By Sara Kidd, Senior Regional Planner
Team HRPDC/HRTPO took home first place in the 3rd Annual Hampton Roads Datathon hosted by CivicLab Norfolk, an agency that promotes data-informed decision making and transparency for the community. The event brought together 13 teams from local government agencies, colleges/universities, and others to create and share projects relating to the theme of “Infrastructure.” During the week of October 21-25, 2024, teams decided on a project idea, analyed data, and put together a presentation and display. The projects were judged on the use of data, adherance to the theme, and potential impact of the project in the greater community. The final day of the competition was held at Norfolk’s Slover Library where teams presented their work in a five-minute overview for four judges.
Team HRPDC/HRTPO’s project was entitled “Shady Stops: Surveying Tree Canopy at Bus Stops through Community Input.” The Team analyzed tree canopy coverage and urban heat island (UHI) severity data to identify which bus stops could be prioritized for improving shade conditions. There are approximately 3,200 bus stops in Hampton Roads in total between the four transit authorities: HRT, WATA, Suffolk Transit, and Bay Transit (Gloucester).
One of the most interesting findings was that over 85% of bus stops in Hampton Roads do not have any tree canopy coverage and that 25% of the bus stops are located in high or severe UHI areas. The final map identified 132 bus stops that have no tree canopy and are also in the high or severe UHI areas, creating a potential list of priority bus stops to evaluate for shade mitigation. A public survey was also proposed to provide crowdsourced data on the actual status of shade at the bus stop and identify the preferences of transit users.
HRPDC/HRTPO’s team members are: Vikas Chhillar (Transportation Data Analyst), Emma Corbitt (Resilience Planner), Nikki Johnson (Regional Economist), Sara Kidd (GIS, Data, and Analytics Manager), and Tho Tran (Senior Regional Planner). The top prize included the Hampton Roads Datathon Championship Belt – now displayed proudly in the HRPDC lobby for a second time. Team HRPDC won the first Hampton Roads Datathon in 2022.
For further details on the project, view the StoryMap or the latest Hampton Roads Economic Monthly report.