203 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
203 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
---
|
|
title: Frankfurt is Investing in Education, and Your City Should Too
|
|
date: 06/12/2023
|
|
authors: ['Michael Polidori']
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
_Note: The currency in this post has been converted to USD using an average exchange rate of 1 EUR = 1.20 USD._
|
|
|
|
Between 2008 and 2016, the population of Frankfurt, Germany grew from approximately 670k to 740k[^1], while
|
|
its spending on education climbed from \$465 million to a staggering \$814 million, a 75% increase. That's a
|
|
significant surge, bumping education to around 20% of the total budget, only second to social issues.
|
|
|
|
The stacked bar chart below (using the [City of Frankfurt Expenditure dataset](https://www.openspending.org/@os-data/city-of-frankfurt-expenditure))
|
|
helps to bring this data to life. It maps out the city's annual spending across various areas. As you can see,
|
|
the education slice has grown noticeably over the years, indicating Frankfurt's intention to prioritize this space.
|
|
The city's commitment to education is abundantly clear.
|
|
|
|
<Map data="https://openlayers.org/data/vector/ecoregions.json" />
|
|
|
|
<OpenLayers
|
|
layers={[
|
|
{
|
|
url: 'https://openlayers.org/data/vector/ecoregions.json',
|
|
name: 'Teste',
|
|
},
|
|
]}
|
|
/>
|
|
|
|
<VegaLite
|
|
spec={{
|
|
$schema: 'https://vega.github.io/schema/vega-lite/v5.json',
|
|
data: {
|
|
url: 'https://storage.openspending.org/city-of-frankfurt-expenditure/frankfurt-sums.csv',
|
|
},
|
|
transform: [
|
|
{
|
|
calculate: "format(datum.amount / 1e6 * 1.20, '$,.1f') + 'M'",
|
|
as: 'formattedAmountMillion',
|
|
},
|
|
{ calculate: 'datum.amount / 1e9 * 1.20', as: 'amountBillion' },
|
|
],
|
|
mark: 'bar',
|
|
width: 350,
|
|
height: 400,
|
|
encoding: {
|
|
x: {
|
|
field: 'date',
|
|
type: 'ordinal',
|
|
title: 'Year',
|
|
},
|
|
y: {
|
|
field: 'amount',
|
|
type: 'quantitative',
|
|
title: 'Spending (USD in billions)',
|
|
axis: {
|
|
format: '~s',
|
|
labelExpr: "format(datum.value / 1e9 * 1.20, '$,.0f') + 'B'",
|
|
},
|
|
},
|
|
color: {
|
|
field: 'label',
|
|
type: 'nominal',
|
|
title: 'Area',
|
|
scale: {
|
|
domain: [
|
|
'Building supervision and monument protection',
|
|
'Business development agency',
|
|
'Central finance economy',
|
|
'Central services',
|
|
'Culture, leisure and sport',
|
|
'Education',
|
|
'Elections and superordinate matters',
|
|
'Environment',
|
|
'Finance',
|
|
'Fire protection and emergency services',
|
|
'Geoinformation and property regulations',
|
|
'Head of the city administration',
|
|
'Health',
|
|
'Local transport and public transport',
|
|
'Order and security',
|
|
'Personnel and organization',
|
|
'Property and building management',
|
|
'Reside',
|
|
'Revision and law',
|
|
'Social issue',
|
|
'Town planning',
|
|
],
|
|
range: [
|
|
'#EF5350',
|
|
'#F06292',
|
|
'#BA68C8',
|
|
'#9575CD',
|
|
'#7986CB',
|
|
'#64B5F6',
|
|
'#4FC3F7',
|
|
'#4DD0E1',
|
|
'#4DB6AC',
|
|
'#81C784',
|
|
'#AED581',
|
|
'#DCE775',
|
|
'#FFF176',
|
|
'#FFD54F',
|
|
'#FFB74D',
|
|
'#FF8A65',
|
|
'#A1887F',
|
|
'#90A4AE',
|
|
'#78909C',
|
|
'#546E7A',
|
|
'#455A64',
|
|
],
|
|
},
|
|
},
|
|
tooltip: [
|
|
{ field: 'label', type: 'nominal', title: 'Area' },
|
|
{
|
|
field: 'formattedAmountMillion',
|
|
type: 'ordinal',
|
|
title: 'Spending (USD in millions)',
|
|
},
|
|
{ field: 'date', type: 'ordinal', title: 'Year' },
|
|
],
|
|
},
|
|
}}
|
|
/>
|
|
|
|
Now, let's look at a line chart that traces only the trajectory of education spending through these eight
|
|
years (using the same dataset). It's not just a line; it's a testament to Frankfurt's growing conviction that investing in education is
|
|
the key to a prosperous future.
|
|
|
|
<VegaLite
|
|
spec={{
|
|
$schema: 'https://vega.github.io/schema/vega-lite/v5.json',
|
|
description: 'Frankfurt Education Spending.',
|
|
data: {
|
|
url: 'https://storage.openspending.org/city-of-frankfurt-expenditure/frankfurt-sums.csv',
|
|
},
|
|
transform: [
|
|
{ filter: "datum.label==='Education'" },
|
|
{
|
|
calculate: "format(datum.amount / 1e6 * 1.20, '$,.1f') + 'M'",
|
|
as: 'formattedAmountMillion',
|
|
},
|
|
],
|
|
mark: {
|
|
type: 'area',
|
|
line: true,
|
|
point: true,
|
|
},
|
|
width: 400,
|
|
height: 400,
|
|
encoding: {
|
|
x: {
|
|
field: 'date',
|
|
type: 'ordinal',
|
|
title: 'Year',
|
|
},
|
|
y: {
|
|
field: 'amount',
|
|
type: 'quantitative',
|
|
title: 'Spending (USD in millions)',
|
|
axis: {
|
|
format: '~s',
|
|
labelExpr: "format(datum.value / 1e6 * 1.20, '$,.0f') + 'M'",
|
|
},
|
|
},
|
|
color: {
|
|
title: '',
|
|
field: 'label',
|
|
scale: {
|
|
domain: ['Education'],
|
|
range: ['#64b5f6'],
|
|
},
|
|
},
|
|
tooltip: [
|
|
{ field: 'label', type: 'nominal', title: 'Area' },
|
|
{
|
|
field: 'formattedAmountMillion',
|
|
type: 'ordinal',
|
|
title: 'Spending (USD in millions)',
|
|
},
|
|
{ field: 'date', type: 'ordinal', title: 'Year' },
|
|
],
|
|
},
|
|
}}
|
|
/>
|
|
|
|
Despite Frankfurt's population experiencing an increase of less than 100k during this period, the significant
|
|
investment in education tells a different story. It sends a clear message: education isn't merely a line item
|
|
in their budget—it's their future.
|
|
|
|
During this period, it's likely that schools underwent major overhauls, more teachers got hired, new educational
|
|
programs launched, etc., to give every child in Frankfurt a chance to have an impactful and quality education.
|
|
|
|
The beauty of good data is that it's not just numbers—it's narratives. And the narrative here is that Frankfurt
|
|
is leveraging the power of long-term investment in education for a better, brighter future. This investment in
|
|
education is not just about the dollars and cents. It's about recognizing the value of quality education to drive
|
|
social and economic progress.
|
|
|
|
Frankfurt is a city that's recognized the power of education, and it's using that power to redefine its future.
|
|
One can only hope that more cities follow suit.
|
|
|
|
[^1]: https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/frankfurt-population
|