A GIS Analysis of Sidewalk Infrastructure in Starkville, MS

Abstract

Sidewalks provide many community services, yet not much geospatial research exists regarding sidewalks, especially in Mississippi. The purpose of this thesis was to use geographic information systems to inventory and map sidewalks for Starkville, MS and to compare sidewalk availability and quality to 2010 US census block demographics. In Starkville, sidewalks served 28% of the census block population, which classifies the city as “Car-Dependent” according to a Walk Score criteria. Majority minority census blocks and majority white census blocks had similar proportions of sidewalks. However, 97% of “Excellent” quality and 64 more sections of ADA compliant sidewalks were within majority white census blocks or commercial census blocks. Residential census blocks, especially majority minority blocks, have 26% less connectivity and an overall less dense sidewalk network. Starkville sidewalks have greatly improved since initial construction, but it seems that the current sidewalk infrastructure still reflects historical settlement and zoning patterns.