2016 urisa track: a spatial analysis of bicycling behavior using census data? by jim castagneri
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This document discusses analyzing bicycling behavior using census data and GIS. It notes that bicycling has a major economic and health impact in Colorado. Census data like the American Community Survey can be used to track bicycling rates spatially by census tract and examine demographic factors associated with higher bicycling like age, income, education. Spatial analysis of census bicycling data can identify neighborhoods for new bicycle infrastructure and inform planning. The document provides resources for accessing relevant census data online.
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2016 urisa track: a spatial analysis of bicycling behavior using census data? by jim castagneri
- 1. A Spatial Analysis of Bicycling Behavior Using Census Data? GIS in the Rockies September, 2016
- 2. Why Bicycling? Bicycling has an important history in Colorado Courtesy; Denver Public Library
- 3. Bicycling has a major impact on Colorado Colorado ranks second behind Vermont in money spent per capita on bicycles.
- 4. Bicycling has a major impact on Colorado • Colorado has more licensed bike racers per capita than any other state.
- 5. Reasons for Bicycling Analysis Increases in cycling participation has been shown to: – Reduce Motor Vehicle Traffic and Congestion – Improve Health and Welfare – Increase Tourism and Retail Sales – Promote quality of life through Sport Cycling • Ride the Rockies, Triple By Pass, Pedal the Plains, Tour of the Moon, MS-100 • Improve the Olympic sport talent base
- 6. How we Track Cycling Behavior Special Interests Conduct Research or Surveys: – League of American Bicyclists – People for Bikes – Alliance for Biking and Walking – University Research
- 7. How we Track Cycling Behavior Government Records and Surveys – U.S. Department of Transportation • NHTSA Survey of Bicyclist and Pedestrian Attitudes – CDC Grants and Health Surveys • Partnerships to Improve Community Health (PICH) grants • Bicycling safety and statistics – Census Surveys • American Community Survey, etc.
- 8. How we Track Cycling Behavior Current Methods for Conducting Bicycling Surveys and Cyclist Counts are: • Not uniform or have inconsistent coverage • Follow few if any data standards • Irregular in timeframe • Not geographically distributed
- 9. Census Data for Bicycling Analysis? Yes! – It’s Consistent – It’s Geographically Distributed – It’s Well documented – It’s online and free!
- 10. Census Data for Bicycling Analysis? What Data Sources are there? – Economic Census – Census of Foreign Trade – American Time-Use Survey (ATUS) – American Community Survey (ACS)
- 11. The Geography of Demographics
- 12. Census tracts are the spatial fabric for demographic analysis They Facilitate: • Year to year trends of a single Census variable • Spatial correlation of multiple variables • Analysis of sub-county distributions – Residence location demographics – Place of work transportation characteristics
- 13. Factors contributing to Bicycling 1. Individual and Household Income 2. Individual attitudes or perceptions 3. Neighborhood characteristics and bicycle facilities…or something we can call ‘Exposure’ * According to Sener, Eluru, and Baht (2010)
- 14. Demographic Variables influencing Bicycling Behavior • Age (35-54) • Income ($45,000 +) • Education (Bachelors Degree) • Occupation (professional) • Gender (mostly male)
- 15. Why Spatial Analysis? • Spatial relationships exist between bicycling enthusiasts and other demographic characteristics; – Areas with high numbers of bicycle commuters also have higher numbers of bicycle racers. – Higher levels of education correlate with more bicycle commuting & racing – Bicycle Commuting is highly correlated with hospital and university locations
- 16. More Spatial Analysis? Tract level ACS bicycling data can pinpoint high density neighborhoods for planning: – On street bike lanes – Bike lockers at RTD stations – New bike shop locations – Community events
- 17. Tract Level ACS Data • Provides an estimate of total bicycle commuters • Provides separate estimates for Men and Women….
- 19. Where to get Census data? American Factfinder: http://www.census.gov/data/data- tools/american-factfinder.html * See “How to Use American Factfinder” at the link above for best practices
- 20. References • Karsch, H. M., Hedlund, J. H., Tison, J., & Leaf, W. A. (2012, June). Review of Studies on Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety, 1991-2007. (Report No. DOT HS 811 614). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. • William E. Moritz, Ph.D, (Revised March 30, 1998). ADULT BICYCLISTS IN THE UNITED STATES –CHARACTERISTICS AND RIDING EXPERIENCE IN 1996, University of Washington. • Ipek N. Sener, Naveen Eluru, and Chandra R. Bhat, An Analysis of Bicyclists and Bicycling Characteristics: Who, Why, and How Much are they Bicycling?, Retrieved from: http://www.ce.utexas.edu/prof/bhat/abstracts/sener_eluru_bhat_bicycle_rev _jan18_trbstyle.pdf • McCullough, Robert L. (2015). Old Wheelways, MIT Press. • Castagneri, J (June 2014). Is Your City Cycling? Retrieved from: http://www.active.com/cycling/articles/is-your-city-cycling.
