You’re Not Mapping Rats, You’re Mapping Gentrification

Photo: Richard Drew (AP)

Where there are people, there are rats. Or, more accurately: Where there are well-off white people, there are complaints about rats. It’s just that two of the country’s biggest newspapers can’t seem to tell the difference.

I’ve lost my mind twice in the past year (for rat-related reasons) after reading pieces from the New York Times and the Washington Post about the supposedly exploding rat populations in New York and D.C. The problem is that claims about where these cities are the rattiest are being based on the public records of calls to 311 about them. And there are some very important qualifiers you’re going to want to keep in mind when using that data.

It comes clearer with a simple question: Who, exactly, is calling 311 about rats? The pieces published this week in the New York Times and last August in the Washington Post came to similar conclusions about where D.C. and New York City are seeing spikes in rativity (rat activity): the neighborhoods most rapidly gentrifying.

Beyond the shameful editorial oversight of not calling it gentRATification, the claim isn’t based off of the right data. The Times’ theory that “the city’s construction boom is digging up burrows, forcing more rats out into the open” makes sense. Couple that with milder winters not doing their job of being nature’s exterminator, and you have a clear recipe for a rattier New York. However, the way that they justify claiming an increase in rats—through an increase in calls to 311 about rats—isn’t a good (or accurate) method.

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From the Post (emphasis mine):

In some of the city’s most densely populated areas, where trendy bars and restaurants have proliferated, complaints have increased at staggering rates.

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And the Times (emphasis also mine):

The top spot for rat sighting complaints has been the Upper West Side, where residents are known for speaking up, followed by four Brooklyn neighborhoods: Prospect Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick and Ocean Hill.

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It’s easy to fall into this rat trap. Three years ago, I analyzed data for and co-wrote an article in Chicago’s South Side Weekly about which Chicago neighborhoods were the most beratted, based on calls made to 311 over the course of a month. WaPo, NYT, I was right there with you. But a year later I did a deeper analysis that also looked at a month’s worth of rat-related 311 calls, but this time incorporated demographic and socioeconomic data. It became clear that mapping 311 calls isn’t a good way to tell where rats are; it’s a way to tell where the wealthy white people live.

It could be true that there are more rats in gentrifying (increasingly white, increasingly affluent) neighborhoods. Maybe they just love a good kale caesar. But a Wired article from 2010 about 311 calls in New York City found that rodents only make up a small percentage of the overall calls during the course of an average day; noise complaints—and even lost property complaints—are far more numerous. A person’s tendency to call 311 is less about if they see a rat on their walk home from the subway and more about their belief that if they complain about it, the city will do something.

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A study from 2016 drives this home, pointing out that it’s not that some people see more rats than others, it’s that some people think their complaints get heard and others, well, might have some experience to the contrary. As my co-author Jake Bittle and I wrote in the Weekly:

A study published in the Journal of Community Psychology concluded that among low-income residents of Baltimore, residents who reported daily rat sightings were less likely to believe that rats were a significant problem on their block. “In models controlling for significant demographic and neighborhood variables,” the study concluded, “those reporting frequent rat exposure…were less likely to know how to report rats to the city, and were less likely to believe the city would act if notified.”

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The Times piece at least supported their general finding (of an increase in rodent-related complaints made to 311 over the past year) using city health inspection data. Beyond this, there’s no mention of the limitations of using 311 data to make claims about where rats are, or even why they’re using it as a stand-in for rat populations in the first place.

The reason so many outlets use 311 calls to report on rats is that anyone can access this information through the city’s open data portal, which makes tons of city data (everything from government employee salaries to filming permits) available to the public, and relatively simple to parse. But if I was going to do this kind of work again with the public data that’s available, I’d use only restaurant health inspection data. New York City’s Department of Health inspects every food-serving establishment in the city once a year, and if there are rats or evidence or rats, it’ll be in the report. This has its own shortcomings, of course—restaurants and delis are going to be clustered on main drags. No approximation of rats is ever going to be as good as going out there and counting them, however.

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If what’s happening in Baltimore holds true for New York and D.C., then the claims these pieces make aren’t really about rats—they’re about the communities that live alongside them. It turns out it’s even more compelling when you pull the curtain to find that the viral rat story was about people all along.

