Welcome to Halatyn GIS, an informative site with a simple analysis of some land use changes around train stations over a period of 7 years from 1995 to 2002. As a project for my GIS in Health and Planning class at Rutgers University, I have chosen to explore the land use changes within a 2.5 mile buffer around 4 stations along New Jersey Transit’s Northeast Corridor Line. I have chosen a large city, Newark, a medium sized city, New Brunswick, Metuchen, a small town, and the Hamilton train station, an intermodal complex with bus service and access to Interstate 295. The cities in this study as well as the Northeast Corridor Rail Line are seen below.
The purpose of examining the land use changes in these areas is to see if there is an expansion of transit oriented development (TOD) or transit-proximate development. These terms refer to the planning concept that dense, mixed used development should occur in very close proximity to nodes of public transportation, therefore reducing sprawl and reliance on the automobile. A change from single unit housing to mixed use or dense residential within a close proximity to the station could indicate a possible step in the right direction. It is important to examine this data and insure that we are taking steps to redevelop and redesign our cities and neighborhoods in a more efficient, pedestrian and environmentally friendly fashion.
