Student information

MSc thesis topic: Environmental Health Inequalities in a Historically Redlined Neighborhood in Oklahoma City

This MSc topic focuses on georeferencing and integrating spatial data from many studies, agencies, and other sources, documenting the historical and ongoing health inequalities in the John. F. Kennedy (JFK) Neighborhood in the City of Oklahoma City. The georeferenced information will then be combined with qualitative data in the form of a spatial geodatabase and literature review.

The JFK Neighborhood (ZIP Code 73117) is located in northeast Oklahoma City. This historically black neighborhood covers approximately 76.8 km2, has a population of 5,191 people, and a median household income of $21,006 (United States Zip Codes Characteristics, 2024), compared to Oklahoma's median household income of $61,364 (U.S. Census, 2024). The neighborhood was historically redlined (Mapping Inequality, 2023). It has recently received considerable attention from social science and policy research due to its proximity to industrial areas zoned as ‘heavy industrial’ (Leslie, 2024). This thesis research will build on an ongoing research project (Leslie, 2024) and expand the project by bringing in geospatial information systems expertise. Specifically, it will focus on data science and integration efforts by combining existing qualitative data with quantitative and spatial data, first as a geodatabase and then as a literature review. This research will help to provide a more comprehensive picture of environmental health inequalities in the JFK Neighborhood.

Relevance to research/projects at GRS or other groups

This project will foster collaboration between GRS and researchers from the University of Oklahoma, who have extensive collaboration experience with the John F. Kennedy (JFK) Neighborhood Association in Oklahoma City.

Objectives and Research Questions

  • Collect and download spatial data on health inequalities in the JFK Neighborhood in Oklahoma City
  • Georeference information and create a geodatabase bringing together different datasets for the JFK Neighborhood
  • Write a literature review on health inequalities in the JFK Neighborhood in Oklahoma City

Requirements

  • Introduction to Geo-Information Science
  • Geo-Information Tools
  • Principles of Urban Environmental Management (optional)
  • Affinity with complex environmental problems and human impact analysis

Literature and information

Expected reading list before starting the thesis research

  • See above

Theme(s): Human – space interaction, Empowering & engaging communities