Census Blocks Within Half a Mile of Commuter Rail

What follows is the transcript of this chat as State Planner generated it. It is here to show how the answer above was arrived at: every query State Planner ran, what each one returned, and where the data came from.

People	Housing units	Households
28,783	17,490	15,680
28,180	8,224	7,228
23,328	9,235	8,393
21,808	14,158	12,891
20,011	7,045	6,572
18,455	8,876	8,393
18,172	7,548	7,185
17,212	10,472	8,580
16,491	6,067	5,670
15,466	5,497	5,168
15,085	5,527	5,157
14,246	6,849	6,342
13,019	6,192	5,664
12,094	5,207	4,910
11,420	4,969	4,625

Station	People	Housing units
	57	24
	110	24
	146	19
	152	60
	215	108
	247	153
	286	102
	287	116
	306	106
	314	136

transcript.md

↑ Contents

State Planner chat · https://stateplanner.com

State: Massachusetts (MA)
Started: November 15, 2026, 2:04 AM UTC
Runtime: 1 min 1 sec
Status: completed

Prompt

How many people and homes are within half a mile of each Massachusetts commuter rail station? Map the census blocks.

Model: Anthropic: Claude Opus 5.5 (anthropic/claude-opus-5.5, via openrouter), high effort

Response

About 699,000 people and 307,000 homes are within half a mile of at least one of Massachusetts's 144 MBTA commuter rail stations. That's roughly 10% of the state's 2020 population (7.03 million) and 10% of its housing units (3.0 million). The counts are from the 2020 census, by block, and are counted once even where two stations' circles overlap. Of those homes, 285,000 were occupied.

Census Blocks Within Half a Mile of Commuter Rail

Map legend

Shaded blocks: the 8,441 census blocks within half a mile of a station, colored by homes per acre: light grey for no homes, then pale peach (under 2 per acre) through deep plum (40 or more per acre). Click a block for its nearest station, distance, population, homes and households.
Blue outlines: a half-mile (805 m) circle around each station.
Purple dots: the stations. Click one for its own half-mile totals.

Most people within half a mile (2020 census)

Station	People	Housing units	Households
Back Bay	28,783	17,490	15,680
Ruggles	28,180	8,224	7,228
Lansdowne	23,328	9,235	8,393
North Station	21,808	14,158	12,891
Four Corners/Geneva	20,011	7,045	6,572
Porter	18,455	8,876	8,393
Lynn Interim	18,172	7,548	7,185
South Station	17,212	10,472	8,580
Uphams Corner	16,491	6,067	5,670
Talbot Avenue	15,466	5,497	5,168
Morton Street	15,085	5,527	5,157
Malden Center	14,246	6,849	6,342
JFK/UMass	13,019	6,192	5,664
Boston Landing	12,094	5,207	4,910
Haverhill	11,420	4,969	4,625

Fewest people within half a mile (2020 census)

Station	People	Housing units
Freetown	57	24
East Taunton	110	24
Grafton	146	19
Cohasset	152	60
Wachusett	215	108
Bourne	247	153
Kingston	286	102
Rowley	287	116
Foxboro	306	106
Hanson	314	136

What the numbers show

The highest totals are at stations in Boston and the inner ring: Back Bay, the Fairmount Line stops in Dorchester and Mattapan, Lynn, Malden and Porter. Outside Boston, Haverhill, Lowell, Waltham and Lawrence each have 9,500–11,400 people nearby. The lowest totals are mostly at park-and-ride stops near highways and at outer-end stations.
Some totals include a lot of people in dorms. Across all the catchments, 42,700 people live in group quarters, 32,100 of them in college housing. That's why Ruggles (Northeastern area) and Bridgewater (4,079 people but only 480 homes) have far more people than homes.

