Evaluating the Economic Implications of Investment in New York City’s Subway System
Client
Returns on Investment in Transportation Infrastructure
Faculty
Aram Hur
Team
Bryant Feng, Timothy Hambidge, Miranda von Salis
| Better public transportation is widely considered to have economic and social benefits. With federal transportation infrastructure spending in decline, local governments are forced to weigh the potential benefits of investment in transportation against politically unpopular increases in taxes and fees. What is the return on investment to transportation infrastructure, and more importantly, who does it benefit? A Capstone team conducted a systematic evaluation of the economic consequences of investment in New York City’s subway system by differentiating between levels of investment and type of economic benefit. The team compiled a detailed dataset of transportation and economic indicators by zip code tabulation areas and used a variety of statistical techniques—including matching analysis—to better isolate the effect of transportation improvement. Their findings have implications for how best to prioritize the investment of limited public funds available for transportation infrastructure. |
Capstone Course
Enhancing Holistic Road Safety in Tanzania
Client
World Bank - Africa Region Urban and Risk Management
Faculty
Paul Smoke
Team
Rachel Gichinga, Elizabeth James, Lisanne Pueschel
| The World Bank is a global financial institution that issues loans to countries for development programs. The Tanzania Strategic Cities Project (TSCP) of the World Bank aims to improve the access and quality of basic urban services by financing investments in the urban infrastructure of the country’s secondary cities. The World Bank engaged a Capstone team to complement implementation support of the TSCP by assessing holistic road safety and public space networks in selected project cities. The team’s fieldwork in Arusha and Dodoma included interviewing stakeholders—including government staff, nonprofits, and community members—and visiting local parks, roads, and schools. The team also researched the primary and secondary dimensions of road safety, best practices, and case studies related to pedestrian-friendly urban design elements. Their research culminated in a final report recommending strategies and practices that enhance road safety and stakeholder engagement. |
Capstone Year
Exploring Bus Fragmentation in Queens
Client
TransitCenter
Faculty
Sarah Kaufman
Team
Michelle Forrest, Daniel Francis, Jennifer Kim, Makenna Olson, Firnalia Putri
| TransitCenter is a New York-based national transit advocacy foundation. TransitCenter is at the forefront of bus advocacy across American cities, publishing bus report cards in New York and identifying key public transit deficiencies experienced by riders. TransitCenter engaged a Capstone team to assess and identify challenges to bus riders posed by the territorial division between the two subdivisions of the MTA that operate bus service in Queens: New York City Transit and Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Bus. The team explored bus service fragmentation and the operations of the bus network throughout Queens as part of a broader network design analysis. The team also analyzed bus route data and evaluated potential revisions to decades-long transit corridors to address existing bus route service inadequacies and inconsistencies. The team provided recommendations to address gaps in service, key transfer points, and scheduling conflicts. |
Capstone Course
Capstone Year
Enhancing the Connectivity of the Prospect Expressway
Client
Office of the Brooklyn Borough President
Faculty
Michael Keane
Team
Sebastian Coss, Brent Ginsberg, Caroline Peri, Eftihia Thomopoulos
| The Prospect Expressway was originally constructed to link central Brooklyn with the Gowanus Expressway and the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Despite its aim of enhancing connectivity, the expressway cut through a formerly cohesive community, isolating pedestrians traversing the adjacent neighborhoods of Windsor Terrace, Park Slope, and Sunset Park. The Office of the Brooklyn Borough President worked with the Capstone team to engage the community, local elected officials, city and state agencies, and subject matter experts to develop a roadmap to prioritize future investment along the corridor. The team assessed existing conditions, researched best practices for treatments of similar roadways, and analyzed outcomes from a community visioning workshop. The team presented a final report that incorporated conclusions based on their research and analyses, a summary of stakeholder engagement, and proposed recommendations on how to improve transportation along the corridor. |
Capstone Course
Capstone Year
Substantiating Car Platform Data Value in City Planning
Client
Dash Labs
Faculty
Sarah Kaufman
Team
Muhammad Daud, Rigel Jarabo, Ariel Kaputkin, Joanna Simon
| Dash Labs, an NYC-based startup, publishes the Dash app, which connects to cars and makes driving smarter, safer, greener, and more affordable. With nearly 400,000 downloads since the app launched in 2014, the platform collects real-world data from drivers around the world. Aiming to demonstrate the value of their data in city planning, Dash Labs engaged a Capstone team in creating visualizations and policy recommendations based on vehicle usage data within the five boroughs of NYC. By overlaying the Dash Labs data with NYC open data, the team evaluated various Vision Zero projects, including the NYC campaign to reduce the default speed limit on city streets to 25 MPH. The team substantiated the value of Dash Labs’ data through their findings, demonstrating that real-time data can aid in prioritizing and evaluating the success of initiatives—such as pedestrian safety—and highlighted policy recommendations and approaches that cities can take to best utilize this data. |
Capstone Course
Capstone Year
Improving Transportation Processes for Veterans
Client
United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA Center for innovation)
Faculty
Bob Criscuolo
Team
Elissa Mojtahedi, Andrea Pratt-Anglin, James Sternheim, Stephanie York, Falis Yusuf
| The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides patient care and federal benefits to veterans and their dependents. The VA faces the daily challenge of providing transportation for patients to access healthcare. The current transportation process leads to missed appointments, reduced access to care, increased risk of negative health outcomes, and decreased veteran satisfaction and trust. The VA engaged a Capstone team in investigating strategies to improve its transportation processes. The team conducted market research and an environmental scan of 22 VA transportation sites. The team’s conclusions were threefold: transportation availability impacts healthcare access, insufficient performance measures are captured on patient transportation, and transportation accessibility must be integrated into the clinical process. The team provided a report to the VA that included the conclusions and these additional recommendations: standardize the transportation process across sites, implement the automated system “Vetride,” and consistently collect and report key metrics to measure outcomes and promote continuous improvements. |
Capstone Year
A New Vision for New York City Transit with NYCT President Andy Byford
©Olivo: Courtesy of NYU Photo Bureau