A group research project conducted for MAPC analyzing transit-oriented developments using MBTA ridership data and FourSquare check-in data
MIT student collaborators: Alstan Jakubiec, Jonathan Ragan-Kelley, Elizabeth Resor, RJ Williams
View final presentation slides (pdf).
Read the final report (pdf).

Transit-Oriented Development: A Destination-Based Analysis
Abstract

Historically, evaluations of transit-oriented developments have focused on quantifying nearby residential population and that population’s transit use.  This evaluation seeks to analyze TOD from a new perspective by examining the potential of destinations to attract transit riders to a particular stop.  The study focuses on 18 subway stations identified by the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission as Neighborhood Subways.  Using 2009-2010 data from the MBTA, ridership profiles for the 18 stations were created and then 6 were identified for more thorough case study analyses.  Assessment of the urban form within 800 meters of the stations was conducted using MassGIS.  This assessment identified the infrastructure assets and challenges at each stop, such as wide sidewalks or highway barriers.  Lastly, business data from InfoGroup was combined with data from the social media platform Foursqaure to provide an analysis of business type, sales, and popularity of various destinations within 800 meters of each station.  The analysis concludes with detailed descriptive profiles of the 6 case study stations.  The robust profiles developed from the different data sets underscores the importance of incorporating new data sources and understanding the destination impact on TODs.