TEAM: Victoria Burford, Jake Matthews, Jingchuan Wang
Students worked with cell phone location data to provide evidence on the spatial distribution of visitors to Pittsburgh’s parks, with a particular focus on understanding equity of park access. The analysis provided the first comprehensive picture of where in the city each park’s visitors come from, and what are the characteristics of these origin neighborhoods in terms of socioeconomic status and racial composition. The analysis showed how spatial features contribute to visits, for example identifying walking distance below a certain threshold as a crucial determinant. The skills developed for this project position the students to use cutting edge techniques in understanding spatial demand, which are relevant for almost any type of government organization or business.