![]() ![]() "For example, neighborhoods that are separated by rivers and might not regularly interact may see that they are both struggling with issues of high eviction rates, or frequent movers, or concentrated poverty," she said. Stanley, the commission's executive director, said it has a way of bringing people together who might not otherwise think they have much in common. With support from the Heinz Endowments and the City of Pittsburgh, the CREATE Lab has worked closely with the human rights commission on using EarthTime to study long-term housing trends. Those people are going somewhere, but we don't know where." "But the movement we're seeing isn't enough to explain what we're seeing in terms of displacement. Generally, those moving into the county can expect less access to mass transit and other services. ![]() "There is some movement into Allegheny County, especially McKeesport," Wright observed from the EarthTime maps. Perhaps more importantly, it's not yet clear where displaced low-income residents are going. Presumably, many of the whites moving in are from places other than Pittsburgh, "but there's no way of knowing that now," she said. Here's where Wright and her colleagues admit they need better data. "I think a big part of the story is who is moving where and what's going on in the places they're moving to," Wright said. For instance, in Downtown and resurgent neighborhoods such as Lawrenceville and East Liberty, an influx of white, highly educated residents is displacing black residents, the EarthTime maps show. In some of those formerly red-lined areas, a different phenomenon-gentrification-is at work. "You may know what's happening to you and your family, but here we see what's happening overall." "EarthTime helps connect the dots," Wright said. Locked out of purchasing, many families in these areas are subject to "milking"-landlords who buy up wornout homes and apartments and charge as much rent as they can while avoiding repairs and other expenses.ĮarthTime is a tool that can visualize global trends using data. African-Americans receive far more denials than do their white counterparts, she added. "The vast majority of mortgage applications in those areas are denied," Wright observed, pointing out a swath of pink on the map. Indeed, these relationships to historic redlining become obvious when Wright uses EarthTime to display 2007-2017 data available through the Housing Mortgage Disclosure Act. However, when you look at housing value and mortgage acceptance rates today you see that the legacy of racism in housing still exists and affects a huge portion of the population." We all agree that this is a terrible practice, but we talk about it like it happened in the distant past. "One example is the legacy of redlining in Pittsburgh. ![]() "For me, the biggest insight I've had because of EarthTime is that data becomes undeniable when we map it out," said Megan Stanley, executive director of the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations. Though redlining is illegal today, the outlines of those old redlined areas that banks considered too risky for housing loans match up well to today's areas of concern: neighborhoods where home values and median incomes are low. Most of the available housing data is of relatively recent vintage-since 1990- but project scientist Anne Wright says a much older document-a 1937 redlining map of Pittsburgh-continues to illuminate today's housing issues. At home in Pittsburgh, they're using it to ask questions about a subject critical to all-housing. Presenters and audiences both appreciate the ability to zoom in on locales of interest to explore how physical and social forces are affecting people and the environment.īut staff members of the Robotics Institute's CREATE Lab, where EarthTime was developed and continues to be enhanced and fine-tuned, know that EarthTime can be just as influential when it takes a narrower, more intimate view of the world. It's a unique map-based tool that's proven popular at the annual meeting, helping experts from institutions worldwide present data in a way that makes their subjects and viewpoints clearer and more compelling. ![]()
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