From the start, the ”Where to Live in Cologne” installation was based around the central question of Data Journalism: How can we visualise and compare complicated data sets, so that viewers and users can not only understand them, but can use the conclusions for their own personal benefit?

The problem this project focussed on was the lack of housing options in Cologne. This was done through data from two sources. The first was a tool on the internet called ‚Mapnificent‘ (currently only in Beta-mode), which calculates the distance you can get within a given timeframe from a given point by walking and using public transport. The second was the Cologne ‚Mietspiegel‘ , which lists the average price per square metre for rental accommodation in each of Cologne‘s 84 districts. Both of these data sets provide information which is often a deciding factor when searching for a place to live.
The data from these sources was then combined to create the interactive installation Where to Live in Cologne?. On a model of Cologne, each district was scaled by height according to the corresponding average rental price. The distance reached was then projected onto this model, with different colours representing different intervals of time. Six points on the model were chosen as ‚hotspots‘, which would then show the corresponding distance reached map when selected by having a cube placed on the hotspot.