Rachel Franklin 🦚
@rsfrankl.bsky.social
Population Geographer | Spatial Demographer.
Partial to words like orthogonal + heterodox.
Also very partial to shoes.
rachelfranklin.org + rachelfranklin.substack.com
Partial to words like orthogonal + heterodox.
Also very partial to shoes.
rachelfranklin.org + rachelfranklin.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:57 AM
It’s a map of the US made out of Kashi cereal.
Turns out Kashi is about as much fun for map-making as it is for eating. Who would have guessed it. Anyway here’s Day 9 (analog) of #30DayMapChallenge
Turns out Kashi is about as much fun for map-making as it is for eating. Who would have guessed it. Anyway here’s Day 9 (analog) of #30DayMapChallenge
November 9, 2025 at 10:26 PM
It’s a map of the US made out of Kashi cereal.
Turns out Kashi is about as much fun for map-making as it is for eating. Who would have guessed it. Anyway here’s Day 9 (analog) of #30DayMapChallenge
Turns out Kashi is about as much fun for map-making as it is for eating. Who would have guessed it. Anyway here’s Day 9 (analog) of #30DayMapChallenge
Nothing like a nice long flight for catching up on #30DayMapChallenge 🤪.
Here's Day 8 — urban — right on time. A map of Paris buildings by age of construction. A real beauty if I do say so myself. 😍
Here's Day 8 — urban — right on time. A map of Paris buildings by age of construction. A real beauty if I do say so myself. 😍
November 9, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Nothing like a nice long flight for catching up on #30DayMapChallenge 🤪.
Here's Day 8 — urban — right on time. A map of Paris buildings by age of construction. A real beauty if I do say so myself. 😍
Here's Day 8 — urban — right on time. A map of Paris buildings by age of construction. A real beauty if I do say so myself. 😍
I'm nothing if not committed to the bit. Late to Day 7 — accessibility — of #30DayMapChallenge because job. Shout out to my preferred mode of transportation (after walking) and to my new home T station, which does NOT have the longest escalator in North American even if it totally feels like it.
November 8, 2025 at 10:42 PM
I'm nothing if not committed to the bit. Late to Day 7 — accessibility — of #30DayMapChallenge because job. Shout out to my preferred mode of transportation (after walking) and to my new home T station, which does NOT have the longest escalator in North American even if it totally feels like it.
Especially happy with how I wrapped Side 1 up with a banger of a track called "Red herrings on the path to spatial greatness"
November 8, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Especially happy with how I wrapped Side 1 up with a banger of a track called "Red herrings on the path to spatial greatness"
Honestly a talk title I'm so proud of I might have to put it on repeat.
November 8, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Honestly a talk title I'm so proud of I might have to put it on repeat.
My favorite maps are the ones that take like 3 applications to finish.
Kidding.
Here's my Day 6 ("dimensions") of #30DayMapChallenge: a joy or ridgeline plot of kids in the US in 2020. Thanks @ipums.bsky.social (NHGIS), QGIS, R, Adobe Illustrator, and especially @helenmakesmaps.bsky.social
Kidding.
Here's my Day 6 ("dimensions") of #30DayMapChallenge: a joy or ridgeline plot of kids in the US in 2020. Thanks @ipums.bsky.social (NHGIS), QGIS, R, Adobe Illustrator, and especially @helenmakesmaps.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 8:35 PM
My favorite maps are the ones that take like 3 applications to finish.
Kidding.
Here's my Day 6 ("dimensions") of #30DayMapChallenge: a joy or ridgeline plot of kids in the US in 2020. Thanks @ipums.bsky.social (NHGIS), QGIS, R, Adobe Illustrator, and especially @helenmakesmaps.bsky.social
Kidding.
Here's my Day 6 ("dimensions") of #30DayMapChallenge: a joy or ridgeline plot of kids in the US in 2020. Thanks @ipums.bsky.social (NHGIS), QGIS, R, Adobe Illustrator, and especially @helenmakesmaps.bsky.social
Naming no names but someone and some newspaper can fuck right off
November 6, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Naming no names but someone and some newspaper can fuck right off
Day 5 of #30DayMapChallenge is "earth." I did places to get out and, you know, touch grass.
Parks and open space in my new adopted home, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
#30DayMapChallenge2025 #day5
Parks and open space in my new adopted home, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
#30DayMapChallenge2025 #day5
November 5, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Day 5 of #30DayMapChallenge is "earth." I did places to get out and, you know, touch grass.
Parks and open space in my new adopted home, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
#30DayMapChallenge2025 #day5
Parks and open space in my new adopted home, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
#30DayMapChallenge2025 #day5
Took me a while but I got there. Day 4 of the #30DayMapChallenge is "my data"—even if Strava makes it super fiddly to extract usable data that is mine, mine, mine.
This is all my runs in and around Cambridge, Massachusetts, since moving here in March. Brighter yellow indicates higher frequency.
This is all my runs in and around Cambridge, Massachusetts, since moving here in March. Brighter yellow indicates higher frequency.
November 5, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Took me a while but I got there. Day 4 of the #30DayMapChallenge is "my data"—even if Strava makes it super fiddly to extract usable data that is mine, mine, mine.
This is all my runs in and around Cambridge, Massachusetts, since moving here in March. Brighter yellow indicates higher frequency.
This is all my runs in and around Cambridge, Massachusetts, since moving here in March. Brighter yellow indicates higher frequency.
Grim up North. But also very opposite-of-grim. Newcastle (decidedly northern & awesome city) has some of the most deprived areas in all England, but also many that are among the least deprived, according to 2025 IMD.
