Short Research Assignment: Mapping Inequality
For this assignment, you will be using the Mapping Inequality website
There’s a video in assignment module explaining how to use the website. Also be sure to view the Module 8 voicethread to understand the context of these maps.
Go to the website and click different neighborhoods to view their HOLC reports. For the assignment, pick any two neighborhood that received different grade, ideally one that received a yellow or red rating and one that received a blue or green rating, and view their reports. If you live in Essex, Hudson, Union, or southern Bergen counties, you should be able to find your home town or neighborhood. You can also view reports for Trenton, Atlantic City, Camden, New York City, Philadelphia, and dozens of other cities around the US. Your selections do not have to come from the Newark area.
Then, in a ~750 word response, address the following questions:
Identify the two towns or neighborhoods selected and justify why you chose these two. Do you have a personal familiarity with them? Were they close by on the map? Did they seem like similar types of cities? Just selecting two completely random towns is not helpful.
Summarize how the reports described the racial and ethnic makeup of each neighborhood. Include a direct quote from each report to support your summary.
Identify and explain what other criteria besides race/ethnicity were used to evaluate the neighborhoods. Include a direct quote from each report to support your summary.
Assess: Which criteria seem to have played the biggest role in determining how a neighborhood was graded, based on your comparison of the two locations?
Finally, analyze what impact this report has had on the neighborhood since the 1930s. Do a quick tour of the area using Google Street View, view the town’s website, and/or Google some recent news about the area to learn more. If you pick an area with which you are familiar, tell us about what it’s like today compared to with what the report had to say back in the 1930s.
You can cite direct quotes parenthetically as “HOLC Report” followed by the town or neighborhood.
Example:
The report described the Third Ward as “Newark’s worst slum section” (HOLC Report, D4 Newark)
You will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Following the directions and completing all steps of the assignment.
- Demonstrating a clear understanding of the topic and associated issues as covered in the learning modules.
- Drawing clear connections between past and present and situating sources within context.
- Making meaningful assessments using the information you find, considering authorship and audience, and identifying potential biases.
- Using proper grammar and clear style throughout your response.