README

This code accompanies a five-part blog series on our recent explorations making choropleth maps using PostGIS, TileMill, Mapnik and Google Maps. On completion of the tutorial you'll have made something like this:
http://media.apps.chicagotribune.com/census-2010/census-demo/index.html

To work through the tutorial go here:
http://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com/2011/03/07/making-maps-1/

If you're impatient, install the requirements...

PostgreSQL, PostGIS, GDAL, etc. geo stack:
http://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com/2010/02/17/quick-install-pythonpostgis-geo-stack-on-snow-leopard/

PostGIS spatial database template:
http://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/ref/contrib/gis/install/#spatialdb-template

Mapnik and TileMill:
https://github.com/mapbox/tilemill

pip, virtualenv and virtualenvwrapper:
http://pypi.python.org/pypi/pip
http://pypi.python.org/pypi/virtualenv
http://www.doughellmann.com/projects/virtualenvwrapper/

And install the required Python libraries to a virtualenv:
mkvirtualenv making-maps-demo
pip install -r requirements.txt

...and fire up your tiles.

./setup
./style
./render