❮ Projects page Transportation Alternatives

Spatial Analysis Project:

While recent national studies have found that traffic crashes occur at disproportionately higher rates in low-income and high-poverty neighborhoods, T.A. is interested in examining whether this statement holds true in New York City. Traffic crashes kill more people in NYC than gun violence and are the leading cause of preventable death for children. Understanding who is most affected will help inform policy as we work to achieve Vision Zero – the Mayor’s goal of zero traffic deaths and serious injuries, and to achieve a more equitable city.

The goal of this project is to examine the correlation between poverty level and crash density in New York City. Using community board-level income and poverty data and NYPD crash statistics as data sources, this spatial analysis will determine whether New York City’s low-income neighborhoods experience disproportionately higher injuries or fatalities due to traffic violence.

Data available:

• Geocoded traffic crash data publicly available via the NYPD Motor Vehicle Collisions open data portal
• Income/poverty level data publicly available via the 2011-2013 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for each community board in NYC
• Relevant community board statistics such as population and square mileage via the NYC Department of City Planning’s Community Portal
• Shapefile and dataset exports, etc.

Maps and Reports that will be created:

• Spreadsheet aggregating crashes in each community board with income/poverty data, normalized by population size and square-mileage. The spreadsheet would rank community boards by the percentage of each population living below the poverty-level borough-wide and citywide.
• Maps illustrating crash density by income/poverty citywide and borough-wide. We would also like maps of community boards with strong correlations between crash density and income.
• Beyond these outcomes, we’d like an initial analysis of these findings.

How the maps and reports will be used:

We will build on the fellows’ analysis to produce a report exploring the connection between income and crash density. The report will be published on the T.A. website, distributed to press, and used to inform briefings to policymakers in the City Council and the state legislature to shape policy. This analysis will help shape the city’s investment in transportation infrastructure, ultimately bringing us closer to eliminating traffic deaths/injuries, and creating a more equitable city.