How these were counted

Stations: the 144 commuter rail stations in the MBTA's feed in the National Transit Map. They include the newer South Coast Rail stations (Fall River Depot, New Bedford, East Taunton, Freetown, Church Street) and the CapeFLYER stops (Bourne, Buzzards Bay, Hyannis). Rhode Island stations aren't included, and neither are Amtrak-only stops. The data has no schedules, so these figures say nothing about how often trains stop.
Half a mile is a straight-line 805 m from the station point, not a walking route. A block counts in full if the Census Bureau's interior point for it is inside that distance, so blocks cut by the edge are counted all or nothing.
Accuracy: the housing unit counts are exact. The population and household counts have statistical noise added by the census for privacy, so the per-station totals are reliable but a single block's figure isn't.
Overlap: per-station totals overlap where stations are close together, such as Back Bay and South Station or the Fairmount Line stops. Adding up the station rows would count the same people more than once; the ~699,000 total above counts each block once.

If you'd prefer walking distance along the street network, a different radius, or each block split between its nearest stations, I can rerun it that way.

Exploratory Queries

Query 1 — See which feeds and stop types carry rail (route type 2) service.

   SELECT feed_id,
          ntd_id,
          location_type,
          count(*),
          min(stop_name),
          max(stop_name)
     FROM ma_ntm_stops
    WHERE 2 = ANY (route_types)
 GROUP BY 1,
          2,
          3
 ORDER BY 1,
          3

feed_id	ntd_id	location_type	count	min	max
10003_1	10003	0	232	Abington	Wyoming Hill
10003_1	10003	1	144	Abington	Wyoming Hill
10003_1	10003	2	79	1 \| Atlantic Ave Dewey Sq Summer St	Woodland Rd
10003_1	10003	3	463	Auburndale	West Newton
10115_1	10115		3	Boston	Woburn Amtrak Station

data/turn-1-query-1.csv

Query 2 — List the MBTA commuter rail stations and check which fall outside Massachusetts.

   SELECT s.stop_id,
          s.stop_name,
          s.modes,
          s.wheelchair_boarding,
          st.stusps
     FROM ma_ntm_stops s
LEFT JOIN us_census_states st ON ST_Intersects(st.geom, s.geom)
    WHERE s.feed_id = '10003_1'
      AND s.location_type = 1
      AND 2 = ANY (s.route_types)
 ORDER BY st.stusps NULLS FIRST,
          s.stop_name

stop_id	stop_name	modes	wheelchair_boarding	stusps
place-PB-0194	Abington	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-NHRML-0127	Anderson/Woburn	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WR-0228	Andover	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WML-0252	Ashland	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NEC-1969	Attleboro	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WML-0102	Auburndale	["Rail"]	2	MA
place-FR-0361	Ayer	["Rail","Bus"]	2	MA
place-bbsta	Back Bay	["Subway, Metro","Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WR-0205	Ballardvale	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NB-0072	Bellevue	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FR-0064	Belmont	["Rail","Bus"]	2	MA
place-ER-0183	Beverly	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-GB-0229	Beverly Farms	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-DB-2222	Blue Hill Avenue	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WML-0035	Boston Landing	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-CM-0564	Bourne	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-WR-0325	Bradford	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-brntn	Braintree	["Subway, Metro","Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FR-0115	Brandeis/Roberts	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-MM-0277	Bridgewater	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-MM-0200	Brockton	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-CM-0547	Buzzards Bay	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-MM-0219	Campello	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-SB-0156	Canton Center	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-NEC-2139	Canton Junction	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA

25 out of 144 are listed here.

data/turn-1-query-2.csv

Query 3 — Count 2020 census people and homes in blocks within half a mile of each commuter rail station.

     WITH st AS MATERIALIZED(
             SELECT stop_id,
                    stop_name,
                    geom
               FROM ma_ntm_stops
              WHERE feed_id = '10003_1'
                AND location_type = 1
                AND 2 = ANY (route_types)
          )
   SELECT st.stop_name,
          count(b.geoid) AS blocks,
          coalesce(sum(b.pop_total), 0) AS pop,
          coalesce(sum(b.housing_units), 0) AS hu,
          coalesce(sum(b.housing_occupied), 0) AS hh
     FROM st
LEFT JOIN ma_census_blocks b ON ST_DWithin(b.internal_point, st.geom, 0.012)
      AND ST_DWithin(b.internal_point::geography, st.geom::geography, 805)
 GROUP BY st.stop_name
 ORDER BY pop DESC