The Regions Of The United States

Screenshot: Google

Here are the regions of the United States.

The Northeast

The following states in their entirety:
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania

Parts of the following states:
Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, West Virginia, Ohio

Also:
Washington, D.C.

New England

The following states in their entirety:
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island

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Parts of the following states:
New York

The Rust Belt

The following states in their entirety:
None

Parts of the following states:
New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Michigan

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The Mid-Atlantic

The following states in their entirety:
New Jersey, Delaware

Parts of the following states:
New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia

Also:
Washington, D.C.

The South

The following states in their entirety:
Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Florida

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Parts of the following states:
Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Delaware, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri

Also:
Washington, D.C.

The Deep South

The following states in their entirety:
South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana

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Parts of the following states:
Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas

The Gulf Coast

The following states in their entirety:
None

Parts of the following states:
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas

Appalachia

The following states in their entirety:
West Virginia

Parts of the following states:
New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Maryland*

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The Midwest

The following states in their entirety:
North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas

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Parts of the following states:
Ohio, Oklahoma, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania

The Upper Midwest

The following states in their entirety:
North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin

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Parts of the following states:
Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, New York

The Great Lakes

The following states in their entirety:
Michigan

Parts of the following states:
New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin*

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Tornado Alley

The following states in their entirety:
Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa

Parts of the following states:
Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Illinois

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The Plains

The following states in their entirety:
North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska

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Parts of the following states:
Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico

The Mountain West

The following states in their entirety:
Montana, Idaho, Wyoming

Parts of the following states:
Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, California

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The Southwest

The following states in their entirety:
Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona

Parts of the following states:
California, Colorado, Texas

The West Coast

The following states in their entirety:
None

Parts of the following states:
California, Oregon, Washington

The Pacific Northwest

The following states in their entirety:
Oregon

Parts of the following states:
Washington, California, Alaska

Alaska

The following states in their entirety:
None

Parts of the following states:
Alaska, Canada

Hawaii

The following states in their entirety:
Hawaii

These are the regions of the United States. Thank you.

Ed note: Albert would have drawn a map but after he printed out a blank one he realized he didn’t have any crayons to color it, so there isn’t one.

Now Stream This: ‘Inglourious Basterds’, ‘Widows’, ‘A Vigilante’, ‘Panic Room’, ‘Apollo 11’, ‘King of New York’ and More

(Welcome to Now Stream This, a column dedicated to the best movies streaming on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and every other streaming service out there.)

If you’re in the need of something to watch on the many streaming services out there, you’ve come to the right place. As I do every other week, I’ve gathered together some great movies that you can stream right now and laid out what makes them so special. These are the best movies streaming right now. Let’s get streaming!

The Best Movies Streaming Right Now

1. Inglourious Basterds
Now Streaming on Netflix

Release Date: 2009

Genre: Dark Comedy

Director: Quentin Tarantino 

Cast: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger, Mélanie Laurent

Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is now playing in theaters everywhere, and it’s pretty damn great. But if you’re in the mood for more Tarantino, Netflix just dropped what might be his best movie: Inglourious Basterds. A thrilling, hilarious, brutal revisionist look at World War II, Basterds is telling several different stories, all set behind enemy lines during the war. Brad Pitt is leading a team of Jewish soldiers on a mission to kill, and scalp, as many Nazis as they can. Mélanie Laurent is a young Jewish woman in hiding, having escaped the slaughter of her entire family. And Christoph Waltz is an SS Colonel who has a knack for sniffing-out Jews and self-preservation. All of this comes together in an explosive way – literally. Full of snappy dialogue, whiplash-clever plotting, and some killer performances – Waltz is a revelation here – Inglourious Basterds is the perfect example of what makes Tarantino so good at what he does.

For fans of: Django Unchained, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, sick David Bowie needle drops.

