Codes and Expansions (CodEx) Seminar

Sarah Tymochko (UCLA):
Applications of Topological Data Analysis to Resource Coverage

Ideally, all public resources (e.g. parks, grocery stores, hospitals, etc.) should be distributed in a way that is fair and equitable to everyone. However, this is not always the case. Quantifying how much (or little) access individuals have to certain resources is a complex problem. Previous work has shown that tools from topological data analysis (TDA) can be useful in this setting. TDA is a field with tools to quantify the shape of data in a manner that is concise and robust using concepts from algebraic topology. Hickok et al. developed an approach to determine "holes" in the locations of resource locations based on geographic locations and travel times. Some resources may necessitate incorporation a notion of quality. As a case study, we look at public parks, which are heterogeneous in many ways. Having access to a park that is hundreds of acres with basketball courts, baseball diamonds, and an aquarium is inherently different than having access to a small patch of grass with an overgrown tennis court. Here we present an exploration of the access to public parks in Chicago using persistent homology, a tool from TDA. Our goal is to identify not only who lacks access to parks, but also who lacks access to quality parks.