stop_name	blocks	pop	hu	hh
Back Bay	227	28783	17490	15680
Ruggles	159	28180	8224	7228
Lansdowne	158	23328	9235	8393
North Station	184	21808	14158	12891
Four Corners/Geneva	148	20011	7045	6572
Porter	177	18455	8876	8393
Lynn Interim	115	18172	7548	7185
South Station	212	17212	10472	8580
Uphams Corner	151	16491	6067	5670
Talbot Avenue	120	15466	5497	5168
Morton Street	127	15085	5527	5157
Malden Center	124	14246	6849	6342
JFK/UMass	89	13019	6192	5664
Boston Landing	110	12094	5207	4910
Haverhill	118	11420	4969	4625
Chelsea	129	11337	4240	3975
Lowell	133	11111	4378	4030
Waltham	112	10907	5296	4955
Roslindale Village	96	10523	4612	4381
Lawrence	83	9516	3470	3285
Swampscott	108	9443	3753	3562
Oak Grove	76	9052	4084	3847
Blue Hill Avenue	96	9025	3576	3362
Wyoming Hill	98	8832	4140	3965
Salem	132	8457	4804	4462

25 out of 144 are listed here.

data/turn-1-query-3.csv

Query 4 — Total the unique people and homes within half a mile of any station, without double counting overlapping catchments.

     WITH st AS MATERIALIZED(
             SELECT geom
               FROM ma_ntm_stops
              WHERE feed_id = '10003_1'
                AND location_type = 1
                AND 2 = ANY (route_types)
          ),
          blk AS (
             SELECT DISTINCT b.geoid,
                    b.pop_total,
                    b.housing_units,
                    b.housing_occupied,
                    b.pop_group_quarters,
                    b.pop_gq_college
               FROM st
               JOIN ma_census_blocks b ON ST_DWithin(b.internal_point, st.geom, 0.012)
                AND ST_DWithin(b.internal_point::geography, st.geom::geography, 805)
          )
   SELECT count(*) blocks,
          sum(pop_total) pop,
          sum(housing_units) hu,
          sum(housing_occupied) hh,
          sum(pop_group_quarters) gq,
          sum(pop_gq_college) college,
          (
             SELECT sum(pop_total)
               FROM ma_census_blocks
          ) state_pop,
          (
             SELECT sum(housing_units)
               FROM ma_census_blocks
          ) state_hu
     FROM blk

blocks	pop	hu	hh	gq	college	state_pop	state_hu
8441	699167	307312	285192	42656	32140	7029917	2998537

data/turn-1-query-4.csv

Map Layer Queries

Census blocks within ½ mile (homes per acre, 2020) — colored by "cls": No homes (#e6e6e6), Under 2 homes/acre (#fde0c5), 2–5 homes/acre (#facba6), 5–15 homes/acre (#f59e72), 15–40 homes/acre (#e05c5c), 40+ homes/acre (#8b1e5b)

     WITH st AS MATERIALIZED(
             SELECT stop_name,
                    geom
               FROM ma_ntm_stops
              WHERE feed_id = '10003_1'
                AND location_type = 1
                AND 2 = ANY (route_types)
          ),
          pairs AS (
             SELECT DISTINCT ON (b.geoid) b.geoid,
                    b.geom,
                    b.pop_total,
                    b.housing_units,
                    b.housing_occupied,
                    b.aland_m2,
                    st.stop_name,
                    ST_Distance(b.internal_point::geography, st.geom::geography) AS d
               FROM st
               JOIN ma_census_blocks b ON ST_DWithin(b.internal_point, st.geom, 0.012)
                AND ST_DWithin(b.internal_point::geography, st.geom::geography, 805)
           ORDER BY b.geoid,
                    d
          )
   SELECT geom,
          geoid AS "Block",
          stop_name AS "Nearest station",
          round(d) AS "Distance to station(m)",
          pop_total AS "Population 2020 (noise-protected)",
          housing_units AS "Housing units",
          housing_occupied AS "Households",
          round((housing_units::numeric / NULLIF(aland_m2, 0) * 4046.86), 1) AS "Homes per acre",
          CASE
                    WHEN housing_units = 0 THEN 'none'
                    WHEN housing_units::numeric / NULLIF(aland_m2, 0) * 4046.86 < 2 THEN 'lt2'
                    WHEN housing_units::numeric / NULLIF(aland_m2, 0) * 4046.86 < 5 THEN '2to5'
                    WHEN housing_units::numeric / NULLIF(aland_m2, 0) * 4046.86 < 15 THEN '5to15'
                    WHEN housing_units::numeric / NULLIF(aland_m2, 0) * 4046.86 < 40 THEN '15to40'
                    ELSE '40plus'
          END AS cls
     FROM pairs

