The first step to solving the transit “desert” problem is identifying where those deserts are. But that’s easier said than done.
A transit desert, Eric Jaffe explains, is a place where a high need for transit—marked by the presence of low-income, elderly, or disabled populations—coincides with inadequate service. Two transport scholars recently set out to map transit deserts in Chicago and three other cities using GIS. The results were mixed: some areas they identified as having the highest need are in fact known to have good service.
“Suffice it to say, identifying transit deserts with GIS remains a work in progress,” Jaffe writes. But that doesn’t mean mappers shouldn’t keep trying. To the contrary, the scarcity of transit funds makes the need to identify transit deserts all that more urgent.
FULL STORY: The Difficulty of Mapping Transit 'Deserts'
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research