ATLAS for the END of the WORLD

Coming almost 450 years after the world's first Atlas, this Atlas for the End of the World audits the status of land use and urbanization in the most critically endangered bioregions on Earth. It does so, firstly, by measuring the quantity of protected area across the world's 36 biodiversity hotspots in comparison to United Nation's 2020 targets; and secondly, by identifying where future urban growth in these territories is on a collision course with endangered species.

By bringing urbanization and conservation together in the same study, the essays, maps, data, and artwork in this Atlas lay essential groundwork for the future planning and design of hotspot cities and regions as interdependent ecological and economic systems.


Précis

On May 20, 1570, Abraham Ortelius, book collector and engraver from Antwerp, published the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Epitome of the Theater of the World), the world's first atlas…

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Essay: Atlas for the End?

Whereas Ortelius marked out modernity's territorial beginnings, this atlas — by focusing on the remaining habitat in the world's 36 biodiversity hotspots — rakes over its remains. This section explains the philosophy and methodology of the atlas…

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World Maps

This section offers 44 thematic world maps related to the general issue of global biodiversity and the epoch of the anthropocene more broadly. Each map is accompanied by a short explanatory text and references for the data sources…

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Datascapes

The Datascapes are 11 visualizations designed to make quantities such as carbon emissions, urban growth and food production which are otherwise hard to comprehend, intelligible…

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Hotspots

The maps in this section audit the amount of protected areas in the world's 36 hotspots and their 391 ecoregions as well as analyze how 422 cities in the hotspots are growing…

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Hotspot Cities

In this section we zoom in on a sample set of 33 the biggest and fastest growing of all the cities situated in the world's 36 recognized biological hotspots…

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Facts & Data

Here you will find a summary of the key statistical findings of this research and two performance indices for the world's hotspots and their host nations…

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Essay: Atlas for the Beginning

In these concluding remarks we point optimistically towards a world where landscapes are being restored on a planetary scale and set out our research agenda for the future…

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Guide to the Flora & Fauna of the World

This section of the Atlas showcases the photography of Singaporean artist Zhao Renhui, Director of the Institute for Critical Zoologists…

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About the Atlas (FAQ)

The frequently asked questions in this section provide additional information about the Atlas…

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