Picture: maps/turn-1-commuter-rail-half-mile-blocks.png

½-mile (805 m) station radius

   SELECT ST_Buffer(geom::geography, 805)::geometry AS geom,
          stop_name AS "Station"
     FROM ma_ntm_stops
    WHERE feed_id = '10003_1'
      AND location_type = 1
      AND 2 = ANY (route_types)

Picture: maps/turn-1-commuter-rail-half-mile-blocks.png

Commuter rail stations (MBTA)

     WITH st AS MATERIALIZED(
             SELECT stop_name,
                    wheelchair_boarding,
                    geom
               FROM ma_ntm_stops
              WHERE feed_id = '10003_1'
                AND location_type = 1
                AND 2 = ANY (route_types)
          )
   SELECT st.geom,
          st.stop_name AS "Station",
          s.pop AS "People within ½ mile(2020)",
          s.hu AS "Housing units within ½ mile",
          s.hh AS "Households within ½ mile"
     FROM st
    CROSS JOIN LATERAL (
             SELECT coalesce(sum(b.pop_total), 0) pop,
                    coalesce(sum(b.housing_units), 0) hu,
                    coalesce(sum(b.housing_occupied), 0) hh
               FROM ma_census_blocks b
              WHERE ST_DWithin(b.internal_point, st.geom, 0.012)
                AND ST_DWithin(b.internal_point::geography, st.geom::geography, 805)
          ) s

Picture: maps/turn-1-commuter-rail-half-mile-blocks.png

Used Data Sets

ma_census_blocks — last synced 2026-11-14 · 107,278 rows
ma_ntm_stops — last synced 2026-10-21 · 19,713 rows
us_census_states — last synced 2026-10-15 · 51 rows

data/turn-1-query-1.csv

↑ Contents

feed_id	ntd_id	location_type	count	min	max
10003_1	10003	0	232	Abington	Wyoming Hill
10003_1	10003	1	144	Abington	Wyoming Hill
10003_1	10003	2	79	1 \| Atlantic Ave Dewey Sq Summer St	Woodland Rd
10003_1	10003	3	463	Auburndale	West Newton
10115_1	10115		3	Boston	Woburn Amtrak Station

5 rows.