- 21. Thank you! Jim Castagneri Geographer US Bureau of the Census Denver 720-962-3882 James.d.castagneri@census.gov
Editor's Notes
- Presented as part of the RM/URISA track at GIS in the Rockies
- Bicycling has enjoyed a long and colorful history in Colorado with its’ heyday occurring near the turn on the 20th century. This is the Denver Athletic Club’s wooden velodrome near city park on the site of what is now Denver East High School. In fact, the craze of cycling brought many new changes to the newly industrialized world: Pneumatic Tires Ball Bearings Wire Spoked Wheels Steel Tube Construction methods Fine tooling and automated machining Early Professional Sports Cultural Changes for Men and Women
- But bicycling is particularly influential in Colorado: Highest in retail sales in 2007 Economic Census Second highest sales in 2012 Economic Census (slightly behind Vermont) Vermont?
- Colorado has the highest rate of licensed bicycle racers in the country…by far. For example, Colorado has more licensed bike racers (~5,500) than the state of Texas…and Texas has 27 million residents! Colorado population is just about 5 ½ million. *Based on a 2014 study of USA Cycling members by the author.
- Governor Hickenlooper pledged in 2015 to make Colorado the “Best state for biking” by announcing a plan to spend $100 million dollars on pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure over the next four years.
- Once called the “League of American Wheelmen”, the LAB was instrumental in establishing the ‘good roads’ effort of the early 1900’s. People for Bikes has an extensive library of research on bicycling and is headquartered in Boulder, CO The Alliance for Biking and Walking promotes coordinated efforts for happier, healthier communities thru alternative transportation.
- Federal agencies track bicycling behavior from two primary angles; Health Transportation The Census Bureau provides useful bicycling information primarily through its American Community survey (ACS)
- Most surveys and studies on bicycling behavior focus on a single city or location or a single point in time. Few standards for tracking cyclists have been established. There are leaders in the public sector; The City of Portland OR has been a leader in surveys and planning for bicycling infrastructure. Boulder, CO has developed innovative ways of using existing auto technology to count cyclists on roads and trails.
- While not designed specifically for bicycling analysis, the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey provides a wealth of information related to bicycle commuters. The ACS is designed from the ground up to be reliable and consistent. Large scale data DO present challenges but also lend themselves to discovering relationships between cycling behavior and other demographic characteristics.
- The economic census is conducted in years ending in 2 and 7 and provides sales figures for bicycles, parts & accessories down to metropolitan areas. The Census of foreign trade provides monthly and annual summaries of key industrial sectors…including bicycle imports. The American Time Use Survey asks how Americans use their time on a daily schedule. Individual responses include bicycling as a form of recreation. But the real gold mine is the ACS….For example, based on 1-year ACS data for the state of Colorado, we can learn that of all the types of commuting methods, bicycling is one of two experiencing growth in the past ten years. And, based on the 2014 data, we know that over 35,000 Coloradans bike to work each day.
- While National or State level demographics are interesting, they don’t help with local planning. Metropolitan Area and County level data are better, but ultimately we might need neighborhood statistics…enter the Census Tract and the American Community Survey (ACS) Census tracts are relatively small, stable areas with consistent population that allows for statistical analysis. There are nearly 75,000 of them covering the entire nation. Census Tracts are: Homogenous Comparable in size (~4,000 people) Stable from decade to decade Designed to represent statistical data spatially Since 2005, 5-year ACS data at the Census Tract level have provided community-based demographics at smaller levels of geography.
- For example; What is the multi-year trend of bicycling commuters in a given census tract How do bicycle commuters in this census tract compare to: Occupation Commute time Income Education
- According to a study conducted in 2010… 1) Income is closely correlated to a prevalence of bicycling. Of course income is closely correlated to education, But while 2) attitudes or perceptions are hard to quantify scientifically, 3) neighborhood characteristics are what census tracts are all about! Facilities would include such things as bike paths, on street bike lanes, even dedicated bike parks.
- Based on previous studies by Moritz (1998), and Karsch, Tyson and Leaf (2012) Despite decades of being considered a child's toy, cycling is increasing in the age group 35-54 While there is a component of the low-income population that uses bicycles for transport, the market is driven by those with personal incomes over $45,000 Let’s have a look at some of these variables….
- Being at a GIS conference, you had to expect that spatial analysis would come into the picture… Here is an interesting correlation; Registered bicycle racers and educational attainment by census tract…
- This map shows the 2014 estimate of bicycle commuters by census tract, the locations of current bike shops, and the DRCOG 2015 Bicycle Facility Inventory data.
- What about the ACS Margin of Error (MOE)? The MOE can be very high at the tract level. ACS data therefore should be considered for it’s; Geographic Distributions Spatial Relationships In this map, we are looking at the general distribution of male and female cyclists…and there IS a pattern. Can you see it? (Hint; imagine this as a heat map…how large would the ‘hot’ area be for Men? For Women?)
- Spatial Analysis establishes patterns in demographic data. While tract level ACS data may have a large MOE, spatial analysis provides a method to determine patterns and trends not visible in the tabular data. This live demo is based on ArcGIS Online and uses 2014 5-year ACS data on bicycle commuters along with other bicycle related information… Use the hyperlink to launch a new browser window…play with the datasets and observe the spatial relationships between the disparate data.