Several recent developments in the Boston Metro Area inspired this research. First, the map below outlines the population changes throughout the area from 2000-2010 with a generalized increase in regional Boston's population. The addition of several thousand new residents to the city will require greater monitoring to see which parts of the transportation system are taking the brunt. Congestion and inefficiencies create lag time for public transportation and generate traffic that hamper the economic success of the city. Boston also remains one of the most expensive cities to be a homeowner, requiring a salary of $80,050 to be a viable candidate in the real estate market. With an increase in population to the area and continuously increasing rental and home prices, developers are trying to capitalize on this market upswing.

 

Particularly, Boston's large-scale, mixed-use development within

the Seaport District has added unforeseen levels of traffic and poses

concern that continued congestion may reduce the economic success

of this capital project. In that vein, this research deals with the

interrelatedness of the transportation network and real estate

markets by assessing the potential usage of public transportation

within localized regions and the variations in average sale and

assessment prices. This project was originally going to focus on

the Seaport District's necessity to alleviate congestion exclusively,

but the abundance of spatial data allowed me to broaden my analysis

and look for subtle spatial patterns in the Boston Metro Area.

 

My goal is to offer real estate developers, city planners, and

the like poignant analysis to better understand the spatial patterns 

throughout the Boston Metro Area and to target optimal areas for

transport-oriented real estate investment. I offer a holistic approach

by assessing both transportation and property values separately and then using spatial joins of the data to conduct combined analysis. The map below shows an overview of Boston's transportation network including the major roadways, all active freight and passenger train lines, and nodes representing both MBTA Rapid Transit Stops as well as MBTA Parking Lots located at commuter rail stops. By the conclusion of my analysis, I hope the reader will have a better understanding of Boston's transportation context and how that affects the local populations and prices.