{"id":5749,"date":"2016-11-23T20:56:13","date_gmt":"2016-11-24T01:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/research.prattsils.org\/?p=5749"},"modified":"2016-11-23T20:56:13","modified_gmt":"2016-11-24T01:56:13","slug":"parks-public-art-community-empowerment-zones-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/visualization\/parks-public-art-community-empowerment-zones-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"Parks, Public Art, Community and Empowerment Zones in Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For this project, I used several datasets to explore relationships between community boundaries, \u201cempowerment zones,\u201d public art, and public parks, in Chicago, IL, as of 2011 (the most recently updated data that I found outlining Chicago\u2019s \u201cempowerment zones\u201d). I approached my visualizations with the following questions in mind:<\/p>\n<p>1\/ What is the relationship between community boundaries and \u201cempowerment zones,\u201d in Chicago?<\/p>\n<p>2\/ Is there a correlation between the location of public art, open spaces and the areas that have been identified as economically distressed (i.e. \u201cempowerment zones\u201d), in Chicago?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Materials<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I used the following 4 datasets for this project:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/data.cityofchicago.org\/browse?tags=shapefiles\">The City of Chicago\u2019s \u201cBoundaries \u2013 Community Areas (current)\u201d shapefile<\/a> (2016)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/data.cityofchicago.org\/Community-Economic-Development\/Boundaries-Empowerment-Zones\/m6ef-sjkj\">The City of Chicago and The Empowerment Zones\/Enterprise Communities (EZ\/EC) program\u2019s \u201cEmpowerment Zones\u201d shapefile<\/a> (2011)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/data.cityofchicago.org\/Parks-Recreation\/Parks-Shapefiles\/5msb-wbxn\/data\">The City of Chicago and The Chicago Park District\u2019s \u201cParks\u201d shapefile<\/a> (2012)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/catalog.data.gov\/dataset\/parks-public-art-eb35f\">The City of Chicago\u2019s \u201cParks \u2013 Public Art\u201d Excel file <\/a>(2012)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While I did not have to manipulate this data at all, I did experiment with separating \u201clatitude\u201d and \u201clongitude\u201d into 2 columns, as it seemed to come up in many other datasets during my search for these files. For this, I used Excel (\u201cData\u201d \u2013 \u201cText to Columns\u201d \u2013 set \u201ccomma\u201d as the limiter). Then, for my visualizations, I exclusively worked with \u201cCarto\u201d and \u201cCarto Builder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Methods &amp; Discussion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>First, I layered all 4 of the datasets by adding them into Carto. I frequently saw this done, when looking for examples of visualizations working with similar data, and appreciated the effect.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infoshow\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/11\/layering-but-too-hectic.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5750 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infoshow\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/11\/layering-but-too-hectic-620x471.png?resize=620%2C471\" alt=\"layering-but-too-hectic\" width=\"620\" height=\"471\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Then, I brought the \u201cempowerment zones\u201d layer to the top, renamed each layer so that the titles represented the content, and colored each dataset as such: parks \u2013 green, empowerment zones\u2013 red, communities \u2013 blue, and public art \u2013 orange. While I realized that this would not be the most useful design for users who may be color-blind, I chose these colors for content reasons; green seemed like the most logical color for parks, red seemed like a good choice for \u201chighly distressed\u201d zones, blue was a harmonious selection for communities, and orange allowed the points to pop. My hope was that this approach to color selection would aid in the understanding of the map, as opposed to some of the more hectic examples that I had come across.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infoshow\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/11\/colors.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5751 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infoshow\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/11\/colors.jpg?resize=564%2C866\" alt=\"colors\" width=\"564\" height=\"866\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Next, I added a \u201cLayer Selector,\u201d allowing potential users to remove or, add any of the layers that I had included. Originally, in order to draw attention to this feature, I also added a \u201cText Item\u201d (via \u201cAdd Element\u201d), stating: \u201cSelect Layers to View.\u201d Then, I changed the font size from \u201c20\u201d to \u201c12,\u201d changed the \u201cMax Width\u201d to \u201c250,\u201d and placed this text box directly above the \u201cVisible Layers\u201d box. I liked the look of this text element in Carto; however, when I tested the \u201cShare Link,\u201d I saw that the element shifted down, behind the \u201cLayer Selector,\u201d making it difficult to read, so I decided to delete it.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, inspired by public art maps like the one below, I decided to make accessible some of the details about Chicago\u2019s public art.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infoshow\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/11\/clean-with-art-details.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5752 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infoshow\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/11\/clean-with-art-details-620x398.jpg?resize=620%2C398\" alt=\"clean-with-art-details\" width=\"620\" height=\"398\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In the \u201cPublic Art\u201d layer, I added the title of each piece of art, and the name of each artist, to the \u201cInfo Window,\u201d making it visible with both \u201cclick\u201d and \u201chover.