Visualizing the Network of NYC Public Computer Centers

Report

Introduction

Project Motivation

With the rise of digitization and rapid technological advancement, digital literacy has become closely linked with not only workplace competency and personal empowerment but also our day-to-day lives. Supporting equitable access to technology is necessary in enabling individuals to participate fully and succeed in society. One way to boost digital access is to raise awareness about Public Computer Centers (PCCs), an available resource that promotes digital literacy and provides access to technology.

Therefore, this project seeks to create an interactive, map-based website (for the New York City) that allows users to locate the nearest PCCs according to their needs (i.e., supported language, operating hours, wheelchair accessibility, etc). In this way, we hope to empower users to capitalize on the existing resources to promote digital literacy, bridge the digital divide, and promote a more digitally inclusive society.

Data and Objectives

The project examines data obtained from the City of New York website, translating the analysis and insights into an interactive web application that allows users to easily search for and find the desired PCC locations.

In addition to obtaining an understanding of the computer centers’ geographic locations, the users will be able to filter based on the accessibility considerations (i.e., wheelchair accommodations and assistive-technology offerings), specific supports offered, and language supported, enabling users to easily identify and access computer centers best suited for their needs.

Justification of approach

Approach

As mentioned above, we organized and translated the obtained data into an interactive map, providing users with relevant information about PCCs. In particular, we placed emphasis on functionality, retaining only the most pertinent information, allowing users to obtain the most customizable results without requiring too much effort or time. This approach ensures that the map is user-friendly, efficient, and directly aligns with the needs of the target users.

Target users

The intended users for this project include residents of New York City, especially those in underserved communities with limited access to computing devices or internet connectivity. Among them may consist of students and job seekers who want guidance in digital literacy or skill development. In addition, senior citizens and persons with disabilities may wish to obtain digital skills to stay connected and learn more about assistive technologies. Finally, recognizing that New York is a metropolitan hub with a diverse population, our project accounts for language needs, ensuring that non-English speakers can obtain the support they need. With these target users in mind, we emphasize simplicity in the design of our website, constraining the possible interaction to ensure that users with minimal technological knowledge can use it with ease.

Data description

The dataset provides detailed insights into public computer centers located across New York City. It offers specifics on the borough, address, facility type, services provided, number of computer workstations, operating days and hours, and various accessibility features. This dataset is instrumental in understanding digital accessibility across different city neighborhoods.

The data is obtained from https://data.cityofnewyork.us/Social-Services/Citywide-Public-Computer-Centers/sejx-2gn3, published by NYCOpenData.

Codebook：

  • object_identification_number: This column represents the unique identification number of each PPC during this data collection process.

  • oversight_agency: This column represents the name of the city agency responsible for overseeing the center.

  • operating_status: This column could verify the PCC’s operating status: open, temporarily closed, or not operating.

  • city: This column represents the city in which the center is located.

  • state: This column represents the state in which the center is located.

  • borough: This column represents the name of the Borough that PCC resides in.

  • postcode: This column represents the zip code in which the center is located.

  • wheelchair_accessible: This column represents an indication of whether the facility is wheelchair accessible or not.

  • assistive_technology: This column represents the assistive technology available status of the center.

  • languages_offered: This column represents any resources or services provided at the center in languages other than English.

  • technology-related Courses: This column represents what kind of technology-related courses and services are available at this location.

  • affordability_connectivity_program: This column represents whether the center supports Affordability Connectivity Program (ACP) awareness or enrollment.

  • productivity_tools: This column represents whether the center offers productivity tools-related courses(ex: Using Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Adobe Acrobat, etc.).

  • job_readiness: This column represents whether the center offers job readiness-related courses(ex: resume help, job search, etc.).

  • education: This column represents whether the center offers such courses (ex: personal growth, k-12 supports, reading research, etc.).

  • creative_expression: This column represents whether the center offers creative expression-related courses(ex: making art, videos, blogs, websites, etc.).

  • media_and_entertainment: The column represents whether the center offers media and entertainment-related service (ex: consuming, producing, etc.).

  • certifications: The column represents whether the center offers certifications-related courses (ex: in software, in housing, in professional areas, etc.).

  • digital_literacy: The column represents whether the center offers digital literacy-related courses.

  • latitude: The column represents the latitude coordinate of the center location.

