Health Equity

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Transportation Data

Access to reliable, affordable, safe transportation options is fundamental to healthy communities. Lack of transportation can impact a person’s ability to access healthcare services; healthy foods and other necessities; and steady, well-paying jobs. Developing appropriate transportation options, such as walkable communities, bike lanes, and accessible public transit, can contribute to improving the health of the community. more

Purpose

To assess Rhode Island's progress towards advancing health equity, as part of the Rhode Island Health Equity Measures.

Key Information

Measure Index score that reflects the affordability of transportation for renters
Data Source US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Low-Cost Transportation Index
Strata Census tract, city/town
What this measure means The data for this measure are available as an index that estimates transportation costs for a three-person, single-parent family at 50% of the median income for renters in the region. The index percentile ranks neighborhoods, where communities with higher index scores have lower transportation costs. Estimates are created using the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Location Affordability Index data. The data for this measure are available in an interactive map by PolicyMap. The value of the indicator is a percentile ranking from 0 to 100, where a higher ranking indicates lower transportation costs for that neighborhood.

Key Findings

  • Census Tracts 8 and 9 in Providence and Census Tract 152 in Pawtucket have the highest ranking, and therefore, the lowest transportation costs.
  • Census Tracts 131.01 in Glocester, 209.03 in East Greenwich, and 207.01 in Coventry have the highest transportation costs (lowest ranking).
  • Using an estimated average ranking for Census tracts in each city and town, Newport, Providence, and Central Falls have the lowest transportation costs (highest ranking), and Scituate, Glocester, and Foster have the highest transportation costs (lowest ranking).