AI-ASSISTED · EDITOR-REVIEWED

Theme brief

The prompt supports two readings: interactions in the data, or interaction in the interface. For flows, reduce visual clutter and explain direction; for an interactive map, make each control answer a real question rather than adding motion for its own sake.

Official prompt
“Interactions between things, or maybe the result would be an interactive map?”
30DayMapChallenge 2026

02

WAYS IN

Four map ideas

01
Map commuting flows between municipalities.
02
Reveal migration links as users select an origin.
03
Build a before-and-after swipe map around one landscape change.
04
Show ecological interactions between species and habitat zones.

03

IN THE DIRECTORY

Recommended tools

kepler.gl

Arc and trip layers make origin-destination data explorable with little setup.

Open source · View details

Flourish

Provides approachable flow and interactive story templates.

Freemium · View details

deck.gl

A strong base for a custom, high-volume flow visualization.

Open source · View details

Leaflet

Keeps a focused interactive map lightweight and widely deployable.

Open source · View details

04

START WITH A CLEAR LICENSE

Data sources

U.S. Census migration and commuting flows

Origin-destination tables suited to regional flow maps.

U.S. government data GTFS transit feeds

Routes, stops, schedules and sometimes real-time feeds; check each publisher.

Varies by transit agency Your own observations

Document the collection method, date and privacy decisions.

You choose the license

Licenses are a planning aid, not legal advice. Check the source record and version you actually download; terms can vary within a catalog.

05

BEFORE YOU EXPORT

Cartography check

Provide a static default view that already says something. Interaction should deepen the story, not be required to discover it.

06

COMMUNITY MAPS

Selected work

Selections begin after this theme closes.

First participate officially by posting publicly with #30DayMapChallenge. You can then suggest that original post for our independent MapTools picks. We link to the source, credit every author and use images only with permission.

Suggest for MapTools picks