Title: What You Get Is What You See: Typology of Data Visualization Tools for Strengthening

Title: What You Get is What You See: Typology of Data Visualization Tools for Strengthening Travel Data Analysis and Reporting

Background: Sharing technical transportation data results in ways that both inform and enhance understanding can be challenging. GIS and other data visualization tools can be especially effective in analyzing, mapping, displaying and reporting transportation data because much of what is typically used in planning applications is spatial in nature. This project will produce a typology,or systematic classification of data visualization tools and an assessment of how these tools can best be used by local agencies and state transportation departments to enhance the analysis and sharing of travel data, including journey-to-work characteristics, travel demand modeling results, travel time dataand mode choice information to assist in policy analysis and in sharing information with decision makers and the public.

Statement of Urgency: Recent TRB and AASHTO sponsored conferences on “Using Census Data for Transportation Planning Applications” and “Critical Data Needs for State and Metropolitan Decision Making” identified the need for more effective data visualization methods to share technical data results with partners and constituencies. Additionally, The FHWA Visualization Working Group is currently working on a Visualization Study with Volpe to analyze visualization functional requirements and then to develop recommended actions to take to help the organization meet visualization goals. One of the many recommendations that is being made is to support a transportation data visualization spotlight web wiki, this parallel, leveraged work would inform that and vice versa. Furthermore, while the TRB Committee on Visualization highlights “Data” as a goal area, little to no work has yet been done on collecting relevant examples to guide and inform the transportation analysis community.

Project Objective: This project will produce a report that showcases and explainsa typology of tools that can be employed for effectively analyzing, displaying and reporting travel and flow data. It will include a summary of the kinds of travel data that are typically used in transportation planning applications and what tools might best assist in analyzing, displaying and reporting each of the types of data and applications.

This project will produce a reportthat includes:

A typology of data visualization tools
A listing of the kinds of travel data typically used in transportation planningapplications
An assessment of what tools work best for analyzing, mapping, displaying, reporting and sharing the different types of travel data identified
Examples of how others have used data visualization tools to effectively share data along with brief descriptions of the data used and how the data were manipulated or integrated with other sources, and how the data visualization was created.
Links to additional information and reports

Relationships to Existing Body of Knowledge: Increased use of geographic information systems (GIS), and other graphic display technologies have the potential to significantly enhance the sharing of technical travel data trends and characteristics. They can make the data come alive and speak to the public, to technical analysts, and to policy decision makers in ways that enhance understanding

For example, in the 1990’s FHWA developed and printed a “Census Mapbook” showing a variety of GIS applications using census data. The project stimulated the use of GIS by MPOs and state transportation agencies. There are other recent examples of effective use of data visualization tools to share travel demand model results, travel flows, commuting sheds, accessibility to transit, and comparisons of travel by time of day, and work trip departure times.

This project will work with AASHTO SCOP, the CTPP Oversight Board, FHWA, and TRB data and visualization committee representatives to identify good practices andrepresentative examples of data visualization tools to more effectively display travel data for reference and use by state and MPO transportation planners and analysts.

List of Anticipated Work Tasks:

Conduct a search of published papers, reports and examples of data visualization, and interview technical experts to collect a typology of data visualization tools, (This could include a mix of public transportation applications and examples both from private sector utility representatives who have similar interests in displaying spatial networks and use/flow data and effective, analogous, data visualization examples from outside of the travel data domain)
Assess the pros and cons of different data visualization tools and match the commonly used data, information and applications with the tools that would be most useful in analyzing, displaying, mapping and reporting travel trends
Confer with AASHTO SCOP, the CTPP Oversight Board, TRB data and visualization committee representatives and key industry stakeholders to identify areas that hold the most promise for data visualization and evolving technology trends that can further enhance the state of the practice
Develop a report outlining the results of the research that can be used by state and local transportation planners and analysts

Cost: $100,000

Estimated Time to Complete the Research: 12 months

Proposers:

Jonette Kreideweis, consultant (retired MN DOT)

Alan Pisarski, consultant