📋 Changelog

Track all updates, improvements, and fixes to the States I'd Live In Map application.

v2.18.02026-01-04

New World Detailed Map - 245 Regions (USA States, Canada Provinces & World Countries)

🗺️ Major New Comprehensive Map

•Brand new World Detailed map combining global coverage with USA and Canada subdivisions - 245 total regions!
•Includes all 56 USA states and territories (50 states + DC, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, US Virgin Islands)
•All 14 Canadian provinces and territories from coast to coast to coast
•175 world countries (all countries except USA and Canada as whole entities)
•Perfect for comparing specific US states and Canadian provinces with any country globally
•Premium map available for $1.29 - the ultimate comprehensive geography comparison tool

🌍 Geographic Coverage

•USA Detail: All 50 states plus DC and 5 territories - complete American geography
•Canada Detail: All 10 provinces plus 3 territories - British Columbia to Newfoundland, Yukon to Nunavut
•World Countries: 175 nations from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe - every country except USA and Canada as unified entities
•Enables unique comparisons: How does California compare to Germany? Texas vs France? Ontario vs United Kingdom?
•Total 245 selectable regions providing unprecedented geographic granularity

🎯 User Experience

•Added to Popular section in map selector for prominent visibility
•Integrated into statistics page with full voting data visualization
•Dedicated SEO-optimized landing page at /world-detailed/living-preferences
•URL short code 'wd' for easy sharing: whereidlive.com/?m=wd
•Related regions: World, USA, Canada

🔧 Technical Implementation

•Created by programmatically merging world countries TopoJSON with USA states and Canada provinces
•4.69 MB GeoJSON file containing 245 geographic features
•USA and Canada removed as unified entities and replaced with their subdivisions
•Natural Earth projection optimized for global viewing
•Custom Node.js script (create-combined-map.js) built to merge and validate data
•Full integration across all core systems: map selector, stats, regional overview
•Sitemap entries added for search engine discovery
•Enables state-level and province-level comparisons with international countries

v2.17.02025-12-23

New Middle East Map - 17 Countries & Territories

🕌 Major New Map

•Brand new Middle East map featuring 17 countries and territories across the Arabian Peninsula, Levant, and surrounding regions
•Explore living preferences from UAE and Qatar to Turkey and Egypt, Israel to Iran
•Comprehensive coverage of Gulf states, Levantine countries, and regional powers
•Includes both Gaza Strip and West Bank for complete regional coverage
•Free map accessible to all users - discover which Middle Eastern nations have the strongest appeal

🏛️ Featured Countries & Territories

•Gulf States: United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman - modern economic powerhouses
•Levant: Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip - historic crossroads of civilizations
•Regional Powers: Turkey, Egypt, Iran - major economies bridging continents
•Island Nations: Cyprus - Mediterranean gateway
•Arabian Peninsula: Yemen - southern Arabia

🎯 User Experience

•Added to Asia-Pacific section in map selector for easy discovery
•Integrated into statistics page with full voting data visualization
•Dedicated SEO-optimized landing page at /middle-east/living-preferences
•URL short code 'me' for easy sharing: whereidlive.com/?m=me
•Related regions: Asia, World, Europe

🔧 Technical Implementation

•High-quality GeoJSON data from Natural Earth datasets
•Mercator projection optimized for Middle East region
•17 countries and territories with accurate geographic boundaries
•Gaza Strip manually added with precise Mediterranean coastal boundaries
•Full integration across all core systems: map selector, stats, regional overview
•Sitemap entries added for search engine discovery
•Covers diverse geography from Mediterranean coast to Persian Gulf

v2.16.02025-12-23

Save & Load Preferences - Fixed

🐛 Critical Bug Fixes

•Fixed save/load feature showing completely wrong states when loading
•Fixed vote counting - now shows accurate number of votes per save (was counting all historical votes)
•Fixed map detection - correctly identifies which maps you've voted on (was showing all maps)
•Fixed preferences always loading as 'reluctantly' - now restores exact preference levels

🔧 Technical Improvements

•Added saved_preference_votes table for proper snapshot storage
•Saves now capture exact state of your current preferences at save time
•Load now restores exactly what you saved, not historical voting data
•Improved database queries to only count latest votes per state

