Socioeconomic Inequality on Virginia Roads at the Census Tract Level

About the project:

Socioeconomic inequality is a pressing concern that our society grapples with, as its mitigation enhances group cohesion, social mobility, and long-term economic growth. Prior studies have reported more fatalities and injuries in disadvantaged neighborhoods. This leads to a research question of how socioeconomic disparities relate to crashes on Virginia roads. An earlier research project in Virginia examined county level trends from 2013 to 2020 using crash data, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) data, American Community Survey demographic data, and county health rankings and roadmaps. That study was able to correlate some socioeconomic factors with crash frequency, such as income and percent of college graduates.  There was concern, however, that using county level data may mask some underlying trends given wide variabilities in demographics within a county.  This phase of the research will investigate these trends at the census tract level to gain a better understanding of more localized effects.

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