Civic Data Design Lab

To illustrate the motivations and risks undertaken by , researchers at Civic Data Design Lab have designed an exhibition featuring digital & physical visualizations that encourage visitors to engage with migrants’ experiences more fully.

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Visualizing migration stories “Distance Unknown” is an exhibition about migration to the U.S. from Central America that debuted at the UN World Food Program executive board meeting. It was created by MIT’s Sarah Williams and her Civic Data Design Lab.

WHY MIGRATE? The Motivational Tapestry represents the root causes of migration from 1,624 migrants in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, taken from a World Food Programme survey in 2021. Handwoven by 13 Latin American migrants, the tapestry is made of “migrant money” designed to depict migrants’ stories. Each individual bill highlights a different issue: the high cost of migration, the importance of remittances, migrants’ contribution to multiple economies, the risks they face, and the fact that most migrants would prefer to stay home. The bills are folded into squares representing one migrant’s motivation to migrate: economic (blue), quality of life (yellow), reunification (orange), security (purple), and climate change (green). Visitors can scan a tapestry fragment to explore one migrant’s story, cost, and motivations for migration. Exhibition, Data Analysis, Storytelling: MIT Civic Data Design Lab @civicdatadesignlab @mitdusp @mitarchitecture Graphic Design: MTWTF @mtwtf_studio @glen_mtwtf @sarah.d.unham UN World Food Programme @worldfoodprogramme @rossella.bottone.39 Tapestry Production: Casa Tochan and Fundacíon MITZ CDDL Team: @datasew @ashsicle @ameouchi @nikodellic @juliaccamacho @a_jari @yuehanwang42 , Man Wai (Jenny) Chan, Ziyi Tang . . . #CivicDataDesignLab @mitdusp @mitsap #mitdusp #dusp #mitsap #dataforgood #datavisualization #dataviz #datascience #data #informationdesign #civicdata #interactivedata #migration #migrationpolicy