#30: A5: The Global Grid System Changing How We Map the World with Felix Palmer

Spatial Stack with Matt Forrest

In this episode, I sit down with Felix Palmer, creator of A5, a new global grid system that’s redefining how we represent and analyze the Earth.
Felix shares how a 1980s math paper led him to build a pentagon-based global grid, one that fixes the distortions found in systems like H3 and S2, achieving true equal-area cells across the entire planet.

We discuss the geometry behind A5, the trade-offs of global gridding, and why visual design and spatial computation are deeply connected.
If you’ve ever worked with spatial indexes or wondered how we might rebuild the geometry of the globe itself, this episode will change the way you see maps.

We cover:

The origins of A5 and how it compares to H3
Why equal-area grids matter for accurate analysis
The visual and geometric challenges of mapping a sphere

A5 Website: https://a5geo.org/
A5 on GitHub: https://github.com/felixpalmer/a5

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