Access Across America

Access Across America, a study by David Levinson, the R.P. Braun/CTS Chair in Transportation Engineering at the University of Minnesota, goes beyond congestion rankings to focus on accessibility: a measure that examines both land use and the transportation system. The study is the first systematic comparison of trends in accessibility to jobs by car within the U.S. By comparing accessibility to jobs by automobile during the morning peak period for 51 metropolitan areas, the study tells us which cities are performing well in terms of accessibility and which have seen the greatest change.

More about the study

Map of U.S. metro areas ranked by accessibility

Tools

Metro Accessibility Matrix

People who make transportation and land-use decisions in the Twin Cities region have a new tool: an online “accessibility matrix” that illustrates variations in accessibility to different types of destinations for travelers who drive, bike, walk, or use transit.

The matrix displays four types of maps: accessibility (the ability to reach destinations), mobility (the ability of people to move on the network), travel time (how long it will take to get between census blocks with each of the travel modes), and land use (the distribution of activities by census block).

Users can select up to four filters, including year, mode, time of day, and destination type (such as retail, restaurants, or recreation). The result, for example, could be maps showing the accessibility of jobs between two distant suburbs by transit or by car.

The tool is hosted by the University’s Minnesota Traffic Observatory (MTO), a transportation laboratory staffed by experts in managing large data sets and creating visual models of complex data. The matrix is just one of the MTO’s systems that support effective transportation and land-use planning. Future researchers will be able to further develop the tool and add new data as they become available.

• Use the Metro Accessibility Matrix
• Watch video tutorials on how to use the Metro Accessibility Matrix

Access to Destination News

• Access Across America: New University of Minnesota study measures accessibility to jobs in top U.S. cities
• Accessibility matrix used to compare U.S. cities
• Online matrix helps users determine accessibility
• Access for Value: Financing Transportation Through Land Value Capture
• Kane, Quimby: Shift gears to ease traffic congestion in the Twin Cities
• Measuring What Matters: second research summary published (724 KB PDF)
• Report tracks changes in accessibility by automobile
• Report demonstrates non-auto accessibility measures in action
  
• Journal of Transport and Land Use debuts
• Proceedings of the 2007 Access to Destinations Conference published
• Second Access to Destinations conference mixes research with practice
• Asking the Right Questions About Transportation and Land Use (1.2 MB PDF),
  a research summary from the Access to Destinations Study.
• More Access to Destination News >>