Visualizing Apple’s COVID Mobility Data

Kieran Healy:

Apple recently released a batch of mobility data in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. The data is aggregated from requests for directions in Apple Maps and is provided at the level of whole countries and also for a selection of large cities around the world. I folded the dataset into the covdata package for R that I’ve been updating, as I plan to use it this Fall in a course I’ll be teaching. Here I’ll take a quick look at some of the data. Along the way — as it turns out — I end up reminding myself of a lesson I’ve learned before about making sure you understand your measure before you think you understand what it is showing.

Healy recently published Data Visualization: A Practical Introduction, one of my favorite books from last year.

★ Sunday, 26 April 2020