✨ New Features

•Added 'Clear Current Map' button - clear just the map you're viewing
•Renamed 'Clear All Preferences' to 'Clear All Maps' for clarity
•Better visual hierarchy: Purple (Save/Load) → Orange (Clear Current) → Red (Clear All)

v2.15.02025-12-23

New NYC Neighborhoods Map - Complete 262 Neighborhoods with Real Boundaries

🗽 Major New Intra-City Map

•First intra-city map! Explore ALL 262 official NYC neighborhoods with REAL boundary polygons - 100% complete coverage!
•Every single NYC Neighborhood Tabulation Area (NTA) included - no gaps anywhere in the city
•Based on official NYC Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (NTA) 2020 from NYC Open Data
•Manhattan (38 neighborhoods): Every district from Financial District to Inwood
•Brooklyn (69 neighborhoods): Complete coverage from Williamsburg to Coney Island
•Queens (82 neighborhoods): All areas from Astoria to the Rockaways
•Bronx (50 neighborhoods): Complete borough coverage from Mott Haven to Pelham Bay
•Staten Island (23 neighborhoods): Entire island from St. George to Tottenville
•Free map with accurate geographic boundaries for every part of NYC

🏙️ New Map Category

•Introducing intra-city maps with real geographic boundaries - go hyperlocal within major metros
•Real boundary polygons show actual neighborhood shapes and borders - NO GAPS!
•Complete 100% coverage - every single official neighborhood included
•Based on official government data (NYC Neighborhood Tabulation Areas 2020)
•Ultra-high zoom level (scale: 90,000) for detailed neighborhood viewing
•Foundation for future intra-city maps (London, Tokyo, Paris, etc.)

🎯 User Experience

•Added to Popular section in map selector - featured prominently
•Integrated into statistics page with full voting data visualization
•Dedicated SEO-optimized landing page at /nyc-neighborhoods/living-preferences
•URL short code 'nyc' for easy sharing: whereidlive.com/?m=nyc
•Related regions: USA Cities, USA, World Cities

🔧 Technical Implementation

•Official NYC Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (NTA) 2020 data from NYC Open Data
•GeoJSON with accurate boundary polygons (not just points) for ALL 262 neighborhoods
•Complete dataset - 100% of official NYC neighborhoods with no curation needed
•Mercator projection with NYC-centered coordinates for optimal viewing
•Borough metadata included for each neighborhood
•4.4 MB GeoJSON file with complete polygon geometries for perfect coverage
•Polygon-based hit detection means even 262 neighborhoods remain clickable
•Full integration across all core systems: map selector, stats, regional overview
•Sitemap entries added for search engine discovery

v2.14.02025-12-23

New Australia Cities Map - 22 Major Australian Cities

🦘 Major New Map

•Brand new Australia Cities map featuring 22 major cities across all 6 states and 2 territories
•Explore living preferences from Sydney to Perth, Melbourne to Darwin, Brisbane to Hobart
•Comprehensive coverage from tropical Far North to temperate Tasmania
•Free map accessible to all users - discover which Australian cities offer the best lifestyle
•Optimized city spacing for easy clickability across the vast continent

🏛️ Featured Cities

•New South Wales: Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Albury - Harbour city and coastal gems
•Victoria: Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo - Cultural capital and regional centers
•Queensland: Brisbane, Gold Coast, Cairns, Townsville, Toowoomba, Mackay, Rockhampton - Sunshine State diversity
•Western Australia: Perth, Bunbury - Isolated beauty on the Indian Ocean
•South Australia: Adelaide - Festival city and wine country gateway
•Tasmania: Hobart, Launceston - Island paradise cities
•Northern Territory: Darwin - Tropical Top End
•ACT: Canberra - Planned national capital

🎯 User Experience

•Added to Asia-Pacific section in map selector
•Integrated into statistics page with full voting data visualization
•Dedicated SEO-optimized landing page at /australia-cities/living-preferences
•URL short code 'auc' for easy sharing: whereidlive.com/?m=auc
•Related regions: Australia, Asia, World Cities

🔧 Technical Implementation

•Custom GeoJSON with precise coordinates for all 22 major Australian cities
•Australia map (australia.topo.json) provides full geographic context
•Point-based visualization with Mercator projection optimized for Australia
•Population data included for all cities (metro areas)
•Full integration across all core systems: map selector, stats, regional overview
•Sitemap entries added for search engine discovery

v2.13.02025-12-23

New Canada Cities Map - 27 Major Canadian Cities

🍁 Major New Map

•Brand new Canada Cities map featuring 27 major cities across all 10 provinces and 3 territories
•Explore living preferences from Toronto to Vancouver, Montreal to Calgary, Halifax to Whitehorse
•True coast-to-coast-to-coast coverage including Arctic territories
•Free map accessible to all users - discover which Canadian cities offer the best quality of life
•Optimized city spacing in Greater Toronto Area for easy clickability

