Juan Francisco Saldarriaga

Hi! I’m Juan Francisco Saldarriaga.

I am a Computational Designer at Google, currently working on Delve. Previously, I was the Senior Data & Design Researcher at the Brown Institute for Media Innovation at Columbia University.

I work at the intersection of data, visualization, urbanism, and the humanities, and I teach graduate level workshops and seminars on mapping, advanced GIS and data visualization. I’ve also worked as a research scholar at the Center for Spatial Research and the Spatial Information Design Lab, as an architectural designer for Carlos Zapata Studio and D.G.T. Architects, and as the GIS project coordinator for the Catholic Charities of New York.

You can find me on Twitter and Github. Or email me here.

Here are some of my projects. In time, more will be added.

AR FOR EVERYONE! EXPERIENCING AUGMENTED REALITY NEWS STORIES IN THE BROWSER

An exploration of augmented reality coupled with mapping to create a template for the production of similar pieces by small newsrooms.

UPROOTED: HOW NEWARK ACQUIRED A MEDICAL SCHOOL AND DESTROYED A NEIGHBORHOOD

The story of how a neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, was transformed by "white flight" and urban renewal, and the people who fought against it and suffered its consequences.

MAPPING DATA FLOWS

We’ve transformed the terms of service and data policies of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google into a database powering an interactive visualization.

HOW WE DIE

A dynamic topographical installation that visualizes the leading causes of death in New York City between 2007 and 2013.

SPATIAL REGULATION OF TAXICAB SERVICES

A statistical and mapping analysis of the environmental cost associated with the spatial regulation of taxicabs in New York City.

ELECCIONES EN EL MUNDO

Two interactive maps for the Misión de Observación Electoral in Colombia. One featuring recent and upcoming elections around the world, and another featuring members of the Global Network for Domestic Electoral Monitoring.

CONFLICT URBANISM COLOMBIA

An interactive mapping, data visualization, and spatial analysis project that examines the Colombian conflict and tries to understand its patterns and ramifications.

ACCESS TO TAXICABS FOR UNBANKED HOUSEHOLDS

A statistical analysis and mapping project of taxicab payment methods and its correlation with banking service accessibility.

LOCATIONS OF JUSTICE

An interactive mapping project documenting the reach and locations of the institutions and agencies involved in New York City's criminal justice system.

SCIENCE SURVEYOR

Using the abstract and citations of a peer-reviewed paper, Science Surveyor provides journalists context about that paper in several easy-to-read visualizations.

THE HAVEN PROJECT

An interactive mapping and data visualization project that analyzes health and environmental metrics for New York City, and the South Bronx in particular.

EL NIÑO - A GLOBAL PHENOMENON

An interactive map of climate change showing multiple El Niño related events around the world and throughout history. This map illustrates the global reach of El Niño.

PORT TO PORT

An interactive data visualization and mapping analysis of 6 years of oil shipment routes to and from U.S. ports.

BARCELONA CYCLE CHALLENGE

Built for 'Play to Ride', this animation visualizes all the bike rides taken during the Barcelona Cycle Challenge - 2014, and illuminates the city's great biking activity.

DOWNTOWN PROJECT

A short animation that visualizes public activity around Science City. Based on wifi access data, it charts the increasing number of people moving and working in downtown Vegas.

LOS O

These minimal vignettes describe the activity around each station in the Bay Area Bike Share system and beautifully illustrate the diversity of the system.

BAY AREA BIKE SHARE ACTIVITY

Originally produced for a data visualization competition this updated version of our submission maps bike share activity around San Francisco.

GSAPP ALUMNI PROJECT

This interactive visualization provides insights into the GSAPP's professions and helps record the different paths its graduates have taken.

CITIBIKE REBALANCING STUDY

A visual exploration of New York City's Citibike usage patterns, specially centered on its rebalancing issues.

NYC TAXI VISUALIZATIONS

A series of video animations based on taxi activity in New York City. Through them we can see the pulse of the city and the imbalances between origins and destinations.

HERE NOW! SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CITY

Social Media and the Psychological City - An early study of check-in data, trying to visualize it and to understand what it can tell us about our cities.