New York City is often analyzed given the wealth of data available and its status as a global metropolitan center. Many capstone projects have focused on using NYC open data to tackle challenges in transportation, public health, housing, education and more.
In terms of transportation, projects have studied optimizing bus and subway routes using ridership data. This can help the MTA understand what changes could reduce overcrowding and wait times. Other projects focus on optimizing bike lane placement to encourage biking as a greener commute option. Still others analyze pick-up/drop-off data from taxis and rideshares to understand congestion hotspots and propose policy solutions.
When it comes to public health, air quality and disease spread are frequently studied. Researchers have mapped asthma hospitalization rates against air pollution levels and vehicle traffic volume across NYC neighborhoods. This helped identify who is disproportionately impacted.COVID-19 tracing and forecasting projects also gained attention given NYC’s early status as a global epicenter. Analyzing case data, sick leave usage, and mobility patterns aided response efforts.
Housing is another common topic area. Projects profile affordable housing needs over time using data on new builds, affordability programs, rent price trends and more. The goal is advising where development can better match community requirements. Gentrification and displacement risks are also assessed at the neighborhood level using census data. This type of research guides more equitable development strategies.
Education projects often analyze standardized test scores, graduation rates, absences, meal programs participation and other metrics at the school level. Spatial mapping reveals performance disparities across ZIP codes. Recommendations target resources toward underperforming areas or schools with the highest needs student populations.
Moving beyond NYC, Chicago is a frequent subject for its wealth of data and ongoing urban issues. Transportation optimization projects analyze Divvy bikeshare usage, CTA ridership trends and congestion hotspots. This aims to cultivate multi-modal options. Public safety studies map crime rates against socioeconomic factors to understand root causes and guide community-based prevention.
Education projects profile school performance, funding levels, advanced course offerings and more at fine-grained geographic units. This exposes inequalities between neighborhoods. Gentrification risk analyses use indicators like rent price jumps, property value increases and demographic shifts over census tracts.
When it comes to LA, transportation projects are common given the extensive traffic challenges. Studies analyze patterns in Metro ridership, congestion hotspots, scooter and bike share usage trends. This aids first-mile last-mile connectivity and curbing sole occupancy vehicles. Air quality often comes under the microscope too since smog impacts public health at neighborhood scale.
Projects also focus on housing insecurity and homelessness. Data on shelter populations overtime, relative rent burdens across districts, and incomes vs housing costs are analyzed. This guides policy and programming to stabilize the most vulnerable. Access to green space is another issue frequently explored using park access measures and socioeconomic factors.
Beyond these three mega-cities, many state and regional capstone projects interrogate issues through a data-driven lens. For example, projects focus on optimizing rural transit routes in Wisconsin or analyzing broadband access gaps across Utah cities and towns. Massachusetts projects profile vaccine uptake and telehealth utilization during COVID across demographic groups. Transportation usage is assessed in Nevada resort communities.
This response detailed how New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and beyond have commonly been analyzed topics in data-driven capstone projects. A wide range of urban issues are interrogated using open data to better understand challenges and advise solutions. While transportation, public health, housing, and education are frequently explored—every region and community offers distinct ongoing questions that can benefit from analytics.