CaitlinAugust,ToriRielly

AlanMacCormack
PowerandImagination
23April2015
CityTransect:PortlandandNewOrleans

AsyoumovethroughPortland,eachneighborhoodhasmanydifferencesintheMedian
HouseholdIncome,butrelativelythesameMedianAge.Someofthesevarietiesinincomecould
beattributedtothetypeofneighborhoodsandthosewholivethere.Forexample,Portland
Heightsismadeupmostlyofcollegestudentsorthemany,manybusinessesofdowntown
Portlandwhichendsupwiththelowestincome.ThehighestincomeoftheHayhurst
neighborhoodcouldbedueitslargepopulationofsinglefamiliesandcouples.Thisdataseems
likeafairlyaccuraterepresentationofeachneighborhood.
Thegraphbelowdisplaysthecontrastofeachneighborhoodinpopulationandhousehold
size.Theextremevaryingofhouseholdsizeisveryinteresting,andsomewhatexplainable.The
OakHillsneighborhoodhasthelargesthouseholdsize,yetismadeupofmarriedcouplesand
singlepeople,thatleadstotheconclusionthatmanypeoplemustbelivingwithroommatesin
thisneighborhood.Theotherneighborhoodshouseholdsizesareduetosinglefamiliesoryoung
marriedcouples.AsforthelargepopulationoftheCorneliusneighborhood,thatisduetoa
neighborhoodfulloffamilymembers.Forexample,youngmarriedcoupleswhohavekidsand
theirgrandparentsdownthestreet.

MuchlikePortland,thetransectinNewOrleansdoesntshowmuchofacorrelation
betweenmedianhouseholdincomeandage.ItisinterestingtoseehowcentralNewOrleanshas
amedianincomeofabout$62,000perhousehold,butuponmovingtotheverynextregion,East
NewOrleans,themedianincomedropstoapproximately$30,000perhousehold.Thesetwoare
respectivelythehighestandlowestpointsonthemedianincomerange,andgeographicallysit
rightbesideoneanotherinthecity.Thisseemslikeapotentialsourceoftensionbetweenthetwo
communities.Evenwhiletherestofthemedianincomedataseemstofallalongthesameline,
thereareafewoutliersthatindicatecommunitiesthatmaybestrugglingfinanciallyorwith
unemployment.
Thehouseholdsizeandpopulationdataalsodoesnthavemuchofanobvious
correlation,howevertheregionsofSt.RoseandNorcohavehighpopulations,yetonly
approximatelyonetotwopeopleperhousehold.Thisgivesacluetotheconstructionofthecity,
whichlikelyconsistsofsmallapartmentsratherthansinglefamilyhomeswherethreeormore
peoplecanlivecomfortably.Incontrast,Metairiehasasmallerpopulation,andanaverageof
threepeopleperhouse,hintingthatitismoreofasuburbanregion,wherehomesarelargerand
spreadmoreevenly.Movingintocentral/downtownMetairie,theamountofpeopleperhome
decreasestotwo,whichagaingivestheimpressionofapartmentsandsmallerhomes.

PortlandGraphs

NewOrleansGraphs

Citations

"ZipCodes."
CityData.com
.Advameg,Inc.,2015.Web.16Apr.2015.

"ZipCodes."
Esri
.1969.Web.16Apr.2015.