Assessing Future Housing and Transportation Patterns in the City of Palo Alto | Week 8 Reflection11/17/2017
Current Progress
This week, our team finalized the analysis concerning paper survey data and are proceeding to write a comprehensive paper. For instance, out of the 50 ranking responses, 86 percent of individuals prioritized housing cost as one of their top three consideration when owning a home. However, we received zero positive comments on the housing market in Palo Alto, and overall, housing quality was ranked at around 19/100. Out of the 24 written comments, 13 of them were about housing being too expensive, and the rest were concerning transportation. This is definitely the most significant aspect of our research project. We are hoping to frame our final paper more towards housing than transportation due to the significance of collected data. People seem to prefer closely knit, cheaper neighborhoods with access to public spaces and commercial entities. For example, 93% of people mentioned that grocery stores were absolutely essential near their place of residence. This was followed by 67% need for open spaces, and 60% for restaurants. This does not mean they would prefer smaller, apartment type homes compared to single family homes. The citizens of Palo Alto want to vitalize more sustainable forms of transportation. This includes commuting via buses, trains, walking and biking rather than driving. Our survey found that 48% of employees drive to work whereas only 34% of them would prefer to drive (See figure 1). People would rather bike or walk to work. This preference is largely dependent on an individual’s proximity to work, and the walkability/bikeability of a city. Since locals and employees rated biking and walking in Palo Alto as 77/100 as compared to a 47/100 for driving, the distance is likely the limiting factor. Palo Alto is one of the most expensive cities in California to live in. More than two-thirds of Palo Alto’s employed individuals, which is twice the local population, live outside of the city limits. Very few individuals take advantage of the local bus systems. Roughly 7% of employees take a bus to work, and only 1.5% of all employees claimed it was their prefered form of commuting. The quality of the bus transit system was ranked around 50/100 due to a variety of factors. Many people said the bus system is too infrequent and doesn’t make its routes and times as readily accessible as the Caltrain. With the uncertainty in the bus system, people can’t afford to use it as a reliable means of getting to work everyday. When asked what people valued in bus transit, frequency, network connectivity, and overall driving range were all between 70-82/100. A more reliable and connected bus transit system could shift commuters away from automobiles. In preparation for our deliverables, our group began a side project entitled, Faces of Palo Alto. Based on the one on one interviews, we designed personal vignettes that are meant to represent the average citizen’s daily routines and concerns. Many of our stakeholders and speakers this quarter have addressed the need for a human element, or personal aspect in social justice projects. Asking why the average citizen would be interested in our work is essential. We believe that Face of Palo Alto will compliment the final research paper. Our group completed the first draft of our final paper. Our stakeholders requested a blend of an op-ed piece and a research paper. As a result, we have developed a research story with an exposition, methods, results, and a discussion section. We are currently waiting on feedback to improve the draft and begin working on our final presentation. We have also created a Google Maps document that shows the initial and final points of respondents’ commutes. Plans: As the online survey accumulates, our groups will being to finalize our figures and conclusions for our presentation. We just sent a rough draft paper to our stakeholders and are awaiting comments. We plan on meeting our stakeholders one last time after break to discuss our findings and paper before the presentation Lastly, our team is designing slides and meeting at least twice to rehearse our presentation for the December 6 conference. Issues and Discussion: We believe that the housing problem in Palo Alto has a simple solution: design cheaper, smaller, and denser housing units to reduce commute times and alleviate cost burdens. But like any social/economic planning project, and very much like the SF housing issue, initiating these housing projects will not be that simple. The citizens have expressed their interest in reducing costs, but also want larger, single family homes. The systemic issue is a belief that the ultimate residential goal in life is a large, single family home. This idea has to be shattered in the next few years for housing to thrive not only in Palo Alto, but the Bay Area as a whole. This is a classic tragedy of the commons mind set. People recognize their is a problem, but their own self interests outweigh the long term externalities. Based on our readings and interviews, we believe the elderly population will either suffer at the hands of increasing housing prices (being forced out in time), our continue to exacerbate the housing crisis by living the rest of their lives, in low taxed, protected housing. As for transportation, some people expressed a need for more predictable, frequent transportation regarding both buses and Caltrains. They would be more willing to take public transportation rather than automobiles if they knew they could get from home to work in a predictable, short amount of time. However, the majority of drivers refuse to give up the reliability of a car. Just due to their mobile lifestyle and need to visit sites for leisure rather than necessity, they will rarely use public transportation. Hopefully, as public transportation networks unify in the Bay Area, people will be more willing to take the extra time to travel via sustainable outlets to their destinations. All improvements to public transportation should ultimately lower congestion rates and raise the driving scores in Palo Alto. The hardest part of any research project is making the leap from analysis to implementation. We can observe and point out the issues, but ultimately, the policy makers and hopefully the citizens, will begin to push for real housing and transportation reform. Assessing Future Housing and Transportation Patterns in the City of Palo Alto | Week 7 Reflection11/10/2017
