Deliverables
Output maps were created for each optimization algorithm, with census tract centers determined both geographically and weighted by population density. The final maps are shown below.
All of our optimization and evaluation algorithms can be found in the project GitHub repository. Click below to navigate to them!
Conclusion
This study explores the potential for improvement that lies within the new metro plan and shows that even minor adjustments can significantly increase ridership and improve the lives of St Louisans who use it as their main form of transport. This study highlights and explores what is currently widely known about inequities in St Louis in great spatial detail by operating on three different socioeconomic variables at a tract-level resolution. While the output of the optimization algorithms was a set of metro plans that are largely unrealistic, they all held common patterns that give insight into how the current proposed plan could be improved. For example, the optimal plans were centered with respect to longitude, shifted a few miles west of the proposed plan. Additionally, maps of socioeconomic weights and development districts show more higher need in the north. This need is not addressed in the proposed plan. Given the layout of the East-West metro line and the fact that a strong motivator for the North-South metro line is to provide transport to the new National Geospatial Agency facility, it is unsurprising that the North-South plan has not been fully optimized on equity. This study presents metrics for measuring equity of plans that show that the proposed plan could be tweaked in small ways that could be massively impactful while still retaining its original purpose and reaching points of interest. Algorithms and metrics from this study can also be used as tools for the future planning of additional metro lines in St Louis.