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Community Design – Distance to Public Transit

This indicator measures the proportion of the population living within 0.5 miles of a GTFS or fixed-guideway transit stop. Transit data is available from over 200 transit agencies across the United States, as well as all existing fixed-guideway transit service in the U.S. This includes rail, streetcars, ferries, trolleys, and some bus rapid transit systems.

Source

Source Description

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Smart Location Database (SLD) is a nationwide geographic data resource for measuring location efficiency. It includes more than 90 attributes summarizing characteristics such as housing density, diversity of land use, neighborhood design, destination accessibility, transit service, employment, and demographics. Most attributes are available for every census block group in the United States. EPA first released the Smart Location Database in 2011 and released version 2.0 in July 2013 and version 3.0 in May 2021. Please review the user guide for a full description of all available variables, data sources, data currency, and known limitations.

Methodology

This indicator reports information about urban design in terms of distance to public transit. This indicator reports the population within 0.5 miles (800 meters) of a GTFS transit stop or a fixed-guideway transit station. data are based on variable D4a in the EPA Smart Location Database. D4a measures the minimum walk distance between the population weighted census block group centroid and the nearest transit stop. To calculate population living within 0.5 miles of a transit stop, the population was summarized for all block groups in a county with distance values under 801 meters. Population values are based on total population reported in the 2014-18 American Community Survey. For complete indicator definitions and information about the data sources and analysis contained within the SLD, please review the user guide.

Data Breakouts Available

  • Population Living Close to Public Transit: by Distance
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