NDS: an interactive, web-based system to visualize urban neighborhood dynamics in United States

Abstract

NDS is an interactive, web-based system, for the visualization of multidimensional neighborhood dynamics across the 50 largest US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) from 1980 to 2010 (http://neighborhooddynamics.dreamhosters.com). Four different visualization tools are developed: (1) an interactive time slider to show neighborhood classification changes for different years; (2) multiple interactive bar charts for each variables of each neighborhood; (3) an animated neighborhood’s trajectory and sequence cluster on a self-organizing map (SOM) output space; and (4) a synchronized visualization tool showing maps for four time stamps at once. The development of this interactive online platform for visualizing dynamics overcomes many of the challenges associated with communicating changes for multiple variables, across multiple time stamps, and for a large geographic area when relying upon static maps. The system enables users to select and dive into details on particular neighborhoods and explore their changes over time.