In the School of Public Policy and Leadership, classes on data visualization are all about location, location, location.  

From urban demographics for undergrads to geographic information systems at the graduate level, courses on data visualization are helping students understand the stories about our communities and why having data impacts policy decisions.

In the public sector, data is valuable in understanding socioeconomic trends, urban planning, water conservation and consumption, housing inequity, and other issues.

“It allows policymakers and administrators to geographically target resources to specific communities,” said Christopher Stream, director of the School of Public Policy and Leadership. ”If you were interested in affordable housing — visual data allows you to see where there may be gaps, and you could create incentives to help specific areas.”

Job Outlook Strong for Data Scientists

For undergraduate majors in urban studies, one of the curriculum’s core objectives is to equip students with using data to uncover real-life problems and applying it to creating solutions, said Jaewon Lim, an associate professor in public policy.

He’s teaching students how to use geographic information systems (GIS) software so that they’re prepared to fill in a growing job market increasingly looking to hire data scientists. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for a career as a data scientist is projected to grow 35 percent from 2022 to 2032. This employment growth trend is stemming from an increased demand for data-driven decision making. 

“If you are a researcher or a consultant for public agencies or the government, you have to make decisions with limited resources," Lim said. “Decision making process requires a sophisticated understanding of what is happening and what resources are available or not available.”

Think of GIS as the tool that’s helping you tag yourself at the trending ice cream shop or restaurant. 

Now, think of applying that tool to figuring out why people are moving to Southern Nevada, what neighborhoods they may move to, and how to build an infrastructure to accommodate that influx, Stream said.

GIS is used in preparing for the unexpected — kind of like community forecasting, he said. For example, the UNLV Center for Business and Economic Research predicts 3.34 million people will live in Clark County by 2060. Currently, the county’s population is estimated at 2.4 million.

“Due to the rapid growth, we have to be able to address problems quickly and data analysis in all of its forms allows you to do that quicker,” Stream said.

Lim sees the need for data scientists assisting cities in resiliency preparation so that cities are prepared to recover from unexpected shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic or how increasing heat temperatures impacts the unhoused population and medical care. 

“I ask my students, 'Can you name any social phenomena which does not have location involved?’”’ Lim said. “All of our activities occupy space.”

In the master’s programs, Stream said students are learning the causes behind urban problems and how to remedy them through applied research. So, students pick topics, dive into them, and create solutions based upon the issues for their capstone projects.

“No problem has a singular cause or solution,” Stream said. “We are helping our students understand how solutions need to be tailored to your particular community. Communities are all different. Just because something works in San Diego doesn’t mean it will work in North Las Vegas.”