\u201d At this point, I also allowed \u201cscroll wheel zoom,\u201d to better accommodate the view and analysis of clusters of art. Later, in Carto Builder, I also experimented with the inclusion of these details in widgets, which re-calibrated with the zoom function, but ultimately, I went in a different direction with that visualization.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infoshow\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/11\/Carto1.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5755 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infoshow\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/11\/Carto1.png?resize=538%2C489\" alt=\"carto1\" width=\"538\" height=\"489\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Share Link (Interactive Map):\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/trobinson.carto.com\/viz\/753bd0bc-ab6f-11e6-a6c2-0ef24382571b\/public_map\/\">https:\/\/trobinson.carto.com\/viz\/753bd0bc-ab6f-11e6-a6c2-0ef24382571b\/public_map\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>With this visualization, I noticed that all but 1 of the \u201cempowerment zones\u201d crossed community boundaries, but the 1 \u201cempowerment zone\u201d that completely encompassed a community boundary was located in the Lower West Side. I found this intriguing because the Lower West Side contains an area of Chicago called Pilsen, where there is a tightly knit immigrant population (mostly Mexican American), and a strong sense of community. This discovery informed me that an \u201cempowerment zone,\u201d by no means, highlights an area with a lack of community.<\/p>\n<p>Also, it became clear that parks and public art exist in \u201cempowerment zones,\u201d but at a much lower concentration than any other areas of the city. In many cases, the public art even seems to dance around the \u201cempowerment zone\u201d boundaries. To further illustrate this observation, I decided to continue with the map in \u201cCarto Builder,\u201d as it offers more analysis options than \u201cCarto.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To start, I added, layered, re-named and colored the datasets. Then, I did all of the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In the \u201ccommunities\u201d layer, I added \u201cIntersect Second Layer\u201d analysis with the \u201cpublic art\u201d layer, and colored the results by \u201cvalue.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>For the sake of the map\u2019s legend, I re-named the \u201ccommunities\u201d layer \u201cPublic Art Density,\u201d because when I tried to name the legend, the title did not appear with the published share link (a \u201cCarto\u201d bug exposed).<\/li>\n<li>In the \u201cpublic art\u201d layer, I brought the \u201cfill\u201d and \u201cstroke\u201d transparency to \u201c0,\u201d in order to eliminate the points.<\/li>\n<li>In the \u201cempowerment zones\u201d layer, I brought the \u201cfill\u201d transparency to \u201c0\u201d and increased the \u201cstroke\u201d value to \u201c3.\u201d I chose purple as the color for these \u201cstrokes\u201d because it highly contrasted with the yellow\/orange color used to illustrate \u201cpublic art density.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>I hid the \u201cparks\u201d layer, as it was less relevant in this visualization.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infoshow\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/11\/Carto2.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5756 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infoshow\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/11\/Carto2.png?resize=297%2C229\" alt=\"carto2\" width=\"297\" height=\"229\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Share Link (Interactive Map):\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tracyrobinson.carto.com\/builder\/6f71989c-ab79-11e6-bcce-0e3a376473ab\/embed\">https:\/\/tracyrobinson.carto.com\/builder\/6f71989c-ab79-11e6-bcce-0e3a376473ab\/embed<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This visualization further supported my conclusion that the areas with the highest density of public art exist outside of the city-identified \u201cempowerment zones.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Future Directions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When I first started with this project, I thought that I would be examining \u201crougher\u201d areas of Chicago that could be selected for beautification initiatives, in an effort to build stronger communities; however, the results of these visualizations, especially those surrounding the Pilsen neighborhood, have me thinking critically about what it means to be an \u201cempowerment zone,\u201d and what qualifies as public art. Historically, the citizens of Pilsen have struggled to preserve their cultural presence against targeted redevelopment, so is there really an absence of public art in this area or, do only certain artistic expressions qualify for this city-produced dataset? If I were to move forward with this project, I would challenge the idea of public art by using reported graffiti data in contrast to city-identified public art, and layer those results with the community and \u201cempowerment zone\u201d boundaries, to see what trends may emerge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction For this project, I used several datasets to explore relationships between community boundaries, \u201cempowerment zones,\u201d public art, and public parks, in Chicago, IL, as of 2011 (the most recently updated data that I found outlining Chicago\u2019s \u201cempowerment zones\u201d). I approached my visualizations with the following questions in mind: 1\/ What is the relationship between&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":435,"featured_media":5755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-5749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visualization"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paBdcV-1uJ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/435"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5749"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}