UHC Graphics
The Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP) refers to the influence of spatial unit choice on statistical analyses. Larger spatial units like counties mask disparities, while smaller units like neighborhoods highlight variations.
When analyzing income at the county level; it appears that income is quite low in Philadelphia.
However, when looking at zcta level we see varaition across different neighborhoods within Philadelphia.
To better understand this, we turn the map into a chart. On the chart
The Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP) emphasizes how the selection of spatial units can significantly influence our interpretation of data, with smaller units like neighborhoods revealing more specific details and disparities than larger units such as counties. The use of these smaller units, however, introduces further considerations regarding socio-economic disparities, infrastructural differences, demographic distributions, and local policies that could influence observed discrepancies. By acknowledging the MAUP, we recognize these complexities and the need to understand how different scales provide varying perspectives, a crucial step towards informed decision-making, effective resource allocation, and the establishment of more equitable societies.
Income data was obtained for the year 2020 from the ACS variable `B19013_001`. We grouped the income values into Sextiles (6 groups of equal size). Spatial boundaries were obtained via the Tigris R package.
Scrolly code was adopted from The Pudding's coverage on change EU region boundaries.
All text was written with some dumym prompts to GPT4.