the Cascadia Daily about one of our favorite local artworks, the "Non Sign II" sculpture at the Blaine border crossing: www.cascadiadaily.com/2025/apr/08/... #BellinghamWA
- Hey Washington State voters, we have one more day to get the Ranked-Choice Voting bill out of committee in the state legislature. Please call the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000 and register your support for the Washington VOICES Act, HB 1448! Link to the bill: app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?...
- Reposted by Alan McConchieIt’s that time of year! Love it or hate it, #DaylightSavingTime is upon us, and we are listening to our podcast episode from a few years ago with cartographer @awoodruff.bsky.social about his Daylight Saving Time Gripe Assistant Tool. Give it a listen here: stamen.com/andy-woodruf...
- I need to downsize my library & I'm getting ready to sell a ton of cartography #books. I'm looking at both Alibris & Biblio as options for selling online. Does anyone have experience w/ either platform? I'm also looking at AbeBooks but none of my stuff is that old or rare and their fees are higher.
- This is a fantastic video showing how Proportional Representation via Ranked Choice Voting is actually used for elections in Ireland, demonstrated by 6th graders! www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDPl... 🇮🇪
- Reposted by Alan McConchie[This post could not be retrieved]
- More #BellinghamWA content:
- Reposted by Alan McConchiei remember hearing seattles top city planner tell a crowd of us that they didnt want “cookie cutter housing” at which point i interrupted amd said “but i like cookies. who else likes cookies?” everyone agreed “well it sounds like a cookie cutter is a tool youll need”. he actually came around i think
- Great news, voters in Alaska voted to retain #RankedChoiceVoting! alaskapublic.org/2024/11/20/a...
- Reposted by Alan McConchieIt's time for the quadrennial update of Redraw the States! This tool allows users to change the borders of US states to see how those changes would affect election results kevinhayeswilson.com/redraw/
- Reposted by Alan McConchieToday, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez proposed a new task for to look at electoral reforms which could break up the two party system in Congress, expand the number of House districts, and move the House to a form of proportional representation. It's a very, very good idea.
