Effects of LA Metro Lines on Surrounding Neighborhoods

Public transportation is a vehicle for urban mobility. This movement has had a measurable impact on different communities and has had different expressions across varying areas. I explore the effects Los Angeles Metropolitan stops have on their environment. I use U.S Census Data and GIS software to find tracts within a given distance of stops on the E and L Line extensions to look at their characteristics and how they change before and after the stop is opened through the years 2010-2019. Using a difference in difference model, I estimate the average treatment effect having a stop within walking distance has on home values and find that a stop has a -5% average effect (statistically significant at 5%) on the value when comparing years before and after the stop opened in 2016. Year over year, we see a decrease in the treatment tracts after the stop is opened. This underlines the effect public transportation has on its environment