Building Equitable Safe Streets for All: Data-Driven Approach and Computational Tools
Roadway safety improvement in low-income and ethnically diverse communities in the United States has long been a major concern. This research is defined to addresses this issue by developing a data-driven approach and computational tools to quantify the equity issues in roadway safety. Particularly, we explore two important research questions: (1) What is the relationship between road infrastructure and communities’ socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and how can it be associated with traffic safety in low-income, ethnically diverse communities? and (2) What type of driver behaviors and characteristics affect the crash risks in underserved communities? This study employs data from Houston, Texas, one of the most diverse cities in the United States. We, first, build an inclusive road infrastructure inventory database by employing remote sensing and image processing techniques. Then, the research team investigates the relationship between communities’ socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and traffic safety through the lens of road infrastructure characteristics. To uncover the role of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the driver on road safety, we run an aspatial analysis to find the potential association between residing in low-income communities and road crashes. The results of this research shed light on the inequity in road safety among communities. Also, this project intends to assist the stakeholders in the development of a data-driven action plan toward making the goal of zero deaths possible in the City of Houston.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $320000
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Contract Numbers:
69A3551747115
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Sponsor Organizations:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
University Transportation Centers Program
Department of Transportation
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Managing Organizations:
Safety through Disruption University Transportation Center (Safe-D)
Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
Blacksburg, VA United States 24060 -
Project Managers:
Glenn, Eric
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Performing Organizations:
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI)
400 Harvey Mitchell Parkway South
Suite 300
College Station, TX United States 77845-4375 -
Principal Investigators:
Dadashova , Bahar
- Start Date: 20210901
- Expected Completion Date: 20230531
- Actual Completion Date: 0
- USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Data analysis; Demographics; Infrastructure; Low income groups; Socioeconomic factors; Traffic safety
- Geographic Terms: Houston (Texas)
- Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01779824
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Safety through Disruption University Transportation Center (Safe-D)
- Contract Numbers: 69A3551747115
- Files: UTC, RIP
- Created Date: Aug 25 2021 11:23PM