Economic Effect of Active Transportation Features and the Association Between the Healthcare Industry and Transportation

The goal of this project is to help INDOT determine the economic effects of active transportation features, the impact of transportation infrastructure on the healthcare industry, and to explore a potential relationship between active transportation and healthcare. To capture the details thoroughly, the analysis was done at a macro and micro level. We identified relevant attributes based on existing studies and captured the county-level data for these attributes from public sources. A regression analysis was performed at the macro-level to understand relationships and trends. In the micro-view, the analysis aimed to investigate the impact of active transportation investments on business growth and the impact of transportation investments on trip patterns and healthcare growth at a granular level of ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs). Large-scale datasets were analyzed to extract key metrics, which were tested for changes due to investments in the region. A Difference in Differences (DID) model was used to analyze causal effects, and trends of individual ZCTAs were analyzed against their corresponding demographics. Insights were developed and recommendations were made to INDOT based on the analysis regarding macro trends and factors impacting the transportation features. Practical recommendations for transportation investments and their corresponding effects were provided to INDOT based on the micro analyses.