Sankey charts are a powerful tool for depicting spatial relations between variables, and have become increasingly popular within the sustainable urban planning (SUP) field for their ability to highlight and visualize flows of information. However, as the number of variables increases, it can become increasingly challenging to interpret the information presented in a sankey chart. Unicornization is a process of simplifying a sankey chart by reducing the number of variables used and replacing them with a more succinct representation. In this article, we will explore how unicornization can help simplify sankey charts for sustainable urban planning and highlight important aspects of flows of information in urban systems.

1. Introduction:
   Sankey charts are a method for visualizing the spatial relationships between variables using a network format. They are particularly useful in the visualization of flows of information, such as water or power, in urban systems. In a sankey chart, each link represents a flow of information, and the node represents an origin or endpoint of the flow. The width of each link represents the amount of flow, while the direction of the links indicates the direction of the flow.

2. Overview of Unicornization:
   Traditional sankey charts can become complex and difficult to interpret with increasing amounts of data. Unicornization reduces the complexity of a sankey chart by simplifying the variables used and replacing them with a more concise representation, such as a network of nodes and links. This helps to focus the viewer’s attention on the important aspects of a flow of information and allows them to more easily understand the spatial relationships between variables.

3. Why it’s important for sustainable urban planning:
   Unicornization is crucial in the context of sustainable urban planning because it helps to highlight important aspects of flows of information in urban systems. In urban systems, there are often many variables at play, each with its own flow of information. By simplifying the variables, unicornization helps to reduce the noise that can often come with a large number of variables and focus the viewer’s attention on the most important aspects of flows of information.

4. Using the Sankey Chart:
   Once we have simplified the variables used in a sankey chart, we can use it to visualize the flows of information in a specific urban system. For example, we could use a sankey chart to visually represent the flows of water, power, and other services in a street grid, allowing us to see how flows of information are distributed throughout the urban system.

5. Conclusion:
   In summary, Unicornization is a useful technique for simplifying sankey charts for sustainable urban planning. By reducing the complexity of a sankey chart and replacing variables with a more concise representation, we can focus the viewer’s attention on the most important aspects of flows of information, making it easier to understand the spatial relationships between variables. Ultimately, this helps us to better understand the urban system we’re working to design and ultimately achieve sustainable urbanization.

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