Neighborhood Walkability: A Look at Northwest Denver
This map shows the results of a walkability analysis for two census tracts in northwest Denver. The purpose is to compare a census tract with a strong presence of SNCD's to one with a weaker presence. This analysis is a pilot project and may eventually be expanded to cover the entire city.
Seven categories of neighborhood amenities that could conceivably be contained in an SNCD are evaluated. The categories are grocery stores, convenience stores, retail stores, restaurants, services (eg. barbers), entertainment venues, and schools/daycares. You can find the NAICS codes for these categories on page 11 of this PDF.
Each property parcel is symbolized according to whether or not these services can be accessed by sidewalk within a half mile distance. The darker and redder the color, the more services can be accessed. The idea is to see if all the places someone would want to go in their daily life are within walking distance of their residence.
Map Explanation
Sum of Categories
There is a lot going on with this map. At it's core are property parcels symbolized with hues of light yellow to dark reddish-brown. By default, these parcels are symbolized to show how many of the the seven neighborhood amenity categories can be accessed within a 1/2 mile walk. For example, one property parcel may have one school, five retail outlets, and two restaurants within walking distance. The value for that parcel would be three, because three categories are represented.
Amenities within Categories
The symbology of the parcels also be changed to show the number of establishments within each of the individual amenity categories as well. To do this click the blue layers button at the bottom of the map. Deselect "Sum of Categories" and check the box of one of the other categories. These other symbology options show a count of the number of amenity locations accessible to each property parcel via a 1/2 mile walk. BE SURE TO ONLY CHECK ONE AT A TIME. Otherwise they will overlap and obscure each other.
Map Legend
To understand the symbology of all the items on the map, click on the green legend button at the bottom. Notice the scroll bar. The neighborhood amenities are symbolized as various shaped and colored points. The census tracts that contain the parcels under analysis are shown as two black squares. The red buffer contains every neighborhood amenity within a half mile of any of the parcels under analysis. SNCD outlines are shown in green.
Parcel Values
At the bottom of the legend box are the values for the parcel colors. This will change depending on what is selected in the Layer List. For the Sum of Categories, the numbers represent a count of the categories accessible to each parcel. For all other layers, the numbers represent a count of the number of establishments accessible to each parcel. Again, you should only have one item checked in the layer list at a time.
Clicking on the parcels will also yield a pop-up containing attribute information, including the counts for each category.
Other Map Functions
The rest of this map's functionality is the same as the former two. Click on the “Streetcar Routes” sidebar tab above and read its sidebar to learn about that functionality.
Analysis Background
Amenity Characteristics of the Census Tracts
This map is centered on two census tracts in northwest Denver, outlined as black squares. The northern tract contains an Exceptional Main Street and a Quality Cluster on 32nd street. There are also SNCDs nearby but outside the tract on Tennyson, 32nd Street, Eliot, and 29th. The southern tract has one Corner Store SNCD in it's boundaries and is also proximate to ones at Eliot and 29th.
Both tracts benefit from amenities located on Federal Boulevard but the southern tract has significantly more on it's portion of Federal. The northern tract benefits additionally from amenities on 38th Avenue. Overall the northern tract has a slight advantage in terms of adjacent arterial road amenities with about 65 while the southern tract has about 53.
Methods
The methods I used for this analysis can be read about starting on page 10 of this PDF.
Results
Below are the average number of amenities accessible within 1/2 mile per parcel by census tract. Green shows that the tract has more amenities relatively, red means that it has less.
Northern Tract Averages
Sum of all Categories 5.55
Grocery 0.10
Retail 16.1
Restaurants 23.02
Convenience Stores 0.95
Services 9.90
Entertainment 2.38
Schools and Daycares 1.98
Southern Tract Averages
Sum of all Categories 4.94
Grocery 0.28
Retail 6.66
Restaurants 8.30
Convenience Stores 0.60
Services 4.25
Entertainment 0.85
Schools and Daycares 2.71
It is clear from these results that the northern tract largely has better access to neighborhood amenities save for grocery stores and schools. The effect of the SNCD's are clearest in the restaurant, retail, and service categories.
Story Map Conclusion
This Story Map application looked at the history of the Denver's streetcars, their effect on the urban form of the city today, and the role that legacy plays in the walkability of one of Denver's neighborhoods.
Today most American cities, including Denver, are highly automobile dependent. This state of affairs creates many negative externalities. They include high traffic fatalities, pollution, loss of community social capital, captive driving, and health problems. The City and County of Denver has recognized this and has set goals to reduce this dependency.
By learning from our history and studying its remnants on the landscape, we can make progress in this direction. We can see how the SNCDs developed in tandem with the streetcar to inform the planning of modern Transit Oriented Developments. We can look at the distribution of SNCDs across the city in order to plan for new ones in neighborhoods that are lacking walkable, accessible, commercial centers.
It is my hope that this Story Map will help us learn more about the history of Denver before it became car dependent, that the information it presents will be useful in planning a better Denver for the future.
Capstone Project Report:
My MSGIS Capstone Project Report is available here for more details about the background, content, and creation of this Story Map.
Contact: rwk005@gmail.com