Sharp Racial Divisions
Widespread Racial Diversity
The two maps above both depict the same data for the percent of minority students in Hartford-area school districts for the 2009-2010 school year. However, the first map shows sharp racial divisions in the Hartford area, while the second map portrays widespread racial diversity. By editing certain aspects of the map, the data can reveal drastically different interpretations of the racial composition of Hartford-area schools. For example, in the first map, I decreased the range of the data and the amount of gradients to only two so that the map would portray major differences between the districts. I also chose to use contrasting colors, one very light and the other very dark, to portray major disparity between the regions. In the second map, I increased the range and the amount of gradients to make the Hartford area appear very diverse. I also chose to use different shades of purple for the gradient, because this makes the map appear to have little contrast between regions.