Hyperobjekt and the Eviction Lab at Princeton University visualize the first ever national dataset of evictions
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A closeup view of our innovative application featuring a choropleth map, bubbles depicting eviction rates, and important geographic context.
Background
About Client
The Eviction Lab is a team of researchers and students who believe that a stable and affordable home is central to a positive human experience and economic mobility. Matthew Desmond, the Principal Investigator at the Eviction Lab, started studying housing, poverty, and eviction in 2008 and through the combination of ethnographic fieldwork and original statistic analyses, discovered that eviction was prevalent in low-income communities and functioned as a cause, not just a condition, of poverty.
Observed Gap
At the outset of this project, there was no available national database of eviction statistics, and little was known about the prevalence and geographic distribution of forced displacement. The Eviction Lab dedicated itself to collecting these data, and hired us to build an engaging platform to disseminate it to journalists, researchers, advocates, and the wider public to address fundamental questions about residential instability, forced moves, and poverty in America.
Goals and challenges
- Visualize data comprising millions of eviction records and Census data across 18 years, at scales ranging from states to Census Block Groups
- Facilitate easy place-to-place comparisons and rankings
- Devise a parallel system for up-to-date eviction tracking based on latest court-provided data
- Provide a platform for regular updates and articles created by the Lab
- Communicate the causes and consequences of eviction for individuals, families, and communities
Solutions and Features
Interactive, multilevel bivariate map of evictions (shown as bubbles) and Census data (shown as choropleths)
Tabular interface allowing comparison of up to 3 locations’ full data
The monthly Eviction Tracking System which offers up-to-date statistics for select cities and states
Evocative editorial imagery and copy to convey the impact of forced displacement
An Articles & Updates feed to showcase latest research and interactive visualizations
Coverage and Impact
Why have some American families struggled to keep their homes during the COVID pandemic, despite a federal ban on evictions? With Retro Report, the documentary Facing Eviction offers an intimate look at the United States’ affordable housing crisis through the eyes of tenants, landlords, judges, and law enforcement
About a quarter of Black babies and toddlers in rental households face the threat of eviction in a typical year, a new study says, and all children are disproportionately at risk.
A looming rent increase in New York City is poised to force the most vulnerable renters onto the streets at a time when eviction rates nationwide have been steadily rising, and the worst cities are seeing eviction filings increase by more than 60%.
Interested in working with us?
Please use the contact form or write to us at info@hyperobjekt.com
