Lab 4: Spatial Analysis of Vancouver Housing Affordability (using census tracts)
dataclass shows examples of maps utilizing four classification methods in representing housing affordability with Vancouver Census Tracts.
These four classification methods (Natural Break, Standard Deviation, Equal Interval, and Manual Break) help GIS users to display large amounts of complex data simply, as maps. Ultimately, their goal is to relay information in a simple and concise way that caters to the needs and interests of their audience. This could mean withholding information deemed to be unimportant or distracting to the viewers and therefore, GIS users must keep in mind the different interpretations, complications, and ethical consequences that may arise when organizing data and displaying information in this way. In the case of Vancouver housing affordability, there is a difference between representing the spatial distribution of Vancouver housing affordability as a journalist versus a real estate agent.
A journalist would likely display a map that uses a standard deviation classification method to show average, above-average, and below-average Vancouver housing cost. Since a journalist’s audience would include people other than prospective house buyers, a general idea of average, relatively expensive, and relatively cheap housing would be sufficient and specific prices might not be needed. The ethical implications that arise, however, would be the suggestion of socio-economic exclusion relative to the location of one’s home. A real estate agent, however, would likely opt for a map that uses the natural break classification method so as to be able to relay specific price ranges along with the spatial distribution of similarly priced housing in Vancouver to prospective buyers.