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Changelog

Last Updated: 4/7/2026

Changelog

This document tracks the progress and evolution of the “Where Did They Go?” project, a historical visualization tool for tracking population and infrastructure changes in Kansas.

Post-Sprint 5 Updates (2026)

County Population Heatmap

March 30, 2026

  • Added visual heatmap overlay showing county population density over time
  • Provides clearer insight into demographic shifts across Kansas counties

Healthcare Facilities

March 25-27, 2026

  • Healthcare Data Visualization
    • Added comprehensive healthcare facility locations across Kansas
    • Facilities include hospitals, clinics, and other medical centers
    • Interactive hover displays detailed facility information including:
      • Facility name and type
      • Address and contact information
      • Bed capacity (for hospitals)
      • Trauma center designation
  • Legend System
    • Dynamic legend appears in top-right corner when healthcare data is displayed
    • Color-coded facility types with character markers for easy identification

Water Bodies

February-March 2026

  • Rivers
    • Added major river systems throughout Kansas
    • Rivers render as natural water features on the map
    • Integrated with filter system for selective display
  • Lakes
    • Added lake and reservoir locations
    • Accurate geographical placement and sizing

Interstate Highway System

February 2026

  • Added interstate highway visualization
  • Highways display as distinct infrastructure layer
  • Functional filter allows toggling interstate visibility
  • Part of infrastructure group in filter system

Sprint 5

Public School Locations & School Info Box

  • Public schools now display on the map when in County view
  • Hovering over school markers displays an information box with detailed data:
    • Building name and district information
    • Building and organization numbers
    • Education level (elementary, middle, high school)
    • Opening date
    • Homepage URL
    • Complete address
  • School data sourced from Kansas Department of Education (KSDE)

Filter Functionality

  • Interactive filter panel on the right side of the interface
  • Allows toggling visibility of multiple data layers:
    • County lines
    • Railroads
    • Towns
    • Census tracts
    • Schools
    • Healthcare facilities
    • Interstate highways
    • Rivers and lakes
  • Filters automatically adjust based on zoom level (state vs. county view)
  • Smooth fade-in/fade-out transitions when toggling filters

Town Population Display

  • Town populations now visible on the map in County view
  • Population data appears on hover in State view
  • Historical population data tracking changes over time

Sprint 4

Modular Code Refactoring

  • Restructured codebase to maximize efficiency and readability
  • Organized data and functions by component for better maintainability
  • Each data layer (borders, cities, railroads, tracts, schools) now has dedicated component
  • Implemented registration API system for component lifecycle management

Enhanced Town Interaction

  • Hovering over towns in State view now displays town names
  • Improved user experience for identifying locations across Kansas

Historical Data Collection

  • Gathered comprehensive historical town data spanning multiple decades
  • Collected county-level crime statistics
  • Obtained census tract food access data for demographic analysis

Stylized Railroad and Tract Visualization

  • Railroads: Rendered as green dotted lines with dynamic width adjustment based on zoom level
  • Census Tracts: Displayed as thin dotted red lines (visible in County view only)
  • Both layers integrated with filter system for selective visibility

Sprint 3

Dynamic Data Rendering Based on Zoom Level

  • Implemented zoom-responsive rendering system
  • Clicking a county triggers transition to County view
  • Additional data layers appear/disappear based on current zoom level
  • Smooth viewBox transitions between State and County views (750ms duration)

Automated Timeline Playback

  • Added play/pause button for timeline animation
  • When active, timeline automatically advances in 10-year increments
  • Advances every 3.5 seconds with automatic looping
  • Visual toggle between play and pause icons

Census Tract Lines in County View

  • Census tract boundaries display when zoomed into a specific county
  • Tracts help visualize demographic and geographic subdivisions
  • Filter toggle available for tract visibility

Sprint 2

Base Map of Kansas

  • Created interactive SVG map of Kansas
  • County borders rendered with click-to-zoom functionality
  • Towns represented as red dots with accurate geographical positioning
  • Implemented D3.js with Albers projection (scale: 14000, translate: [1150, 375])
  • ViewBox: 1600x800 units for consistent scaling

Railway System Visualization

  • Historical railroad lines displayed on the map
  • Railroad data shows construction timeline
  • Lines fade in/out based on year of operation
  • Green styling distinguishes railways from other infrastructure

Timeline-Based Historical Changes

  • Interactive timeline slider (1860-2020, 10-year increments)
  • Dynamic updates to:
    • County borders (historical boundary changes)
    • Railroad network (expansion over time)
    • Town locations and populations
  • Smooth opacity transitions for appearing/disappearing features

Sprint 1

Project Foundation

  • Specification Document: Comprehensive project requirements and design
    • Functional requirements defined
    • Technical architecture outlined
    • Database diagram drafted
    • Use cases documented
  • Style Guide: Established coding standards and conventions
  • Initial Data Gathering: Began collecting historical Kansas data including:
    • County boundary data
    • Town locations and population records
    • Railroad construction timelines
    • Geographic coordinate systems

Technology Stack

Frontend:

  • Vue.js 3 (Composition API)
  • D3.js for geospatial visualization and data binding
  • Vite for build tooling

Data Formats:

  • GeoJSON for geographic features (counties, railroads, tracts, water bodies)
  • JSON for structured data (towns, schools, healthcare facilities)

Testing:

  • Vitest for unit testing
  • Component-based test coverage
Data Sources