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
Method 1: Jupyter Notebook
Download the files in this folder and save them to a folder on your computer.
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.)
Enter the folder and double-click on the notebook file, “nyc-evictions-data2midi.ipynb.”
Run each cell in the notebook by pressing Shift + Enter. (Or you can run the entire script: Run > Run All Cells.)
The cells are organized by steps with headers and include comments. Read each section to understand the logic of the code.
A MIDI file called “nyc-evictions.mid” will be generated. Download this file (Right click > Download).
Method 2: Good Old Python
Download the files in this folder and save them to a folder on your computer.
Open the downloaded folder in your favorite IDE (integrated development environment). I like to use Visual Studio Code.
Run the script – it is organized by steps, with plenty of little comments. Read each section to understand the logic of the code.
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.
Launch your audio editor of choice. I prefer Logic Pro X (this is a DAW ~ digital audio workstation), but there are other options.
Place the MIDI file into a new Software Instrument track.
Select your preferred software instrument, and adjust effects until you are satisfied with the resulting sound.
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!
When you are happy with your sonification, export and share! File > Bounce > Project or Section… > save your file.
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.
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