Introduction

I live outside of Washington, D.C., and have always thought about living there after I graduate from UVA. I want to create a visualization that explores where violent crimes occur most frequently in Washington, D.C., and to identify the types of offenses that are most common in those areas. Violent crime as defined as: Arson, Assault with a dangerous weapon, homicide, robbery, and sex abuse. I hope to create a plot is designed to help viewers recognize both geographic concentrations of violent crime and the relative prevalence of specific offenses and is also interactive.

Main Question

What areas of Washington, D.C. experience the most violent crime, and which types of violent crime are most prevalent in those areas?

Visualization 1:

Visualization 2:

I adjusted the color palette, making robbery lighter to allow for the other offense types to be more visible, increasing readability. I also decreased the point size, specifically for robbery, again increasing readability. The last aesthetic change I made was reformatting the legend and changing the title of the visualization.

Visualization 3:

Violent Crime Incidents in Washington, D.C. (2023)

I added a background (Washington, D.C.) and a zoom feature. This allows individuals to investigate specific areas in extreme detail.

Visualization 4:

Violent Crime Incidents in Washington, D.C. (2023)

I created a treemap and added it next to the previous visualization so individuals can easily see total offense types that occurred in Washington, D.C. during 2023.

Justification

I believe this fourth and final visualization is the most effective and aligns well with the principles of this course. The use of color and point size allow for clear differentiation between types of violent crime, while the consistent legend and descriptive title enhance readability and overall accessibility. The interactive map background of Washington, D.C., combined with zoom functionality, allows users to explore specific areas in greater detail. In addition, the treemap provides a clean summary of offense frequencies, enabling viewers to quickly grasp which types of violent crime are most common. Together, these elements support allow individuals to better understand the distribution and prevalence of violent crime in the nation’s capital

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