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A collection of data visualizations that tell visual stories of Baltimore that I have created using d3.js.
Before the Great Recession, houses were being built at a historically high rate. Between 2000 and 2005, around 28,000 houses were bieng built every year. Once the housing market collapsed, housing rates in almost every part of Maryland never recovered; after the reccesion, never has there been a year that over 20,000 houses have been built in Maryland.
This is not the case everywhere, however. In Fredrick County, one of Marylands most rapidy growing counties, housing has been booming, with over 2,500 houses built in 2020 compared to under 700 houses bieng built at the peak of the recession. Not all fast growing counties are seeing new homes, although. Charles county, which grew almost 10% from 2010-2018 saw mostly stagnant housing growth.
In Missouri, voters now must bring a government issued photo id to the polls, or risk having their provisional ballot nullified if their signature does not match their signature on their voter registration form. Proposals have been made across the United States to implement laws such as that of Missouri, and whats clear in Maryland is that Voter ID laws would serve to marginalize the African American community.
In Baltimore City, home to over 20% of Maryland's African American population, a staggering 31% of 18+ residents do not have a drivers license. Now not all of these residents are citizens, and are eligible to vote, but still a significant portion of Marylands largest city would immediately find a large barrier to casting their vote if Voter ID laws were put in place.
Other counties with a high African American population such as Prince George's County and Somerset County would also be hard hit by a Voter ID law. With cases of voter fraud nearly non-existent in Maryland, politicians should be wary before implementing a solution to a problem that does not exist, and only serves to make it harder to participate in our democratic proccess.