Principal Investigator(s):
Andrew Owen, Lead Researcher, Acc. Obsv., Center for Transportation Studies
Project summary:
This project investigates access to health care, parks, schools, and retail in proposed arterial transitway corridor lines in Hennepin, Ramsey, and Washington counties. Researchers will deploy a mixed-methods toolkit combining accessibility impacts and qualitative data findings to inform outreach efforts that benefit underrepresented groups and people of color, who face barriers to accessing necessities and getting to specific places. This project introduces key topics (parks, hospitals, supermarkets, elementary and high schools) that inform accessibility analysis by applying both quantitative and qualitative research. Transportation accessibility research applies demographic datasets, the testing of predefined variables, and the modeling of GIS spatial analysis to consider disparities in traveling to places. These models identify how much money people spend and how much time it takes them to get to a location based on a transportation mode. This project seeks to expand the understanding of equity in accessibility research by providing qualitative research questions that focus on why and how people make choices in relation to transportation systems. The introduction of topics based on the everyday lived experience of transit users justifies the value of transportation investments by disparities across the metro region.