Have I mentioned it's an amazing city?
Day 3 (polygons) of #30DayMapChallenge
Have I mentioned it's an amazing city?
Day 3 (polygons) of #30DayMapChallenge
November 3, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Grim up North. But also very opposite-of-grim. Newcastle (decidedly northern & awesome city) has some of the most deprived areas in all England, but also many that are among the least deprived, according to 2025 IMD.
Have I mentioned it's an amazing city?
Day 3 (polygons) of #30DayMapChallenge
Have I mentioned it's an amazing city?
Day 3 (polygons) of #30DayMapChallenge
Thank god it's the weekend.
Day 2 of the #30DayMapChallenge — lines! State-level flows of domestic first-year undergraduate students to Harvard in 2023. Flows are proportion of US total, with largest flows from big states (CA and TX), nearby states (MA and NJ), and big nearby states (NY).
Day 2 of the #30DayMapChallenge — lines! State-level flows of domestic first-year undergraduate students to Harvard in 2023. Flows are proportion of US total, with largest flows from big states (CA and TX), nearby states (MA and NJ), and big nearby states (NY).
November 2, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Thank god it's the weekend.
Day 2 of the #30DayMapChallenge — lines! State-level flows of domestic first-year undergraduate students to Harvard in 2023. Flows are proportion of US total, with largest flows from big states (CA and TX), nearby states (MA and NJ), and big nearby states (NY).
Day 2 of the #30DayMapChallenge — lines! State-level flows of domestic first-year undergraduate students to Harvard in 2023. Flows are proportion of US total, with largest flows from big states (CA and TX), nearby states (MA and NJ), and big nearby states (NY).
Happy #30DayMapChallenge to all those who celebrate!
Day 1 is points and mine is a love letter to all the international undergraduate students who choose the United States for their studies. Thanks for being here!
#30DayMapChallenge2025 #points
Day 1 is points and mine is a love letter to all the international undergraduate students who choose the United States for their studies. Thanks for being here!
#30DayMapChallenge2025 #points
November 1, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Happy #30DayMapChallenge to all those who celebrate!
Day 1 is points and mine is a love letter to all the international undergraduate students who choose the United States for their studies. Thanks for being here!
#30DayMapChallenge2025 #points
Day 1 is points and mine is a love letter to all the international undergraduate students who choose the United States for their studies. Thanks for being here!
#30DayMapChallenge2025 #points
Irresponsibly posting my location on social media
October 28, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Irresponsibly posting my location on social media
Realizing you’re a dumbass geographer 2 minutes too late
October 17, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Realizing you’re a dumbass geographer 2 minutes too late
Them: So Rachel what's your vision for your new job
Me: 1980's roller rink
Me: 1980's roller rink
October 16, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Them: So Rachel what's your vision for your new job
Me: 1980's roller rink
Me: 1980's roller rink
Marking the occasion in the usual way
September 27, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Marking the occasion in the usual way
And so it begins
September 23, 2025 at 6:18 PM
And so it begins
Hot off the presses. I’ve got 250 of them so be sure to hit me up when you see me.
September 19, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Hot off the presses. I’ve got 250 of them so be sure to hit me up when you see me.
Some of us have lived confused lives in cities that do stuff like this on purpose
September 19, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Some of us have lived confused lives in cities that do stuff like this on purpose
Me zooming in really really carefully to see what I’m actually committing to
September 17, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Me zooming in really really carefully to see what I’m actually committing to
The first time I quit Facebook, my kids staged a protest at a local outdoor mall. There was a petition. Campaign buttons. A “documentary” set to the tune of “Eye of the Tiger”
It did work…temporarily…
It did work…temporarily…
August 14, 2025 at 12:31 PM
The first time I quit Facebook, my kids staged a protest at a local outdoor mall. There was a petition. Campaign buttons. A “documentary” set to the tune of “Eye of the Tiger”
It did work…temporarily…
It did work…temporarily…
The scene: Me, approaching my office on a Monday morning.
Office manager (hustling up): So the good news is facilities management finally delivered your bookcase…
Me (opens door):
Office manager (hustling up): So the good news is facilities management finally delivered your bookcase…
Me (opens door):
August 11, 2025 at 6:14 PM
The scene: Me, approaching my office on a Monday morning.
Office manager (hustling up): So the good news is facilities management finally delivered your bookcase…
Me (opens door):
Office manager (hustling up): So the good news is facilities management finally delivered your bookcase…
Me (opens door):
📯 Call for papers! Special issue of the Harvard Data Science Review on all things Digital Twins! Co-editors: Mike Batty, S.V. Subramanian, Sarah Williams, and me!
See HDSR website (hdsr.mitpress.mit.edu) or QR code below for full details!
#geography #DigitalTwins #DataScience @rmcleodb.bsky.social
See HDSR website (hdsr.mitpress.mit.edu) or QR code below for full details!
#geography #DigitalTwins #DataScience @rmcleodb.bsky.social
August 8, 2025 at 4:47 PM
📯 Call for papers! Special issue of the Harvard Data Science Review on all things Digital Twins! Co-editors: Mike Batty, S.V. Subramanian, Sarah Williams, and me!
See HDSR website (hdsr.mitpress.mit.edu) or QR code below for full details!
#geography #DigitalTwins #DataScience @rmcleodb.bsky.social
See HDSR website (hdsr.mitpress.mit.edu) or QR code below for full details!
#geography #DigitalTwins #DataScience @rmcleodb.bsky.social