Analysis of Transportation Modes to Work in Boulder by Racial Demographics
This piece conducts an analysis using the US Census API data on the relationship between the racial demography and various modes of transportation to work in Boulder, Colorado. While traditional analyses have actually felt inclined towards the connecting of poverty or income to the employment data directly, in this case, the potentially revealing relating of race, socio-economic factors, and transportation choices.
The data outlines the modes of transportation used by the Black and White populations in Boulder. Some of the means include working from home, carpooling, driving alone, walking, and public transport. This will allow for adjusting the direct raw counts of proportions with differences in the size of the population of the two demographic groups when taken in tandem and then compared, providing hence a clearer picture.
The bar graph indicates the different means of transportation the white population uses. Most obviously, it can be said that people mainly either take a car on their own or just walk, and there are very few who tend to carpool or take other vehicles like bikes and motorcycles.
While a majority still worked from home or walk, proportionally there is a much larger amount of people that either walk, carpool, or take public transport.
Comparing the two populations, a profound disparity in the means of transportation is noted. On the contrary, the proportion of White alone drivers is far bigger than the proportion of the Black alone population. It may reflect socio-economic differences or differences in residential zoning to job locations.
This comparative bar chart indicates very clearly the differences between the means of transport used by the Black and White population in Boulder. This indicates that a large percentage share walking and public transport use by Black people than by White people, who majorly drive alone.
Discussion
Potential Causal Factors The observed differences in the use of mode of transport between these two groups can, in fact, be explained by various reasons:
Economic Status: Higher income levels makes one own a car, hence influencing the preference of driving alone. Residential Patterns: Areas with a predominant White population may be more linked to road infrastructure suited for private cars, while public transport could be predominant in areas where the Black population is higher.
Employment Types: The correlation of the white-collar and workplace location in all likelihood will act as an important factor in influencing choices in transport. White-collar jobs, normally located where they can be reached by private vehicles, are prone to be more common for Whites than for minorities.
The association between racial demographics and modes of transportation shows values that might prove a strong relationship between the two — with coefficients of over 0.2 in the cases of driving alone and utilizing public transportation. While not a cause and effect relationship, the indicated socio-economic factors and urban planning policies likely explain the causation leading to these patterns.
Conclusion
The data points to a clear association not only between race and transportation mode choices but also to the underlying causal factors that have bearing to socio-economic status and infrastructure. Future research could build on these by adding other independent variables, such as income levels, job locations, and car ownership rates, for an even more complete understanding of those dynamics.
