In early 2014, David Bauer created the «Dichtestressomat», the density-stress-o-mat, inspired by the upcoming popular vote on the “anti-immigration” initiative. The interactive application lets readers play through the answers to a simple but intriguing hypothetical question: How many people could fit into Switzerland if the whole country were as densely populated as my place of residence? Simply enter your community and the app returns a number: 214 million people for Geneva, for instance, or 20 000 for Hinterrhein in Grisons. By extrapolating the local population density to the total area of the country, an abstract phenomenon is brought into context of one’s own life and community, and thus becomes more tangible.

• Beitrag auf tageswoche.ch