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Math: Capitol Hill’s Miller Park neighborhood is awesome

BvHUjYeCAAAs3OgRents in apartment buildings old *and* new are astronomical — and you can’t afford to buy a home or condo here. But a math equation getting a lot of attention has determined that Capitol Hill — and, specifically, the Miller Park area — is the best place in the nation to live… for this guy:

Combined score = (a – |a – b|) / a + ((if(c ≥ 373.6958, 1, 0) * 0.3153) + (if(d ≥ 21.2983, 1, 0) * 0.2725) + (if(e ≤ 38.8903, 1, 0) * 0.2803) + (if(f ≥ 68.0899, 1, 0) * 0.2971) + (if(g ≥ 67.4557, 1, 0) * 0.3350) + (if(h ≥ 59.9592, 1, 0) * 0.4048) + (if(i ≤31.4668, 1, 0) * 0.2529) + (if(j ≥ 65.5846, 1, 0) * 0.2734) + (if(k ≥ 65.3918, 1, 0) * 0.2839) + (if(l ≥ 58.6467, 1, 0) * 0.3533) + (if(m ≤35.7247, 1, 0) * 0.2576) + (if(n ≥226.8280, 1, 0) * 0.2763) + (if(o ≥78.1848,1, 0) * 0.2779) + (if(p ≥3.8273, 1, 0) * 0.2943) + (if(q ≥ 602.4307, 1, 0) * 0.2795) + (if(r ≤ 4.1293, 1, 0) * 0.2698) + (if(s ≥ 732.9079, 1, 0) * 0.2573) + (if(t ≥ 21.1155, 1, 0) *0.3974) + (if(u ≥82.4877, 1, 0) * 0.2810)) / 5.6596

Where

a = Your Personal Income

Data for Each Tract from the American Community Survey:

b = Median Income

c = Nonrelatives in Household

d = % with at Least a Bachelor’s Degree

e = % Born in State of Residence

f = % 16 and Older in Labor Force

g = % 16 and Older in Civilian Labor Force

h = % 16 and Older Employed in Civilian Labor Force

i = % 16 and Older Not in Labor Force

j = % Females 16 and Older in Labor Force

k = % Females 16 and Older in Civilian Labor Force

l = % Females 16 and Older Employed in Civilian Labor Force

m = % 16 and Older Driving to Work Alone

n = Workers 16 and Older Walking to Work

o = Workers 16 and Older Commuting to Work by Other Means

p = % 16 and Older Commuting to Work by Other Means

q = Houses Built 1939 or Earlier

r = % 10-14 Years Old

s = Population 25-34 Years Old

t = % 25-34 Years Old

u = % 18 Years and Older

Washington, D.C.-area urban planner Tom Munson has urbanist nerds buzzing about analytical approaches to finding the right neighborhood. Key to his equation — and an explanation for how an area with soaring rents tops his list — is, of course, this factor: a = Your Personal Income.

Your number crunching — unless your annual income approaches that of a typical urban planner — may vary.

In the meantime, Munson’s science correlates nearly directly with the (only slightly dated) Phases of Capitol Hill Residency and its lifespan push toward Hilltop and Miller Park.

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6 Comments
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Stuart
Stuart
9 years ago

That looks like some pretty arbitrary calculation. Why exactly does the number of houses built before 1939 need to be over 602.4307 precisely?

Typical Urban Planner
Typical Urban Planner
9 years ago
Reply to  Stuart

Not exactly arbitrary. Read the guy’s actual study: http://munsonscity.wordpress.com/2014/08/14/where-i-should-live-according-to-math/

teacup
teacup
9 years ago

Um. Math is hard. Could you maybe translate this using emojis?

Kevin
9 years ago
Reply to  teacup

:-( :-( :-(

Welcome!

Christine H
Christine H
9 years ago

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this.

Christina
Christina
9 years ago

This is GREAT! The key from his explanation is this:

“I…calculated the average Walkscore for census tracts in DC, downloaded virtually the entire American Community Survey, and compared the data therein to the average Walkscore to look for correlation. I found nineteen variables that had some significant correlation with Walkscore.” That’s the magic!