Azavea transformed Du Bois' data collections into dynamic web-based map layers
The Mapping Du Bois project – funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities -- aims to draw attention to the history of the vibrant black community that once lived in Philadelphia
Web-based application for exploring W.E.B. Du Bois’ 1896 survey of Philadelphia’s Seventh Ward
Client: University of Pennsylvania School of Design
Challenge: In 1896, W.E.B. Du Bois went door-to-door in Philadelphia’s Seventh Ward, interviewing residents and gathering household-level information. In his final 500-page report -- The Philadelphia Negro (1899) – Du Bois used statistical analysis and choropleth mapping, to present a snapshot of life in the Seventh Ward. Scholars at the University of Pennsylvania set out to recreate his work using archival maps and data in order to make the story of the Seventh Ward accessible to the widest possible audience.
Solution: A team of students from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design created a database of Seventh Ward residents based on 1900 U.S. Census data and Ancestry.com. They also digitized 1895 Bromley fire insurance maps and used them to recreate the parcel reference map that Du Bois used in his own data collection. Software developers at Azavea transformed these data collections into dynamic web-based map layers, including a re-imagined version of Du Bois’ color-coded parcel map of the Seventh Ward. The interactive application includes pan and zoom functionality, the ability to identify attributes of parcels and query maps layers to find people and properties, and the ability to generate parcel-level thematic maps.
Outcomes: In addition to introducing students to the power of GIS and the fun of analyzing primary historical documents, the Mapping Du Bois project – funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities -- aims to draw attention to the history of the vibrant black community that once lived in Center City.
Website: http://www.mappingdubois.org/