Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Mappers Count All 43,123 Swimming Pools In Los Angeles
Dorland House in Altadena Lloyd Wright 1950 (Photo by Michael Locke via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
()
Someone decided to create an atlas dedicated to that iconic symbol of the good life in Southern California: swimming pools.
German graphic designer Benedikt Gross told Wired he was fascinated by the pools of Los Angeles ever since he flew on a plane over the city, "I was flying in for a study trip during the first year of my Royal College of Art degree, and I saw all these swimming pools. It looked like there were millions. It was crazy."
So later he went to work with a partner Joseph Lee of MIT to find out just how many there were and what they could tell us about the landscape. The pair worked to create what eventually became The Big Atlas of LA Pools. It turned out to be pretty easy to find out where the pools were and even grab snapshots of some of the pools themselves. (Compiling all that data is another story—they outsourced some of the tedious work to a company in India.) The result is an atlas that is 6,000 pages and comes in 74 printed volumes, according to the Los Angeles Times. There's only one copy.
The pair overlaid the data with a bunch of other data sets and here's what they found:
Support for LAist comes from
Here's a spin through one of the data sets:
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
After rising for years, the number of residential installations in the city of Los Angeles began to drop in 2023. The city isn’t subject to recent changes in state incentives, but other factors may be contributing to the decline. -
The L.A. City Council approved the venue change Wednesday, which organizers say will save $12 million in infrastructure costs.
-
Taxes on the sale of some newer apartment buildings would be lowered under a plan by Sacramento lawmakers to partially rein in city Measure ULA.
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons after suddenly shutting down six months ago.
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
Best of LAist