Affordability index GIS site

A very interesting webpage uses some GIS technology to map the cost of housing and transportation. Here is the link to the Atlanta data. The basic maps show cost as a percentage of median income, but the advanced tabs really have some interesting data.

For example, the Transit Connectivity Index shows just why lots of folks don't use MARTA. Vast stretches of the city have only one or two bus routes within walking distance (the two lightest colors on the map).

It would be patently unfair to compare ATL to NYC, where everything in the city seems to be have greater than 9 transit stops within walking distance. But even a city noted for sprawl like L.A. seems to do a much better job with transit, certainly within the core city.

Also, the fact that James has had such a good experience with MARTA might have something to do with the fact that there are 4 to 9 transit routes within walking distance of his house. I have to admit that I hardly ever use MARTA, although I have in the past. The fact that there are only 2 routes (the 16 and the 45, I think) within walking distance of my place might affect this.

This also brings me to something I was reminded of the other day when chatting with James. When I was at U of M, I took the AATA to class every day when I lived where I couldn't walk. I took the bus even in the dead of winter when I had to jump over brown snow drifts on the side of the street to get to the bus stop. I started taking the AATA because it was free for U of M students, and all I had to do was flash my ID card. Surely GSU could work something like this out with MARTA, right?