  • longitude: The column represents the longitude coordinate of the center location.

Who funded this dataset？

  • New York City’s Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) funded the creation of this dataset to track the current status of Public Computer Centers in NYC.

Reason for creating the dataset：

  • The Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) in New York City would like to know where and how the city supports this kind of public access to the Internet.

What processes might have influenced what data was observed and recorded and what was not?

  • We identify some similar columns that may affect our observations. For example, there is some overlapping content in Media and Entertainment (ex: consuming, producing, etc.) and Creative Expression (ex: making art, videos, blogs, websites, etc.). We cannot be sure that each PCC’s answer to this content is accurate.

What preprocessing was done, and how did the data come to be in the form that you are using?

  • Delete some columns that are not important to the objectives of this project and are repeated many times. For example, columns such as “Community District”, “Council District”, and “Full Address”.

  • Convert the first letter of all column names to lowercase letters and use “_” to connect different words in different column names. The purpose of this behavior is to enhance the usability and readability of the data.

  • Through data cleaning, we only focus on the PCC data in operation. Therefore, we removed PCC information with operation status “Not Operating” in our dataset.

  • We removed missing data and data marked “NA” and “Not Sure” into a unified “Information not provided” format.

  • We split languages_offered into separate rows so that we can more clearly analyze PCC’s support for different ethnic groups in subsequent projects.

  • We split technology_related_courses into separate rows so that we can pay more attention to the functionality and services of different PCCs in subsequent projects.

Data Limitations

  • Subjectivity: The dataset fails to provide a clear description for its columns, which may result in misinterpretations. For instance, it is difficult to judge what constitutes tools for “creative expression” and “technologically related courses: without clear definitions and perimeters, different individuals may understand these terms differently.

  • Data quality: Several columns contain mere “yes, no, partially.” The lack of detailed insights may hinder our ability to conduct in-depth analysis and understand how users experience these computer centers.

  • Temporal Limitations: Since the dataset does not reflect real-time information, the status of a center may have changed since the data was collected. This can prevent users from obtaining up-to-date information to best inform their decisions.

  • Geographical Limitations: The dataset focuses specifically on New York City, as a result, the information may not be representative of public computer centers in other locations.

  • Bias: Funded by New York City’s Office of Technology and Innovation, the data collection process may have been biased as the office may attempt to exaggerate the availability of resources to how the data was collected and presented to the public.

  • Lack of Metadata: The dataset provides no documentation on the data collection process, which can make it difficult to interpret and account for necessary assumptions/biases.

Design process

To optimize the usability of our website for our target users, we balanced the amount of information to provide and the interactivity of our design.

The process began by identifying the most relevant information in our data and determining which PCC characteristics would be the most useful to our users. Since all the information about PCC centers around its geographic location, we developed an interactive map with several filters to help users visualize and select the PCC of interest.

After determining the key functionalities of the project, we worked to optimize the interactivity of the map and filters. More specifically, we ensured that, in addition to zoom-in and zoom-out, the user can click on the PCCs on the map to obtain a comprehensive overview of the particular center (i.e. operating status, technology offered, accessibility, etc) to help them select the most suitable location. In addition, the filters are designed intentionally to support different interaction needs. For instance, the language filter supports select-multiple to support multi-lingual users; the “Select Features” and “Select City” include a drop-down list to inform users of available options; and the “Enter Zip Code” allows textual input. In this way, we seek to simplify the filtering process and reduce the required effort from the user to enhance usability.

As a next step, we plan to show an error message if there are no matches to the filter combinations and improve the aesthetics/information structure of the click-to-see-overview feature, in addition to other developments.

Limitations

In addition to the aforementioned limitation in the original dataset, the project has several limitations:

  • The project is unable to update the data according to real-time changes, preventing it from providing the most accurate information.

  • Designed for desktop access, the project has limited compatibility for mobile devices, which can limit user experience.

Accessing the project

Link to the shiny application website hosted by shinyapps.io: https://newyorkpcc.shinyapps.io/PCC_NYC/

Acknowledgments

Shiny Dashboard inspiration reference link: https://medium.com/free-code-camp/build-your-first-web-app-dashboard-using-shiny-and-r-ec433c9f3f6c

Original data link: https://data.cityofnewyork.us/Social-Services/Citywide-Public-Computer-Centers/sejx-2gn3