Random Facts: The Most Depressing Cities in the U.S.
April 24, 2009 at 8:10 pm Filed in:random facts No Comments
If researchers can use a selected set of search terms to accurately estimate the spread of flu activity across the United States in real time, can similar methodologies be used to determine the prevalence of other illnesses, diseases, and social concerns that may not always be reported to the agency tasked with understanding the underlying dynamics?
As a simple test, I decided to look for potential patterns revealing hotspots of depression using a single simple query for the word “depression.”
I was able to retrieve several layers of data on global, national, and state-based scales: unfortunately, the process of obtaining, geocoding and transferring the location data to the map appears to have resulted in a slight northward drift; however, the markers still appear to be in the ballpark and should suffice for the time being.
Top-ranking cities in the United States
View Top 10 Depressing Cities in the US in a larger map
1. Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2. Columbus, OH, USA
3. Philadelphia, PA, USA
4. Cincinnati, OH, USA
5. Salt Lake City, UT, USA
6. Raleigh, NC, USA
7. St Louis, MO, USA
8. Reston, VA, USA
9. Denver, CO, USA
10. Boston, MA, USA
Look beyond the cut for the most interesting lists…
