Nov 01 2011
Census on Wheels
recently said this about bikes in the world of transit sans auto….
With the release of the 2009 Census this September, we now have data that can feed decisions regarding regional transportation and the design of pedestrian and biking options.
“The Brookings Institute recently found that while seven-tenths of metropolitan residents live within in a three-quarter mile radius of public transit, only 30 percent of jobs are accessible within 90 minutes by using it.”
10 Cities Where Workers Most Use Public Transit: Census Huffington Post
Articles that have run with cultural background of commuters have been overplayed.
It is true that foreign born populations use mass-transit more than native born residents. While many countries have far superior transportation infrastructure to the U.S. and urban densities lending themselves to the culture of carless commuting, the truth of the census statistics indicate other explanations. 10.8% of the foreign born commuters use mass transit versus a sad 4.1 for the native born, but of this statistically significantly higher population, these commuters were much more likely to come from families living below the poverty level, not own a car, and have no other options.
Other statistics may be intuitive to the urban planner and everyday citizen. Many are American stereotypes. Three fourths of commuters drive alone and from suburban areas. Of any racial group, whites are 10% higher of any commuters driving cars. New Yorkers ranked #1 for mass transit commuting with 30% of all their commuters. San Franciscowas second but with a distant 14.6%. (More at: US Census Reveals the Top 10 US Cities for Mass Transit Commuting: Inhabitat)
Of course we want the Census to feed us something One example that came from the 2009 numbers was the potential of 17–24 yr olds in New York and Oregon studying anything from Computer Science to Modern Dance.
The cities that gave us the highest that can drive design. What can we read from the statistics that inform a more intelligent urbanism? cycling and walking populations were Corvalis,Oregon and Ithaca, New York. Since these are college towns that’s no surprise. College students generally need to be frugal and live close to campus. However we now have the data to support urban development by way of significant pedestrian and biking services for those populations, knowing theywill make full use of them.