 

2. Widows
Now Streaming on HBO Go/Now

Release Date: 2018

Genre: Neo-Noir Thriller

Director: Steve McQueen

Cast: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, Liam Neeson

Widows deserved better. Steve McQueen‘s heist-drama combined action movie thrills with social commentary, resulting in an unusually smart, frequently fantastic film. And audiences ignored it. Now, Widows is streaming on HBO, and if you’ve avoided it this long, you really need to check it out. Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, and Elizabeth Debicki play the wives of a group of recently-killed criminals. The widows team-up to pull off a job to pay off their dead husband’s debts, recruiting Cynthia Erivo (and her amazing biceps) along the way. That sounds like the set-up of a rather simple heist movie, but Widows has more on its mind, dealing with issues of race, gentrification, feminism and more. Perhaps this atypical approach is what kept people away, but I’d rather have a dozen more movies like this than 99% of what’s currently in theaters.

For fans of: Heat, Set It Off, marveling at how tall Elizabeth Debicki is.

 

3. A Vigilante
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Release Date: 2018

Genre: Drama

Director: Sarah Dagger-Nickson

Cast: Olivia Wilde, Morgan Spector, Kyle Catlett, C.J. Wilson, Tonye Patano, Chuck Cooper, Betsy Aidem, Judy Marte

Olivia Wilde gives a raw, fierce, shocking performance in this often brutal drama from director Sarah Dagger-Nickson. Wilde plays a former domestic violence victim who now devotes her time and energy to helping other abused women break away from their spouses. She does this by donning not-so-elaborate disguises, showing up at houses, and beating the living shit out of these abusive men. It sounds like the recipe for a standard revenge saga, and indeed, Wilde’s abusive husband comes back into play at one point, but A Vigilante is more interested in emotional stakes, and the toll violence takes on people. Wilde is wholly believable in the lead as she punches and smashes her way from scene to scene, only to have complete emotional breakdowns in the aftermath. Director Dagger-Nickson keeps the camera incredibly tight on Wilde, letting her get right up in our faces.

For fans of: You Were Never Really Here, Haywire, Olivia Wilde punching stuff.

 

4. Apollo 11
Now Streaming on Hulu

Release Date: 2019

Genre: Documentary

Director: Todd Douglas Miller

Cast: NASA and the Moon

Comprised entirely of archival footage, many of it previously unreleased to the public, Apollo 11 is not your typical moon landing documentary. There are no talking heads; no narration. The story simply unfolds through the archival footage pieced together, taking us inside the mission to the Moon. The result is often jaw-dropping – the footage, some of it 70 mm, has been restored to the point where it looks like it was shot today, not 50 years ago. And like First Man, Apollo 11 perfectly encapsulates how crazy and dangerous going to space is.

For fans of: First Man, Apollo 13, buzzcuts.

 

5. Panic Room
Now Streaming on Netflix

Release Date: 2002

Genre: Thriller

Director: David Fincher 

Cast: Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam, Jared Leto, Kristen Stewart

Panic Room is one of David Fincher‘s more slept-on films, and indeed – it’s not what I’d consider his best work. But Fincher takes a rather pedestrian home invasion thriller script and turns it into a magnificent exercise in style, with cameras slowly zooming through teapot handles, keyholes and more. Jodie Foster plays a recently divorced woman who moves into a huge brownstone in New York with her daughter, played by a young, pre-fame Kristen Stewart. Unfortunately for Foster and Stewart, a group of thieves busts in looking for a score. Unfortunately for the thieves, the house has a panic room that Foster and Stewart lock themselves in. What follows is a series of mishaps that force the characters to constantly one-up each other. In anyone else’s hands, Panic Room would be utterly forgettable. In Fincher’s, it’s special.

For fans of: The Game, Don’t Breathe, baby KStew.

 

6. King of New York
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Release Date: 1990

Genre: Crime Drama

Director: Abel Ferrara

Cast: Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Wesley Snipes, Victor Argo, Giancarlo Esposito

Like a modern-day Robin Hood, Frank White (Christopher Walken) wants to spread the wealth to the poor. Sounds like a nice guy, right? Not so fast. Frank is also a psychopath and a drug kingpin. That’s the set-up of Abel Ferrara‘s violent, stylish crime drama King of New York. Walken is the personification of attractive evil here, using his training as a dancer to roll like liquid from scene to scene, his Frankenstein haircut towering above him. This is perhaps Ferrara’s most polished film, and yet it still maintains the hazy, dreamy, weird tone that blankets so much of his work. The script is a tad too scattered for its own good, but it ultimately doesn’t matter. We’re so entranced by Ferrara’s dirty NYC, and Walken’s Satanic performance, that the end result is truly stunning.

