Death on the Crosswalk

Abstract

This research explores the spatial distribution of pedestrian-automobile collisions in Los Angeles and analyzes the social and physical factors that affect the risk of getting involved in such collisions. More specifically, this study investigates the influence of socio-demographic, land use, density, urban form, and traffic characteristics on pedestrian collision rates. We first provide an exploratory spatial and statistical analysis of pedestrian collision data in the city of Los Angeles to identify preliminary relationships between the frequency of collisions and socio-demographic and land use characteristics at the census tract level. This aggregate level analysis points to major concentrations of pedestrian collision data which are used at a second stage of the research for more qualitative and detailed analysis of specific case studies of intersections with high frequency of pedestrian collisions.