The introductory Urban Development Workshop course places incoming Urban Affairs students in the role of consultant to one of a wide range of non-profit, academic, or city agencies in order to examine and critically analyze a specific urban phenomenon. In the fall of 2013 I worked with a group of fellow students in analyzing the efficiency of rail travel to New York’s metro core for Professor Jen Nelles, a Hunter UAP professor and researcher with the International Metropolitan Research Consortium (iMRC).

The report involved conducting a comprehensive online and face-to-face commuter survey with riders of the Long Island Rail Road, Metro North, New Jersey Transit, Amtrak, and PATH train. Issues examined included various efficiency measures utilized by each rail line, inter-agency collaboration, and riders’ geographic perceptions of what constitutes the New York Metro Area.

The report was conducted and written in collaboration with Samantha Chiafalo, Arturo Garcia-Costas, Tyler Farrar, and Milagros Ruiz. Special thanks to professors Jill Gross and Jen Nelles of the Hunter UAP department.

Exploring the Efficiency of Rail Transit into the New York Metro Core (PDF)

All content copyright © Chris Barrett 2014 unless otherwise credited.