How Area "Improvement" Might Widen Health Inequalities

Health belongs to people, not places. When people move, they take their health with them.

Neighbourhood Map

Average Health by Area

Population Health — Step 0 / 40 Press Play or Step to begin.

Displacement 0.12

Attraction 0.08

Speed 500ms

What this model shows

When a neighbourhood is "improved," rising costs might push out vulnerable residents and attract wealthier, healthier ones. The area's average health appears to rise, but nobody actually got healthier. The displaced residents land in other areas, dragging those averages down. This is a compositional effect: the statistics changed because the people changed, not their health.

What you can do

Play runs the simulation automatically. Step advances one tick at a time so you can watch each move. Reset generates a fresh random population. The Displacement slider controls how aggressively vulnerable residents are pushed out of the improved area (Area D). The Attraction slider controls how strongly healthy residents are pulled in. Speed sets the delay between auto-play steps.

Things to try

Crank Displacement to maximum and watch Area D's average health soar while the other areas decline (even though no one's health changed).
Set both Displacement and Attraction to zero, then play. Nothing happens,proving the effect is entirely driven by movement, not health changes.
Follow the two tracked agents in the cards above the controls. One is vulnerable, one is healthy. Watch how the same intervention affects them differently.