Spoiler alert: University of Minnesota’s analysis of transit accessibility in 46 metropolitan cities ranks Atlanta 30th.
This past week, we have been exploring different aspects of transportation accessibility to employment based on demographic factors such as poverty and income level from the US Census and the American Community Survey. Specifically, we are examining the effectiveness of Atlanta public transportation in providing underserved communities with access to jobs. To do this, we are developing an accessibility index, which is a weighted average of the number of jobs a person has access to based on commute time to each job (closer jobs have higher weights). The accessibility index is being built into a tool for transit planners using Leaflet and Graph Builder from OpenTripPlanner .
The following figures shows accessibility, from a point in East Atlanta, by walking and public transportation based on travel time. These maps will help us visualize how adding public transportation infrastructure could change the job opportunity distribution in the Atlanta area, with a focus on creating a more equitable job opportunity landscape for poorer neighborhoods.
Accessibility by Walking
Accessibility by Public Transit
