Manhattan Transit Accessibility Mapping

Summer 2025
Parametric Modeling
Shortest-Path Calculation
Urban Data Visualization

Tools:
Python: (Data Preparation & Wrangling)
Rhino + Grasshopper (Data Modeling & Visualization)

Flow Chart

Datasets

1. NYC Subway Station Location Data (geojson)
Source: NYC.gov NYC 3D Model by Community District
Use: For Locating subway station as points

2. NYC Pedestrian Street Network Data
Source: OpenStreetMap
Use: For creating street network for distance calculation

3. Manhattan Building Footprint Data (geojson)
Source: NYC OpenData BUILDINGS
Use: For building geometry generation

4. Manhattan Building Height Data (csv)
Source: NYC OpenData BUILDINGS
Use: For building geometry generation

5. Manhattan Building Volume Data (csv)
Source: NYC OpenData BUILDINGS
Use: For calculating weighted average on building floor area

Outcome & Statistics

Statistical Summary:

Average Walking Time:
5.132 min
Median Walking Time:
4.687 min
Maximum Walking Time:
21.18 min
% of buildings with
Less than 5 min:
55.40%
Between 5 and 10 min:
39.45%
More than 10 min:
5.15%

Regional Analysis

Lower Manhattan has the highest concentration of subway stations, while the East Village has the lowest. Almost all of the buildings in financial district is withint 3 minutes of walking time to the station, while majority of the buildings in East Village requires up to 20 minutes of walking time to the nearest subway station.

Midtown shows a clear contrast between the densely served central area and the less connected waterfront zones. Due to the concentrated subway stations in the commercial districts, residential regions are underprivileged for transit access.

Upper Manhattan shows most even distribution of subway stations. Majority of the buildings are withint 15 minutes walking time to the station, even for buildings closer to the waterfront.