Final Design

This interactive Flash application is the final map I turned in for this assignment. Drag the icon along the timeline to switch between decades. Toggle the "Hide Icons" button on and off to see the building icons. Click an icon to reveal the pop-up window, and click again to hide it. Click anywhere on the map that's not an icon to zoom in, and click again to zoom out.

The map reveals a number of interesting trends in the growth of Georgia Tech's campus. First, in 1910, the campus occupied a two-block square section of Atlanta, and it's now grown to over ten times that much, not counting satellite campuses. Second, the campus' most rapid expansions occurred during the 1950s and 1960s, reflecting historical trends such as the post-war period of growth and economic prosperity. (Interestingly, the campus also doubled in size during the Great Depression, possibly giving credibility to the idea that university enrollment rates go up during an economic downturn.) Third, a number of major roads that once existed have been restructured or town down to accommodate campus change. Hemphill Avenue, for instance, once ran a direct line from 10th Street to North Avenue, but it was cut off at Ferst Drive sometime in the 1970s, most likely due to increasing pedestrian traffic. Fourth, buildings have changed use over time. The Swann Building now houses the School of Modern Languages, but in Tech's earlier years, it was a dormitory.