The following post and data visualization is by guest bloggers Daniel Chiang and James Froehlich, highlighting their project for Prof. Harmon’s Economics service learning class).
This project conducted a survey of the modes of transportation access used by commuters (students, staff and faculty) to the Uconn Stamford Campus in Fall 2015. The survey was conducted during the last 3 weeks of the Fall semester.  Of the 290 Survey Respondents, 213 are undergraduates, which represents 15% of the total Uconn Stamford undergraduate enrollment in Fall 2015.

Our preliminary analysis is focused on the undergraduate students.  We found that 50% of the undergraduate respondents drive to campus.  The drivers primarily use I-95 (46%), 15% use the Merrit, 43% commute via local roads. For 38% the average trip length is 25+ miles one-way.

Across all modes of transportation, for 44% the average length of time for a one-way trip to campus is 40 to 60 minutes, and for 16% the commute time is more than 1 hour.   52% of the undergraduate respondents average four trips to campus per week, and 22% average 5 trips.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”Student-survey-of-transportation”]

(The following post and data visualization is by guest bloggers Patrick GIll, Robert Roig III, and Ryan WIlliams , highlighting their project for Prof. Harmon’s Economics service learning class).

This visualization depicts the prices for permit parking amongst rail station parking lots in Southwestern Connecticut. The data includes rail stations from Greenwich, CT to Greens Farms (Westport), CT. It includes monthly permitted lots as well as those that have annual permits. This visualization gives the ability to look at an individual parking lot’s permit price or all of the parking lots’ prices at once. In order to view an individual lot, select the lot in its respective dropdown filter and select “null” in the other dropdown filter. You also can compare all the monthly or annual lot prices by selecting all in the respective dropdown filter and selecting “null” in the other dropdown filter. The goal of this visualization was to help compare an individual lot’s permit price with that of the other lots by visually showing the lots’ prices side by side to see where a lot’s price sits with the rest of the market.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”Railroad-parking-utilization”]

This visualization depicts the utilization of parking at rail station parking lots and garages in Southwestern Connecticut. The data includes rail stations from Greenwich to Greens Farms (Westport). The data shows the number of empty spaces vs. total number of spaces at each parking lot. The figures are based on utilization counts (performed on different days of the week in 2015.) In order to view parking utilization at an individual lot, select the lot name in the dropdown filter. This will show you total spaces (Green) and empty spaces (Red) at that lot. If you select the “All” option in the dropdown filter, the visualization will show the total sum of all parking spaces in our data set as well as the total number of empty spaces in our data set. The goal of this visualization was to help show how many unused spaces there are at rail station lots which in turn could spark new ideas in order to maximize utilization of rail station parking.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”railroad-space-pricing”]

(The following post and data visualization is by guest blogger Emily Wilson, highlighting her project for Prof. Harmon’s Economics service learning class).

With the growing size of the aging population in Connecticut, this project highlights  the resources available for this population.  Senior Centers and nursing facilities are scattered throughout the state, with the highest concentrations in the Connecticut River valley.

Future analysis could delve deeper into to the needs of the citizens in the smaller towns, which only offer either a nursing facility or a senior center to ensure that the senior population is receiving a sufficient amount of services.  Additionally, future analysis could also include the proportion of seniors residing in each town in relation to the number and extent of services provided.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”Resources-for-seniors”]

The data used in this visualization was acquired from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2009-2013 American Community Survey on Work Status in the Past 12 Months by Age by Employment Status for the Civilian Population 65 Years and Over. Each value represents the estimated amount of citizens in each age group who are either employed of unemployed.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”Work-status-for-population-65-and-over”]

The data collected for poverty levels in Vernon, Connecticut, indicates that a majority of the population is living above a 200% of the poverty level. The remainder of the population is split similarly between a 100%-200% poverty level and below the poverty level. On average, poverty is more prevalent in single parent households than in households where both parents are present. The data was drawn from the American Community Survey 2009-2013 5-year estimates tables for Population Under 18 Years by Age and Poverty Level for Vernon. This data may be useful in future studies of community characteristics.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”Vernon-viz-1″]

The information represented was drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 1-Year American Community Survey on Grandparents. Each value represents a percentage of an age group who composes each category. This data may be useful in the observation of grandparent demographic information for Connecticut.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”grandparent-info”]

The data represented was drawn from the American Community Survey 2009-2013 5-year estimates tables for Employment Status by Age. The measured values represent a percentage of the total population within a given age group in the labor force, the percentage of the total population within a given age group that are employed, and the percentage of the total population within a given age who that are unemployed. Ages 16-54 saw decreases in employment rates between 2010 and 2013. Ages 55 and over saw increases in employment rates between 2010 and 2013.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”Employment-rate-by-age”]

The data used for this visualization was acquired from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates on Comparative Demographic Estimates. The measured values represent the percentage of the total population comprised of each given age group from 2010 to 2014. The total population has seen small fluctuations in size between 2010 and 2014. While age group 5-years and below have experienced decreases between 2010 and 2014, age groups 55-years and older have seen increases in total population composition between 2010 and 2014.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”Population-age-distribution”]