Dividing Lines Data Tool
An interactive data tool allows policymakers and the public to explore how school district boundaries in their communities perpetuate segregation.
Role
Design Lead
Deliverables
Vision & Strategy, Research, UX, UI, Interaction Design, Product Design
Agency
The Urban Institute
The problem
What does it mean to live on different sides of a school district boundary?
Before the new elementary school in DeKalb County, Atlanta, opened in the fall of 2019, district officials redrew attendance zones that assign students. The officials followed established criteria that explicitly prohibited considering race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.
Yet the final boundary that assigned students to the new school, named John R. Lewis Elementary after the civil rights leader, became one of the most racially segregating school boundaries in the nation. This is just one example of how ignoring race in policy decisions can inadvertently reinforce segregation.
The vision
Create an interactive experience that tells a compelling, data-driven story, enabling policymakers and district officials to easily identify school boundaries that perpetuate segregation and drive meaningful change.
Discover and define
Using research from the Urban Institute, we built a data tool highlighting over 2,000 school boundaries nationwide that distinctly separate white students from students of color. Our research revealed how many of these boundaries are tied to redlining and the historical legacy of systemic racism and discrimination.
Initial dot map outputs were startling—each map depicted stark demographic differences on either side of school boundaries, reinforcing the extent of racial disparities in education.
Connecting the user to the story
These invisible lines segregate schools at a hyperlocal level, often depriving students of color of equal educational opportunities. By presenting this issue through real-world examples, we emphasized the tangible impact these zoning policies have on children’s lives.
It was vital that systemic segregation, despite decades of progress in civil rights and education, feels both obvious and shocking to the users.
A scrollytelling format, integrating interactive maps and data visualizations, guides users through the story of school boundary segregation. By creating an intuitive way to navigate complex data, we foster a sense of discovery in users as we illustrate how school district lines shape student demographics.
Blending storytelling, design, and data visualization, I take users through the creation of a racially unequal boundary in an Atlanta school district. The stark demographic contrasts on either side of the line underscore the ongoing consequences of systemic discrimination.
Designing for clarity and impact
The sensitivity and complexity of the subject made user understanding paramount but difficult, so we ensured smooth transitions and consistent color schemes to enhance readability, incorporated elegant animations to prevent overwhelming users, and used accessible yet informative language to maintain clarity for a broad audience.
Finding yourself in the data
After explaining the impact of racially unequal school boundaries, we enabled users to explore similar boundaries in their own cities.
My mobile design preserved the engaging visuals and scrollytelling format while ensuring users could interact seamlessly with localized data.
Final product
Results and impact
By combining the Urban Institute’s strengths in research, storytelling, and data visualization, we created a tool that not only introduces new insights but also empowers users to explore their communities and consider actionable solutions.
Media and press attention (at time of September 2021 release)
8,100+ page views.
Ranked as the second-most viewed feature on Urban.org in 2021, despite launching mid-September.
Cited in the Washington Post, Axios, Forbes, the 74, USA Today, Chalkbeat, Youth Today, and K-12 Dive.
Significant social media engagement, with nearly half of total page views (3,810) driven by the engagement team’s campaign.
Users spent an average of 3.5+ minutes per visit, demonstrating deep engagement.
Influence and policy impact
A presentation at the Yale Economic Growth Center.
A feature on the Integrated Schools Podcast.
Discussions with the Poverty & Race Research Action Council about expanding the work for federal policymaking.
Moving forward as a team
Research, design, and development teams collaborated from the start to craft the best approach for communicating this critical issue.
By maintaining open communication throughout the project, we ensured the final product remained accessible while effectively conveying the topic’s complexity. The team’s adaptability and trust in each other were instrumental in successfully delivering a compelling, high-impact project that continues to shape conversations about school segregation and educational equity.