Project Lead: Will von Geldern, UW Public Policy & Governance

Data Science Lead: Curtis Atkisson

Evictions cause many harmful impacts on housing-insecure households and low-income communities. Most sociological and policy research has used two measures of evictions (filings and judgments) to identify and measure the consequences of the modern eviction crisis. This study will help advance what we know about evictions through an in-depth study of Pierce County, Washington.

Using computer vision and natural language processing, we will scan tens of thousands of documents from eviction proceedings in 2023 and 2024 to create more accurate measures of landlord and tenant behaviors during the eviction process, tenants’ access to legal representation from Washington’s right to counsel program, and case outcomes. These measures will help policymakers design and implement more effective eviction prevention policies and programs.