Current Progress
Our team distributed the final round of paper surveys. We visited the Stanford Shopping Center on Saturday and the California Avenue Farmer’s Market on Sunday. The Stanford Shopping Center venture was of particular interest because everyone we interviewed was a service worker. The individuals most likely to take a survey were those that had to wait in a single spot to wait on customers. Therefore, in the cumulation of our surveying, employees and Caltrain commuters were our most willing survey groups. We collected an additional 36 surveys over the weekend, bringing our in-person surveys to 77. People seem to have a knee-jerk dislike of surveyors. The majority of people we approached expressed a clear disinterest or were hesitant around complete strangers engaging them. Unlike many other survey programs, we were fortunate, especially in the California Avenue Farmer’s Market, to meet Stanford-affiliated staff and students that had empathy for our cause. Though we recognize that the general wariness is a fairly natural response, our team has developed a sympathetic attitude towards survey-based research, and will likely try to contribute to the a few of the in-person surveyors we encounter. The following section lists some general statistics we derived from the survey answers. Over 53% of all employed individuals drive to work (mostly solo), but more than 63% of individuals would prefer to bike, walk, and take public transit to work. 85% of individuals live in either apartments or single family households (split 40%, 45%). We managed to level our age demographic with the two trips this past weekend. Older generations seem to be less abundant in modern shopping centers and the California Farmer’s Market. Beforehand, close to 40% of our surveyed individuals, especially the residents that could give deeper insights into Palo Alto’s local housing situation, were older than 60. The lowest ranked form of transportation in Palo Alto was surprisingly driving (40/100), with public transit close behind (60/100). Not surprisingly, housing cost was the lowest ranked attribute in Palo Alto (18/100), with housing diversity close behind (40/100). In contrast, safety and commercial access were two of the highest ranked attributes (82/100). These results suggest people would like to see changes in the housing and transportation sector. Housing costs are too high to support a growing job market, and often lead to employees having to commute long distances. Over 80% of individuals noted housing cost as one of their top three considerations for living in a particular region. Quite a few individuals mentioned the need for higher density, lower cost housing units. However, the majority of individuals want a large residence with plenty of rooms. Over 90% of individuals requested easy access to a grocery store above other neighborhood attributes. The elderly had a slight preference for drug stores and libraries, likely a product of age associated health issues and disuse of modern reading resources respectively. These attributes show the importance for planners and citizen groups who use our data to understand the needs of the large age range in Palo Alto and possibly to adjust amenities based on the demographics of the city. Next Steps We are waiting to hear back from Adina and Elaine on the success (or failure) of our online surveys. Ideally, we would collect an additional 30-50 surveys from individuals of a younger demographic. While we are waiting on those results, our team is analyzing the survey data and noting relevant trends. We are trying to derive a more statistical way of analyzing written comments, but will likely categorize them into housing or transportation, complaints and compliments groupings. We are beginning to draft our final memo for Adina and Elaine, but are at a stand still until the final surveys arrive. As of now, we can only work on the methodology. However, we can also begin crafting our final presentation slides for December 6th. Assessing Future Housing and Transportation Patterns in the City of Palo Alto | Week 6 Reflection11/3/2017
Current Work
This past weekend, our group visited the Palo Alto Caltrain Station and the Giltelman Farmer's Market to deliver our housing/transportation surveys. We spent two hours at each site, distributing paper surveys, conducting interviews, and receiving feedback. In total, we collected 43 surveys and 10 personal interviews. While we gained valuable insight, the total number of individuals we surveyed was below our goal. As a result, our group is planning a second distribution venture this coming weekend (discussed below). From our observations, people understood the questions and rarely voiced criticisms concerning the survey itself. Our experiences with locals and commuters were interesting to say the least. Generally, the elderly were more willing to participate in our survey, and provide verbal feedback. At the farmer’s market for instance, older generations were more opinionated concerning housing and transportation issues. Caltrain individuals were more likely to participate in the survey because they were stagnant until the train arrived. Unfortunately, we did not prepare properly, and ran out of surveys in the first hour. All people seemed to be aware of the low housing variation and high housing costs in the Palo Alto. However, their survey answers suggested a preference towards larger, cheaper homes in walkable neighborhoods. Our literature review suggested the answers would be contradictory. Though most of the responses and interactions were predictable, we did observe interesting behavior in a few individuals. For instance, a man described his non-profit organization, which happened to be conducting similar research. Though he mentioned how difficult finding survey participants was, he refused to take our survey and left without providing any valuable information. Plans We met with Deland and Elaine last Monday to discuss project progress and next steps. The following section describes the tentative