🏛️ Featured Cities

•Ontario: Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, London, Windsor, Kingston
•Quebec: Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières - French-Canadian culture
•British Columbia: Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Abbotsford - West Coast beauty
•Alberta: Calgary, Edmonton - Prairie powerhouses
•Atlantic Canada: Halifax, Moncton, Saint John, St. John's, Charlottetown - Maritime charm
•Prairies: Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina - Heart of Canada
•Territories: Whitehorse (Yukon), Yellowknife (NWT), Iqaluit (Nunavut) - Northern frontiers

🎯 User Experience

•Added to Americas section in map selector
•Integrated into statistics page with full voting data visualization
•Dedicated SEO-optimized landing page at /canada-cities/living-preferences
•URL short code 'cac' for easy sharing: whereidlive.com/?m=cac
•Related regions: Canada, USA Cities, World Cities

🔧 Technical Implementation

•Custom GeoJSON with precise coordinates for all 31 major Canadian cities
•Canada map (canada.topo.json) provides full geographic context
•Point-based visualization with Conic Conformal projection optimized for Canada's vast geography
•Population data included for all cities (metro areas)
•Full integration across all core systems: map selector, stats, regional overview
•Sitemap entries added for search engine discovery

v2.12.02025-12-23

New UK Cities Map - 30 Major British Cities

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Major New Map

•Brand new UK Cities map featuring 30 major cities across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
•Explore living preferences from London to Edinburgh, Manchester to Cardiff, Belfast to Bristol
•Comprehensive coverage of all four UK nations with diverse urban experiences
•Free map accessible to all users - discover which British cities are most desirable
•Includes global capitals, regional powerhouses, and historic university cities

🏛️ Featured Cities

•England: London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Bristol, Sheffield, Oxford, Cambridge, and more
•Scotland: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness - from Highland charm to lowland culture
•Wales: Cardiff, Swansea - Welsh capitals and coastal cities
•Northern Ireland: Belfast - vibrant capital of Northern Ireland
•Historic gems: Bath, York, Oxford, Cambridge - centuries of British heritage

🎯 User Experience

•Added to Europe section in map selector, positioned with Great Britain and Europe Cities
•Integrated into statistics page with full voting data visualization
•Dedicated SEO-optimized landing page at /uk-cities/living-preferences
•URL short code 'ukc' for easy sharing: whereidlive.com/?m=ukc
•Related regions: Great Britain, Europe Cities, World Cities

🔧 Technical Implementation

•Custom GeoJSON with precise coordinates for all 30 major UK cities
•United Kingdom background map (united-kingdom.topo.json) provides full geographic context
•Point-based visualization with Mercator projection optimized for British Isles
•Population data included for all cities (metro areas)
•Full integration across all core systems: map selector, stats, regional overview
•Sitemap entries added for search engine discovery
•Fixed background map path to correctly display UK outline behind city points

v2.11.02025-12-23

New Australia Map - 8 States and Territories

🦘 Major New Map

•Brand new Australia map featuring all 8 states and territories
•Explore living preferences from Sydney to Perth, Melbourne to Darwin
•High-quality map data from Highcharts/Natural Earth
•Free map accessible to all users - discover which Australian regions are most desirable
•Optimized projection centered on Australia for clear visualization

🏛️ Australian Regions

•New South Wales - Home to Sydney and the iconic Opera House
•Victoria - Melbourne's cultural capital
•Queensland - From Brisbane to the Great Barrier Reef
•Western Australia - Perth and the vast outback
•South Australia - Adelaide and wine regions
•Tasmania - Island state with pristine wilderness
•Northern Territory - Darwin and Uluru
•Australian Capital Territory - Canberra, the nation's capital

🎯 User Experience

•Added to Asia-Pacific section in map selector
•Integrated into statistics page with full voting data visualization
•Dedicated SEO-optimized landing page at /australia/living-preferences
•URL short code 'au' for easy sharing: whereidlive.com/?m=au
•Related regions: Asia, World, World Cities

🔧 Technical Implementation

•Professional TopoJSON data from Highcharts Map Collection
•Proper coordinate system with Mercator projection
•Excludes minor territories (Norfolk Island, Jervis Bay) to focus on main regions
•Full integration across all core systems: map selector, stats, regional overview
•Sitemap entries added for search engine discovery

v2.10.02025-11-09

New Europe Cities Map - 74 Major European Cities

🗺️ Major New Map

•Brand new Europe Cities map featuring 74 major cities across 35+ European countries
•Complete geographic diversity from Nordic capitals to Mediterranean cities
•Every European country now has at least one major city represented
•Free map accessible to all users - explore Europe's most iconic urban destinations
•Beautiful map projection optimized for European geography

