MAPPING INTERNET INEQUALITY

This data analysis and visualization project identified the average internet speeds (mbps) offered by service provider per census block group for the contiguous United States. Research prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, mandatory stay-at-home orders accelerated our dependence on technology and the internet, forcing about half of the labor force (42%) and almost all school-aged children (93%) to work from home. This project explored the nationwide shift to virtual production by understanding the extent of pre-existing digital inequalities.

The data cleaning process included averaging seven million features of internet providers from the Federal Communications Commission, merging the polygon attributes with residential households provided by LODES origin points and then visualizing the data with Mapbox. The result of the study found that acceptable internet speeds are available in all urban areas and most rural areas, however, additional research should consider how access is impacted by internet rates and the geography of demographics.

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