plan for the next few weeks leading into Thanksgiving break. This weekend, our team is distributing paper surveys at the Stanford Shopping Center, and the California Avenue Farmer’s Market. We are hoping to double our current dataset, and expand surveyed demographics. The mall event is scheduled for two hours on Saturday, followed by a Sunday morning excursion to the Farmer’s Market. By the beginning of next week, we will have finished our in-person surveys and have given the revised online survey to Adina and Elaine for email distribution. Between the paper surveys, online surveys, and personal interviews, we are hoping to have surveyed over 100 individuals. Our team will begin developing our final products. As we approach Thanksgiving break, we are processing the data and drafting a final article for Adina and Elaine. At the latest, we would like to submit a completed draft, with personal vignettes, to both our stakeholders before break. Predicted Issues Based on our survey data, we are concerned that we have not collected a representative data set from surveyed individuals. We cannot derive conclusions at this time, but most of our local residents are skewed towards elderly. Hopefully, our work this weekend will expand our age and employment demographics. Our stakeholders mentioned that the age and racial demographics in the Cal Ave. Farmer’s Market are different than our previous two sites. We understand that Palo Alto, on average, is split between the elderly and youth. However, the extreme ends of these demographics are unemployed, and may not be the most valuable information sources for developing Palo Alto’s housing and transportation network. Also, a lengthy 23 question survey requires rather complex data analysis. As a result, we will have to deliberate amongst ourselves and stakeholders to decide what significant trends are of concern. Are we more interested in housing and transportation preferences across age demographics, employment statuses, or housing and transportation types? Most of our data is segmented based on individual completion rates. The significance trends we identify for some questions may not be observed in other questions with few responses, or different demographics. Assessing Future Housing and Transportation Patterns in the City of Palo Alto | Week 5 Reflection10/27/2017
Project Update
This week, our team finalized our transportation and housing surveys. After meeting with Hillary last Wednesday, our team updated our written and online surveys to better reflect the concerns of people rather than researchers. Our questions were often too impersonal, and made the reader feel as if he or she were a number rather than a voice. This input, as well as the feedback given from numerous test-survey takers this past weekend allowed us to produce our final survey. We recently emailed Adina and Elaine on our survey progress, and they were thrilled to see the changes we had made in the past week. Our survey is 23 questions long, split into two sections. The first section is comprised of simple, multiple choice housing and transportation questions, as compared to the ladder section, containing more open ended, preference questions. We are realizing that the slightest variation in word choice can make or break a reader’s ability answer a question. Over the past two weeks, we have been refining our question types to eliminate any ambiguity or confusion. We recognize we cannot produce a perfect survey, that is both clear and unbiased. However, we believe that our final survey will at least provide usable, coherent data on housing and transportation in Palo Alto. Upcoming Plans Friday and Saturday, our team will head out to the Caltrain station and the Farmers’ Market to distribute the final paper survey. We plan on collecting the pop up park equipment from Elaine on Friday afternoon and setting up around the station 5-7PM. The following morning, we will setup at the market around 9AM. We are excited to finally interact with our stakeholders and community members, but are also eager to collect definitive data on housing and transportation preferences. We are also meeting with Adina and Elaine this Monday (30th) to discuss our surveying experience and begin to send the online surveys out on email servers. Predicted Issues Not everyone is interested in speaking to complete strangers on the street. In fact, their knee jerk reaction is often the opposite. Therefore, we are dressing and acting approachable to increase the likelihood of collecting data. This will include; pop-up park green spaces, Stanford shirts, and candy buckets. We want to come off as endearing and enthusiastic, rather than demanding or insincere. As our survey events progress, we will refine our tactics and develop a better understanding of engaging pedestrians. Even if we cannot collect physical data, we are interested in at least sharing our knowledge with the citizens and employees of Palo Alto. We will have information booklets summarizing the current housing and transportation situation around the city, as well as a reference to the Comprehensive Plan Update. When thinking about different demographics such as socioeconomic status and race, the specific areas where we are conducting our research may not be inclusive of these different groups of individuals. After our midterm presentation, we received feedback concerning the potential employment biases we were likely to encounter only surveying two sites. We are planning to survey people at the Palo Alto Caltrain Station and Farmers Markets on California Avenue. Individuals who ride the Caltrain typically are of a higher socioeconomic status, suggesting an inherent bias for higher income workers. Our team is working to find a way to incorporate the experiences and opinions of all individuals. A diverse input of opinions will be vital to making the City of Palo Alto more sustainable in regards to housing and transportation issues. Assessing Future Housing and Transportation Patterns in the City of Palo Alto | Week 3 Reflection10/13/2017
Current Activities
