My name is Michael and I am a second year MURP student. Before entering Luskin, I worked as a graphic designer for 8 years for an assortment of industries. In my spare time, I am an aspiring birder – I'm always open to tips or suggestions!
The objective of the course is to become familar with open-source data science tools to create compelling maps to inform planning practice, advocacy and policy work.
My research interests focus on economic inclusion through digital equity and literacy. My capstone project is focused on broadband adoption rates and what factors, in addition to high cost, prevent individuals, households, and communities from connecting to the internet. Ideally, I would like to identify communities with low rates of broadband access then identify associated barriers, for example:
- banking status
- employment type/schedule
- citizenship status
- number of individuals in residence
- average age of household
- number of children in school
- additional points of internet access
- SNAP/free or reduced lunch rates
Working as a designer I have always leveraged proprietary software to create graphics, webistes, and videos; I would like to add open-source and coding skills to my toolkit to push my visual communication skills further. At a more conceptual level, I would like to become a more proficient storyteller who uses data to as an asset to build better cases to enact change.