For fans of: New Jack City, Deep Cover, Christopher Walken dancing for no reason other than it looks cool.

 

7. The Abandoned
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Release Date: 2006

Genre: Horror

Director: Nacho Cerdà

Cast: Anastasia Hille, Carlos Reig, Valentin Ganev, Karel Roden

This immensely spooky horror film was part of the now-defunct After Dark Horrorfest and has mostly been forgotten. Which means it’s time for audiences to discover it. An American woman (Anastasia Hille) learns that she’s inherited some family property in Russia, and heads overseas to check it out. The property is dilapidated and in the middle of nowhere. It’s also full of ghoulish figures, including her exact doppelganger. Things get even weirder when her long-lost twin brother (Karel Roden) shows up and spots his doppelganger as well. The siblings uncover dark family secrets, all while dealing with the terrors that lurk within the walls of the property. Director Nacho Cerdà smothers The Abandonded in unrelenting dread, creating an atmospheric nightmare that won’t let up.

For fans of: Lake Mungo, Enemy, boars.

 

8. Point Blank
Now Streaming on Netflix

Release Date: 2019

Genre: Action

Director: Joe Lynch

Cast: Frank Grillo, Anthony Mackie, Marcia Gay Harden, Teyonah Parris, Boris McGiver, Markice Moore

Joe Lynch‘s Point Blank is a remake of the 2010 French film of the same name, with Lynch using his usual flair for humor and brutality to the proceedings. ER nurse Anthony Mackie ends up having to team up with Frank Grillo after Mackie’s pregnant wife (Teyonah Parris) is kidnapped by Grillo’s brother (Christian Cooke). But there’s more at play here, with nothing being as it seems. While the French original is the better film, Lynch’s Point Blank benefits from having Mackie and Grillo as its leads. Watching the actors bicker with each other as they get in one violent situation after another is a blast, and recalls the back-and-forth between Charles Grodin and Robert De Niro in Midnight Run. Point Blank is the perfect Netflix movie – something to throw on for quick, fun entertainment.

For fans of: Midnight Run, the other Point Blank, Frank Grillo’s biceps.

 

9. Moon
Now Streaming on Shudder

Release Date: 2009

Genre: Sci-Fi

Director: Duncan Jones

Cast: Sam Rockwell

Duncan Jones‘s Moon is a heartfelt, often heartbreaking sci-fi indie boasting not one, but two great performances from Sam Rockwell. Rockwell plays astronaut Sam Bell, who has spent the last three years on the Moon. He’s about to return home to Earth, but things get complicated when Sam encounters someone else on the Moon. Someone who looks exactly like him – his exact clone, in fact. What’s going on here? Moon unlocks its mysteries slowly and methodically, building its way towards big, emotional beats. All of this would fall apart were it not for the remarkable work of Rockwell, who makes Sam and his clone both distinct, wholly unique individuals to the point where you almost forget they’re played by the same guy.

For fans of: Source Code, Solaris, having an existential crisis.

 

10. Serenity
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Release Date: 2019

Genre: Weird Shit

Director: Steven Knight

Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Diane Lane, Jason Clarke, Djimon Hounsou, Jeremy Strong

By now you’ve likely heard that Serenity has one of the weirdest twists in film history. You might even know what that twist is! But trust me, you need to see it to believe it. I won’t lie and say Serenity is one of those so-bad-it’s-good movies. There are long stretches of the film that are just flat-out boring. And yet I’m urging you to check it out because you really, really, really have to see the absolutely bonkers twist unfold. In Serenity, Matthew McConaughey is a constantly sweaty fishing boat captain Baker Dill living in seclusion on a sunny island. But Dill’s past comes back to haunt him in the form of his ex-wife, played by an unnaturally blonde Anne Hathaway. Hathaway is now married to an abusive jerk played by Jason Clarke, and she wants Dill to kill him. Sounds like the set-up for your standard neo-noir, right? Well, while all this is unfolding, the film keeps cutting to a young boy somewhere playing a fishing video game. This boy’s connection to the main story becomes clear in the middle of the film, and you won’t believe your own eyes when it does.

For fans of: …I don’t really know.

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