Bike Sharing + Land Use by Jake Rueter

Given the recent implementation of the Divvy bike-sharing system in Chicago and the rise of similar bike-sharing programs throughout North America, this project investigates the relationship between land use and bike-sharing ridership in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Nice Ride MN). The justification for focusing on Nice Ride MN is twofold. First, a robust body of data exists describing the system’s usage during the year 2011. Second, Nice Ride MN was one of the first bike-sharing systems to be implemented in the United States. This project breaks Nice Ride MN’s 2011 station locations into tiers based on ridership and surveys the types of land use present within a ¼ mile radius of each station’s location. The average land use mix surrounding each tier is then calculated and summarized with the objective of uncovering patterns that may show a connection between certain types of land use and increased levels of ridership.

Tier 1

Tier 4 SF DET SF ATT MF RES MU RES OFFICE

Tier 2

Tier 5 RETAIL MU COM IND MU IND INST

Tier 3

WATER PARK UNDEV HWY

Tier 6 RAIL

Masters of Urban Planning and Policy Candidate Geospatial Analysis and Visualization Certificate University of Illinois at Chicago

Under the Hood | Ridership Tiers + Nearby Land Use Data

Land Use | An Uncertain Relationship

About the Project

Bike Sharing + Land Use

Jake Rueter

This project began with the collection of data from the Metropolitan Council’s MetroGIS DataFinder system. Once the necessary data had been collected, it needed to be trimmed and properly visualized according to cartographical standards. The map to the right displays land use types in both Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Since land use was one of the core variables at the center of this investigation, it was important to complete this step of the project first. In addition, this part of the project provided context and familiarity with the two cities at the core of the investigation.

Agricultural

Mixed Use Industrial

SF Detached

Airport

Mixed Use Residential

Undeveloped

Extractive

Multifamily

Water

Golf Course

Office

Industrial and Utility

Park, Recreational, or Preserve

Institutitional

Railway

Major Highway

Retail and Other Commercial

Mixed Use Commercial

Single Family Attached

Source: MetroGIS DataFinder | NAD83 UTM 15N Transverse Mercator | Jake Rueter, 2013

After coding regional land use into my map and trimming it to include only Minneapolis and Saint Paul, I split the Nice Ride stations into 6 tiers of ridership based on trips taken in the year 2011 using the Natural Breaks method. These tiers would form the basis for my investigation into any potential links between land use and bike sharing usage. At this point I began to notice trends in the types of land uses that were located around the different station tiers. In addition to establishing the tiers, I created a ¼ mile buffer around the stations to lay the foundation for my next step.

Nice Ride Minnesota Ridership by Station, 2011

The final step that I completed required me to extract the land uses within ¼ mile of each station and to split them up based on their ridership tiers. I used a variety of different Geoprocessing tools to complete this part of my analysis, and exported data that provided me with the area of each parcel and its land use code. Using this data, I was able to determine the average land use mix within a ¼ mile radius of each station tier. Using these values, I developed the graphics to the left, providing a clean, simple interpretation of the relationship between bike sharing and land use.

Nice Ride Minnesota Ridership by Station, 2011

Nice Ride MN Ridership

37 - 461

1225 - 2208

3375 - 5462

462 - 1224

2209 - 3374

5463 - 9843

Source: MetroGIS DataFinder; Nice Ride MN | NAD83 UTM 15N Transverse Mercator | Jake Rueter, 2013