Purpose of Addressing Overrepresentation
This page explains the risk that arises when certain districts disproportionately dominate residential listing datasets. Its purpose is to clarify why high visibility in some districts can distort interpretation of city-wide residential structure.
Overrepresentation is treated here as a visibility effect rather than as an indicator of residential scale or importance.
Mechanisms of District Overrepresentation
District overrepresentation occurs when listing activity is concentrated in specific areas due to platform usage patterns, agent behavior, or channel accessibility. These mechanisms amplify visibility in some districts while suppressing it in others.
The resulting dataset reflects uneven exposure rather than balanced observation of residential contexts.
Consequences for City-Level Reading
When overrepresented districts dominate visible data, they can shape aggregated narratives that appear city-wide but are structurally narrow. Other districts may appear marginal or absent despite having substantial residential presence.
This imbalance encourages false generalization from a limited subset of districts to the entire city.
Interpretive Boundaries
Overrepresentation does not indicate dominance, centrality, or residential primacy. It reflects which districts are more visible through listing channels at a given time.
This risk establishes a clear boundary: city-wide interpretation must not be derived from disproportionately visible districts.