Case Study: Lindbergh Station, Atlanta

Lindberg Center is a heavy rail station in Atlanta, Georgia, that serves Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)’s Red and Gold lines. The station opened to service in 1984, and then was rebuilt in the year 2002. Since 2000, the area around the station was developed as a Transit Oriented Development by investment from MARTA.

Here we look at the population density, commuting and vehicle ownership data in and around the neighborhood. ACS 2010 and 2019 data along with census track boundaries of Fulton County from years 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010 have been used. For 1980, 1990 and 2000 data: Steven Manson, Jonathan Schroeder, David Van Riper, Tracy Kugler, and Steven Ruggles. IPUMS National Historical Geographic Information System: Version 17.0 nhgis0001_ds120_1990_tract (‘Persons’ ) and nhgis0002_ds123_1990_tract (‘Means of Transportation to Work’). Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS. 2022. http://doi.org/10.18128/D050.V17.0

Please turn off layers so as to view a single year’s data in each map, and click on census tracks to see additional information.

Population Density

Red tracks have the lowest densities while the blues have the highest. While a slow growth can be seen in population density from 1990-2000 immediately around the station, a more obvious increase in population is visible in a wider area around the station between 2000 and 2019.

Percentage of Public Transit Commuters

The percentage of public transit commuting trips made by the residents around the station increased steadily between 1980 and 2000, but saw a decline in the decades that followed. The public transit use for commuting trips made by the residents in Fulton County overall fell steadily through out the 4 decades.

Vehicle Ownership

Percentage of workers who didn’t have access to a vehicle was significantly lower around the station then its surrounding census tracts in 2010, however, car ownership increased both around the station and overall in Fulton County in the following decade.