From village to city: the evolution of Reykjavík

Maps

Using open data to track 140 years of growth in Iceland’s capital city

14 March 2016

Although it has a population of over 200 000 today, Greater Reykjavík had fewer than 8 000 residents in 1880. In the interactive map of the buildings below you can see how the city has grown every year since. See also a related map and how I made it).

Move your mouse across (or tap your finger on) the years in the bar chart to see how the city’s buildings looked at that point in time.

Note: only buildings not since demolished are shown; buildings whose age is not known are excluded. Source: Landupplýsingakerfi Reykjavíkur, Þjóðskrá Íslands, and OpenStreetMap. OpenStreetMap data © 2013 OpenStreetMap contributors. Hand icon by Pham Thi Dieu Linh.