Today’s theme is new tools.

I’ve only ever really used R (ggplot in particular), leaflet and QGIS for mapping.

I started out using QGIS, but since I tend to use R for all analysis it was natural for me to also use it for mapping. Leaflet seemed to have the lowest barrier to entry for making animated charts from R.

I have definitely felt some of leaflet’s limitations, though, such as the inability to rotate the map.

So this seemed like a good opportunity to dive into a different mapping service (but still with an R interface). I decided to use the mapdeck package, which pairs R with Mapbox GL and Deck.gl.

I decided to resurrect my map from the 15th: