Nathan Cooper’s St. Louis City Property Footprint
july 2017 | visualization & data-management | [link]This interactive map visualizes landlord Nathan Cooper’s Footprint in June 2017 within the St. Louis city limits. The map and corresponding database of properties were developed as part of an investigative report published as a cover story for The Riverfront Times. (Follow up cover story here.)
The “footprint” of properties marks Cooper’s investment in the city. Each property is categorized by his role; either he is a member of the company that owns the property, meaning he holds ownership stake, or he is at minimum a property manager for the company. Additional map layers show concentration of poverty and voucher use within the city limits.
The database of properties and corresponding companies that was developed with the investigation was the first of extensive list of Cooper’s network in the city. It was distributed to local aldermen and stakeholders who requested a copy following publication to inform policy reforms.
honors: included in class syllabi of courses taught by Associate Professor Odis Johnson in the Department of Sociology at WUSTL, Poverty and the New American City taught by Assistant Professor John Robinson, Ph.D. at WUSTL, and urban sociology courses taught by Mary Pattillo, Harold Washington Professor of Sociology and African American Studies at Northwestern University