Exercise 3: New York City Evictions

In the midst of an affordable housing crisis, New York City has faced an ongoing problem of eviction. While the COVID-19 moratorium temporarily removed this threat, evictions are back on the rise.

Goal: Sonify the trend of residential evictions in New York City since 2017, intentionally revealing the “quiet” during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the concerning increase since the moratorium ended.

Tools: Python, Logic Pro X

Method: Parameter Mapping

Choose one 👉 Jupyter Notebook or your Dev Environment / IDE of choice. Not sure? Jupyter Notebook is web-based, and doesn't require a Python installation on your local machine.

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Method 1: Jupyter Notebook

1. Download the files in this folder and save them to a folder on your computer.

2. Launch Jupyter by going to this page. Drag and drop your downloaded folder of files into the panel on the left side. (You can also create a new folder and upload your files manually.)

3. Enter the folder and double-click on the notebook file, “nyc-evictions-data2midi.ipynb.”

4. Run each cell in the notebook by pressing Shift + Enter. (Or you can run the entire script: Run > Run All Cells.)

5. The cells are organized by steps with headers and include comments. Read each section to understand the logic of the code.

6. A MIDI file called “nyc-evictions.mid” will be generated. Download this file (Right click > Download).

Method 2: Good Old Python

1. Download the files in this folder and save them to a folder on your computer.

2. Open the downloaded folder in your favorite IDE (integrated development environment). I like to use Visual Studio Code.

3. Run the script – it is organized by steps, with plenty of little comments. Read each section to understand the logic of the code.

4. A MIDI file called “nyc-evictions.mid” will be generated. Huzzah!

Audio Editing

Continue these steps after completing the steps in Method 1 or 2.

1. Launch your audio editor of choice. I prefer Logic Pro X (this is a DAW ~ digital audio workstation), but there are other options.

2. Place the MIDI file into a new Software Instrument track.

3. Select your preferred software instrument, and adjust effects until you are satisfied with the resulting sound.

4. Consider further customization of your sonification. Add a background soundscape, or auditory icons to indicate events. Here are some free audio sample resources for you. Add a tempo marker to indicate the passing of each year. Make it yours!

5. When you are happy with your sonification, export and share! File > Bounce > Project or Section… > save your file.

6. The project is now an audio file that can be embedded in a digital article or attached to an animated visualization. Like this, for example!

Data Source: NYC OpenData.