🏛️ Featured Cities

•Western Europe: Paris, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels, Vienna, Zurich, and more
•Southern Europe: Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, Athens, Lisbon, Milan, Valencia, Seville
•Eastern Europe: Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, Bucharest, Sofia, Zagreb, Belgrade
•Nordic Region: Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki, Reykjavik
•Enhanced coverage: Multiple cities for Spain, France, Italy, and Germany

🎯 User Experience Improvements

•Fixed clustering issues - cities are properly spaced for easy clicking
•Optimized city selection to prevent overlapping markers
•Added to statistics page for viewing Europe Cities voting data
•Integrated into regional overview system with related map suggestions
•Full SEO optimization with dedicated landing page at /europe-cities/living-preferences

🔧 Technical Implementation

•Comprehensive GeoJSON data with accurate coordinates for all 74 cities
•Background country boundaries for geographic context
•Integrated into all core systems: map selector, stats, regional overview
•URL short code 'ec' for easy sharing: whereidlive.com/?m=ec
•Sitemap entries added for search engine discovery

v2.9.02025-11-06

World Cities Map Now Free & Bug Fixes

🎁 World Cities Now Free

•World Cities map is now completely FREE for all users!
•Previously a premium map ($0.99), now accessible to everyone without payment
•All 15 users who purchased World Cities received Lord of the Rings map for FREE as compensation
•Migration completed automatically - previous purchasers now have both maps
•No action needed - compensation was applied to all eligible accounts

🐛 Bug Fixes

•Fixed Portland city name collision - Portland, OR and Portland, ME are now properly distinguished
•Clicking Portland, ME no longer also selects Portland, OR
•Added state suffixes to disambiguate cities with identical names
•Improved city identification across all USA Cities map interactions

🔧 Technical

•Created migration scripts to compensate World Cities purchasers with LOTR access
•Updated map pricing configuration to remove World Cities from premium tier
•Enhanced GeoJSON data with unique identifiers for duplicate city names
•Added verification scripts to ensure all migrations completed successfully

v2.8.02025-11-03

Smart Recommendations Engine with Collaborative Filtering

🎯 Major New Feature - Personalized Recommendations

•Smart recommendation system powered by collaborative filtering algorithm
•Finds users with similar voting patterns and suggests states they love
•Dedicated /recommendations page with beautiful, engaging UI
•Shows personalized recommendations across all regions (USA, Europe, World, etc.)
•Separate recommendations for 'Places to Live' and 'Places to Visit' modes
•Real-time recommendation generation based on user preferences and community data

🧠 Algorithm V2 - Intelligent Matching

•Focus on strong preferences: Only matches on 4-5 star (love) or 1-2 star (hate) votes
•Ignores neutral 3-star votes for better signal quality and more accurate matches
•Alignment scoring system: +3 points for shared loves, +2 for shared hates
•Recency weighting: Recent votes get +20% weight (30 days) or +10% (90 days)
•Requires 3+ states in common with similar users for meaningful recommendations
•Sophisticated similarity algorithm considers both agreement and preference intensity

⚡ Performance Optimization

•Database query time reduced from 40-80 seconds to 2-5 seconds (15-30x faster!)
•3 new composite database indexes for optimal query performance
•idx_votes_similarity_lookup: Optimizes finding similar users
•idx_votes_user_region_mode_state: Optimizes user vote lookups
•idx_votes_preference_lookup: Optimizes recommendation queries
•FORCE INDEX hints ensure MySQL uses optimal query plans

🎨 Beautiful User Experience

•5 distinct UI states: Hero page, need votes, no similar users, great picks, new recommendations
•Sticky header with prominent 'Vote on More States' button for easy navigation
•Color-coded cards: Yellow for needs votes, Amber for no matches, Green for validated picks, Purple for new recommendations
•Animated gradients and smooth transitions throughout the page
•Mobile-responsive design with optimized layouts for all screen sizes
•Clear messaging and helpful guidance at every stage of the journey

💬 Engaging, Varied Content

•15+ different message variations to avoid repetitive text
•Personality-driven language: 'users like you', 'your tribe', 'kindred spirits'
•Context-aware messages based on rating levels (4.7+, 4.5-4.7, 4.0-4.5)
•Strategic emoji use for visual interest and emotional connection
•Validation messages celebrate user choices with affirming language
•Messages automatically cycle to ensure variety in every list

