An assessment of Metro’s Westside Subway Extension Presented by: Tamanna Rahman PP 224A Winter 2012 Midterm

 Sept Metro releases DEIR/EIS  Extends Purple line from Wilshire/Western to the Westwood VA  Project area:  most densely populated urban corridor  Main centers of employment in SoCal  Expected completion date: 2022 (earliest)  Winter/Spring 2012 – FEIR/EIS to be released Subway-to-the-Sea…well sort of

 UCLA HIA Project and LADPH submit joint 18-pg comment letter  HIA Report  How proposed Westside subway project and transit alternatives will impact public health  Provides recommendations

Obesity/overweight due to both lack of physical activity and poor nutrition In LA County: 15.1% of adults consume fruits and vegetables per day 40% of adults eat fast food at least once a week (possibly is higher depending on location) Source: Data source: CHIS

35.9% of adults are overweight (BMI 25-30) Source: % of adults are obese (BMI > 30) 22.9% of children in grades 5, 7, & 9 are obese (BMI above the 95 th percentile In Los Angeles County… Data source: LAHealthNOW,,UCLA Mapshare, AmericanFactFInder

Housing expenditures that exceed 30% of household income is conventionally viewed as an indicator of a housing affordability problem. More spent on housing (and even transportation) means less available for discretionary spending (food, health care, recreation…) Data source: Social Explorer/ACS, UCLA Mapshare

Impact of rent on disposal income is compounded by the fact that these are the same areas where the majority of the population are near poverty or low- income. Lower income neighborhoods tend to have fewer grocery stores and an abundance of fast food restaurants and convenience stores compared to higher- income neighborhoods. Data source: Social Explorer/ACS, Network for a Healthy California, UCLA Mapshare

Supermarkets within walking distance may foster access to and consumption of fresh, healthful foods while simultaneously serving as destinations that encourage PA Near poverty as measured by qualification for TANF (temporary assistance for needy families – food stamps, housing assistance…) Data sources: Social Explorer/ACS, Network for a Healthy California, UCLA Mapshare

Create new routes, increase service or re-route buses to better serve low-income residents who need access to grocery stores. (Hartford, CT) Use TOD and new development in already built-up urban areas to attract grocery stores as tenants. (Washington, DC) Organize weekly farmers markets at transit stop (Vermont/Wilshire station)

 Geoprocessing  Clip  Buffer  Geocoding (supermarkets, farmers markets, fast food locations)  Custom shapefile creation  Proposed subway route and stations  Food environment (supermarket, farmers markets, fast food)  Inset map  Aggregating attribute fields  aggregated annual household income data to highlight low-income populations in project area.  Boundary sub-set selection  created to highlight project area that is within ½ mile of subway stops  Selection by Location  Graduated symbols & colors, pie chart