Our group has completed an intensive literature review of the papers provided by Friends of Caltrain and Palo Alto Forward. This included six blogs, eight reports, and two book references. The following section summarizes the relevant findings. All articles concerned housing issues, but varied between policy trends and housing preference surveys. In the survey articles, researchers found that more individuals want a larger house, and more walkable community. Unfortunately, the two preferences are often exclusive, with larger houses leading to sprawled, expensive, suburban neighborhoods, and walkability leading to higher housing densities. However, people of all ages generally preferred walkability over house size. They would be willing to live in smaller units, if the surrounding community resources were ideal. The articles found that people are more willing to walk in areas with lower vehicle activity, and more public transportation. This is the result of the cultural shift from the culture of the late 1900’s, which favored automotive-based suburban development, to that of the millennials and from the increase desire for the retiring adults of the Baby Boomers generation to move into smaller houses (Benfield). The housing shortage situation may improve over time as cities reevaluate their zoning plans and design neighborhoods with larger populations densities in mind. Regarding the policy articles, researchers suggested changes to CEQA, LEED, and other major zoning influencers to allow for improvements in existing infrastructure, and more multiunit housing projects. The Foot Traffic Ahead Report found that categorizing cities as suburban or urban is an outdated methodology. A city is comprised of walkable urban or drivable suburban regions. The report analyzed the top 30 urban cities in the US, and found that higher education and housing prices are significantly correlated to city walkability. The creation of these “regionally significant walkable urban places” (Leinberger 8) are essential to improving the quality of life and housing in Palo Alto; one major observation that particularly fit Palo Alto was that technology-based companies, for which the city is known for, are often the driving force of such development as these companies thrive off of the innovative and collaborative environment that walkable urban development creates (Leinberger). However, to ensure that this development results in dense walkable housing with a high quality of life, Palo Alto’s City Comprehensive Plan has shown the importance of improving pedestrian infrastructure, including bike lanes and the use of trees to create separation between roads and pedestrian sidewalks (United) Approximately 80% of homeowners in Palo Alto make more than $125,000 a year, and 80% of households are single family residential. The city is housed for the wealthy, but employs thousands of people from all income categories. Based on 2012 RHNA reports, the amount of multiunit complexes or low income housing being built in Palo Alto is far too low to accommodate population growth. A growth mind you, that has slowed from one of the largest in the state (13% in 2005) to one of the smallest (3%) due to low housing available and age splitting (mostly elderly or young individuals that do not breed live in Palo Alto, with 68% of households having neither in each category) (Richardson). California’s housing market has not recovered from the 2008 crisis. As a result, new housing permits are far lower than the growing population. Pre-2008 housing was projecting over 200,000 houses a year- in California, but has dropped to 100,000 as of 2015. After the literature review, all four of us met with Elaine and Adina after class to discuss survey questions. We mostly discussed upcoming work (found below), but also discussed our grasp of the readings. Elaine put us in contact with Tiffany Griego, the Planner for Stanford Research Park, important for its large role in employing many of Palo Alto’s workers. Since this area is a focus of our project, we will contact her for past survey data in the area, as well as use her input to design our survey questions. Based on the readings, our questions should concern housing, transportation, and community design. Upcoming Work We are preparing our survey questions for Palo Alto’s Planning Director by October 18th. This includes surveys of different lengths, as well as online versus paper versions. In preparation for the midterm presentation, our group will have to quickly summarize and add Gitelman’s comments to the slideshow and Scope paper. We will likely incorporate questions used in the articles we read; modifying them to be relevant to Palo Alto’s housing and transportation settings. The goal is to ask specific questions targeted towards individuals who commute in and out of the City of Palo Alto as well as individuals living within the city. We want to figure out what our interviewees think would be beneficial to their daily commute to and from work. We will conduct sample surveys the weekend of the 21st to evaluate the clarity in our questions. Members of our group have identified representatives from different walks of life, and will give them the sample survey to collect criticism. Based on the feedback, we will finalize our survey and run in-person trials the 28th and 29th of October. As of now, we will survey three sites in person; CalTrain Station, Farmers’ Market, and University Avenue. We feel these three sites represent a diverse samples size, with the first specifically catering to those dependent on transit, but are willing to explore other options if our data collection is limited. Elaine has generously provided a popup park tool kit to make us seen approachable in public. Predicted Issues Adding the excess criticism given by the Planning Director on the day of the midterm will likely be a challenge, as we have exactly 30 minutes from when the meeting ends, to when class starts. At least two of the four of us will be modifying the PowerPoint while we are in the meeting to maximize available time. Another issue is sample bias. Specifically, we are collecting site data on Halloween Weekend. This may lead to a spike in single family homeowners (with their kids) that are quite happy with their current living situation. We are hoping the large influx of commuters through the CalTrain Station will give us an equivalent concentration of non-local housing preferences. |
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