🎁 User Benefits

•Discover states you might love based on people with similar taste
•Validation when similar users also love your picks ('Great Picks' feature)
•Clear explanations when recommendations aren't available yet
•Social proof: See how many similar users recommend each state
•Star ratings show consensus strength (4.71/5, 4.68/5, etc.)
•Easy navigation between recommendations and voting with prominent CTAs

v2.7.02025-10-31

Where I've Visited Mode & Travel Tracking

✈️ Major New Feature

•Added 'Where I've Visited' mode alongside existing 'Where I'd Live' mode
•Independent tracking for travel history vs. living preferences
•Three-level visit status: Never Visited, Visited, Lived There
•Mode switcher allows instant toggling between living and visited preferences
•Separate vote storage for each mode - mark places you've visited AND where you'd live

🎨 Visual Improvements

•Gray-to-blue color gradient for visited mode (vs. red-to-green for living mode)
•Dynamic legend that updates based on current mode
•Contextual labels: 'Never Visited' to 'Lived There' for visited mode
•Stats page map colors now match selected mode
•Mode-specific color schemes throughout the entire application

📊 Data & Analytics

•Statistics page now supports both living and visited modes
•Separate rankings and vote counts for each mode
•Real-time mode switching on stats page with instant data updates
•Database optimized to store and retrieve mode-specific preferences
•API endpoints enhanced to handle dual-mode vote tracking

🔧 Technical Enhancements

•Mode-aware preference filtering across all map types
•Database schema supports vote_mode field ('living' or 'visited')
•Optimized preference distribution mapping for 3-level visited system
•Backward compatible with existing living preference data
•Enhanced color system supports both gradient types across all visualizations

🌍 Use Cases Unlocked

•Travel planning: Track where you've been and where you want to go
•Bucket list management: Mark dream destinations separately from visited places
•Digital travel journal: Keep a visual record of your travel history
•Dual purpose tool: Living preferences AND travel tracking in one app
•Share both your travel experience and relocation preferences

v2.6.02025-10-11

Lord of the Rings Middle-earth Map & Premium Features

🧙 New Fantasy Map

•Added complete Middle-earth map with all 24 iconic regions from J.R.R. Tolkien's world
•Includes regions from the Shire to Mordor, Gondor to Rohan, and everything in between
•Custom fantasy coordinate system with proper scaling and projection handling
•Interactive voting system for Middle-earth regions with real-time statistics
•Dedicated regional overview page with SEO optimization and social sharing

💰 Premium Features

•Introduced premium map system with Stripe payment integration
•Lord of the Rings map available as premium content for $1.99
•Dynamic pricing system that automatically updates across all UI components
•Secure payment processing with user authentication and purchase tracking
•Premium badge indicators in map selector with real-time pricing

🎨 Technical Enhancements

•Added CSS transform support for map flipping and orientation control
•Implemented custom GeoJSON handling for fantasy coordinate systems
•Enhanced map projection system with geoIdentity support for non-geographic data
•Improved paywall modal with dynamic pricing and better error handling
•Added comprehensive documentation for adding new maps to the platform

🔧 Infrastructure

•Extended database schema to support map purchases and user access control
•Added API endpoints for payment processing and access verification
•Implemented purchase service with map pricing and access management
•Enhanced sitemap with new fantasy map routes for better SEO
•Added regional overview template support for fantasy worlds

v2.5.02025-10-07

Accessibility & Social Media Improvements

♿ Accessibility

•Added color blind friendly mode toggle for statistics maps
•Implemented blue-to-yellow gradient as accessible alternative to red-green
•Toggle allows users to switch between standard and accessible color schemes
•Color blind mode works for all types of color blindness (deuteranopia, protanopia, tritanopia)
•Enhanced map legends to dynamically update based on selected color mode

🎨 Design

•Redesigned OpenGraph social share image with modern gradient background
•Added visual map preview showing interactive functionality
•Included social proof badge (10M+ votes) for credibility
•Enhanced social media presence with professional, eye-catching design
•Created automated image generation tools for future updates

🔧 Technical

•Dual color gradient system: standard (red-green) and accessible (blue-yellow)
•Modular color functions for easy maintenance and updates
•Created HTML templates and Node.js scripts for OG image generation
•Added comprehensive documentation for image generation workflow

v2.4.02025-10-04

Sentry Error Monitoring Integration

🚀 New

•Integrated Sentry for comprehensive error monitoring and performance tracking
•Added error capturing to all API routes with contextual information

