In the maps provided, and the project as a whole, Sam showed the history of redlining practices, medical facilities, and the ties to racial inequality. He even discussed the implications it had on COVID-19, which I thought was a great touch. Overall, Sam’s argument can be summed in one quote: “In Omaha, medical deserts are appearing in the areas in which redlining was once practiced – the locations of marginalized minority communities who have been disadvantaged by historically structured racial discrimination.”
There were many approaches, from differing points of view, and the mapping products themselves were great. In particular, I thought the 30-minute Walk was a great use of technology to highlight the medical desert that northern and southern Omaha are. To begin, who would want to walk 30 minutes to a hospital when you need to see a doctor? In many cases, that walk may even be impossible. Secondly, I estimate ~60% of the map’s area is not within a 30-minute walk of the nearest hospital. Without access to a car, how in the world may people get the treatment they need? This is a real issue that needs serious change. Another strength I noticed was acknowledging the opposing side of the argument, and providing evidence for why that side was incorrect. Instead of ignoring opposing viewpoints, they were acknowledged and proven wrong: great. I also really appreciated the different styles of mapping Sam used for the project: choropleth, dot-vectors, geo-referencing historical maps. In my project, I used the text more to argue my point; but Sam’s use of mapping as one of the primary sources for evidence made it easy to see his argument.
Going back to the 30-minute Walk map, I think color-correlation would be something that could be changed. Many of the hospitals and 30-minute radius overlapped, so using different colors that each radius could correspond to the hospital point would make the overall viewing/analysis of the map much easier for the reader. My only other critique would be along the lines of color again: keeping a consistent theme. Some maps have orange, some have blue, some have red, some have yellow. That may be nit-picky, but I like to have a consistent feel and the different colors seemed a little jarring to me.
Great project overall! The use of maps was outstanding.
Great feedback Gabe.