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Data visualization · 2022

Visualizing 140 Years of Census Data

Mapped demographic change in the U.S. from 1870 to 2010, including the Great Migration, using R.

Context

Visualizing Society with Data (STS 112), UC Davis, Winter 2022

Tools

R, tidyverse, ggplot2

Code

View on GitHub

The question

How has the makeup of the United States changed over 140 years? Using U.S. Census data from 1870 to 2010, I looked at how racial identity, gender roles and where people live shifted over time.

Approach

  1. Prepare historical data. Cleaned and reshaped Census extracts spanning 1870–2010 with the tidyverse, so values from different decades could be compared.
  2. Find the trends. Used regression and time-series methods to pull out long-term patterns.
  3. Map the change. Built maps and charts in ggplot2, including a series tracing the Great Migration's demographic and economic effects.
  4. Tell the story carefully. Wrote up the findings for a general audience and critiqued how visual choices can mislead.
Data cleaningTime seriesRegressionMapsData storytelling
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