🔧 Improved

•Enhanced error handling in vote submission API with detailed context
•Added user agent and request context to all error reports
•Implemented automatic error capturing in React ErrorBoundary
•Added source map generation for better error stack traces
•Configured environment-specific error tracking

📊 Monitoring

•Error tracking across authentication, voting, and stats APIs
•Performance monitoring for database operations and API responses
•Real-time error alerts and performance degradation notifications

🔧 Technical

•Sentry Vite plugin integration for automated release tracking
•Error context includes section tags, user agents, and request parameters
•Distributed tracing configured for localhost and production domains
•Environment-aware configuration for development vs production

v2.3.02025-09-30

Stats Page Performance Optimization

⚡ Performance

•Implemented materialized stats table - 50-100x faster stats queries
•Reduced stats page load time from 3-6+ seconds to <500ms
•Optimized database queries from scanning 1.2M+ rows to 737 pre-calculated rows
•Added incremental stats updates on each vote for real-time accuracy

🚀 New

•Added vote_stats table for pre-calculated statistics
•Created rebuild-stats-table.js script for maintenance and recovery
•Implemented atomic incremental updates using ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE

🔧 Improved

•Increased stats cache TTL from 5 minutes to 30 minutes
•Enhanced HTTP cache headers (5 min client, 10 min CDN)
•Optimized database connection pooling for better concurrency
•Stats now update automatically with each vote submission

📊 Technical

•Database query time reduced from 2-5+ seconds to 50-100ms
•Stats table indexed by region and state_id for instant lookups
•Preference distribution pre-calculated and stored (pref_1-5_count)
•Background rebuild capability maintains data integrity

v2.2.02025-09-29

USA Cities Map & Analytics

🚀 New

•Added Major USA Cities map with 70 cities covering all 50 states
•Implemented point geometry rendering for city markers
•Added background map layer support (non-interactive state boundaries)
•Integrated Google Analytics for traffic source tracking

🔧 Improved

•Enhanced map component to support both polygon and point geometries
•Added USA state map as contextual background for city visualization
•Improved visual hierarchy with cities as interactive markers over non-interactive states
•Updated stats page to include USA Cities as a selectable region
•Implemented 5-minute in-memory caching for stats API - dramatically faster page loads
•Reduced database queries by ~95% with TTL-based cache strategy

📊 Features

•70 major cities including NYC, LA, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Anchorage, Honolulu, and more
•Complete coverage of all 50 states with at least one major city per state
•City preference tracking with same 5-level system (Never to Absolutely)
•Dedicated city statistics and rankings on stats page
•Geographic context provided by background state boundaries

v2.1.02025-01-29

Database Migration & Performance Improvements

🚀 New

•Migrated from Google Sheets to MySQL database for better performance
•Added DigitalOcean managed database integration
•Implemented proper database connection pooling

🔧 Improved

•Standardized all TopoJSON map naming formats
•Fixed cryptic ID codes (like 'CA.QC', 'CH', '124') to use proper region names
•Increased rate limits: 2000 votes/hour, 500 votes/minute
•Optimized vote submission with better error handling

🐛 Fixed

•Resolved Poland voivodeship names from ALL CAPS to proper case
•Fixed Europe map showing country codes instead of full country names
•Eliminated all numeric and cryptic region IDs across all maps
•Fixed USA map to use local TopoJSON instead of CDN

🗑️ Removed

•Removed Google Sheets API dependencies
•Cleaned up old data mapping files (brazilData.ts, mexicoData.ts, etc.)
•Removed redundant geography ID mapping logic

v2.0.02025-01-15

Map Standardization & UI Improvements

🚀 New

•Added support for 13 different regional maps
•Implemented comprehensive stats visualization
•Added preference distribution charts

🔧 Improved

•Standardized all maps to use consistent 'name' property
•Enhanced map projections for better visual accuracy
•Improved mobile responsiveness across all components

v1.5.02024-12-20

Multi-Region Support

🚀 New

•Added World, Europe, Americas, Asia regional maps
•Implemented country-specific preference tracking
•Added Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and other country maps

v1.0.02024-11-01

Initial Release

🚀 New

•Interactive US states preference mapping
•Google Sheets integration for data storage
•Basic preference selection (Never, Reluctantly, Maybe, Willing, Absolutely)
•Real-time statistics and visualization

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