data/turn-1-query-2.csv

↑ Contents

stop_id	stop_name	modes	wheelchair_boarding	stusps
place-PB-0194	Abington	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-NHRML-0127	Anderson/Woburn	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WR-0228	Andover	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WML-0252	Ashland	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NEC-1969	Attleboro	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WML-0102	Auburndale	["Rail"]	2	MA
place-FR-0361	Ayer	["Rail","Bus"]	2	MA
place-bbsta	Back Bay	["Subway, Metro","Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WR-0205	Ballardvale	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NB-0072	Bellevue	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FR-0064	Belmont	["Rail","Bus"]	2	MA
place-ER-0183	Beverly	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-GB-0229	Beverly Farms	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-DB-2222	Blue Hill Avenue	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WML-0035	Boston Landing	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-CM-0564	Bourne	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-WR-0325	Bradford	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-brntn	Braintree	["Subway, Metro","Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FR-0115	Brandeis/Roberts	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-MM-0277	Bridgewater	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-MM-0200	Brockton	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-CM-0547	Buzzards Bay	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-MM-0219	Campello	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-SB-0156	Canton Center	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-NEC-2139	Canton Junction	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-chels	Chelsea	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NBM-0523	Church Street	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-GRB-0199	Cohasset	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-FR-0201	Concord	["Rail","Bus"]	2	MA
place-FB-0118	Dedham Corporate Center	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NBM-0374	East Taunton	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-GRB-0146	East Weymouth	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-FB-0109	Endicott	["Rail"]	2	MA
place-DB-2205	Fairmount	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FRS-0109	Fall River Depot	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FR-0494	Fitchburg	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-forhl	Forest Hills	["Subway, Metro","Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FB-0303	Forge Park/495	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-DB-2249	Four Corners/Geneva	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FS-0049	Foxboro	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WML-0214	Framingham	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FB-0275	Franklin	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FRS-0054	Freetown	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-GB-0316	Gloucester	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WML-0364	Grafton	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-GRB-0276	Greenbush	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WR-0085	Greenwood	["Rail","Bus"]	2	MA
place-PB-0281	Halifax	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-ER-0227	Hamilton/Wenham	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-PB-0245	Hanson	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-WR-0329	Haverhill	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NB-0109	Hersey	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NB-0076	Highland	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-MM-0150	Holbrook/Randolph	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-CM-0790	Hyannis	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-NEC-2203	Hyde Park	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-ER-0276	Ipswich	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FB-0125	Islington	["Rail"]	2	MA
place-jfk	JFK/UMass	["Subway, Metro","Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FR-0132	Kendal Green	["Rail"]	2	MA
place-KB-0351	Kingston	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-MM-0356	Lakeville	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-WML-0025	Lansdowne	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-WR-0264	Lawrence	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FR-0167	Lincoln	["Rail","Bus"]	2	MA
place-FR-0301	Littleton/Route 495	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NHRML-0254	Lowell	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-ER-0117	Lynn Interim	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-mlmnl	Malden Center	["Subway, Metro","Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-GB-0254	Manchester	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NEC-2040	Mansfield	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-WR-0067	Melrose/Cedar Park	["Rail","Bus"]	2	MA
place-WR-0075	Melrose Highlands	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-MBS-0350	Middleborough	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-MM-0186	Montello	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-GB-0198	Montserrat	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-DB-2230	Morton Street	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-GRB-0183	Nantasket Junction	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WML-0177	Natick Center	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-NB-0127	Needham Center	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NB-0137	Needham Heights	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NB-0120	Needham Junction	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NBM-0546	New Bedford	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-ER-0362	Newburyport	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-DB-2265	Newmarket	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WML-0081	Newtonville	["Rail"]	2	MA
place-FB-0230	Norfolk	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-ER-0208	North Beverly	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NHRML-0218	North Billerica	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FR-0451	North Leominster	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-GRB-0233	North Scituate	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-north	North Station	["Tram, Streetcar, Light rail","Subway, Metro","Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WR-0163	North Wilmington	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FB-0148	Norwood Central	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FB-0143	Norwood Depot	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-ogmnl	Oak Grove	["Subway, Metro","Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-portr	Porter	["Subway, Metro","Rail"]	1	MA
place-qnctr	Quincy Center	["Subway, Metro","Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WR-0120	Reading	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-DB-0095	Readville	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-ER-0099	River Works	["Rail"]	2	MA
place-GB-0353	Rockport	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NB-0064	Roslindale Village	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NEC-2173	Route 128	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-ER-0312	Rowley	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-rugg	Ruggles	["Subway, Metro","Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-ER-0168	Salem	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NEC-2108	Sharon	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-FR-0394	Shirley	["Rail","Bus"]	2	MA
place-FR-0147	Silver Hill	["Rail"]	2	MA
place-FR-0253	South Acton	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NEC-1919	South Attleboro	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-WML-0274	Southborough	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-sstat	South Station	["Subway, Metro","Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-PB-0158	South Weymouth	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-SB-0189	Stoughton	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-ER-0128	Swampscott	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-DB-2240	Talbot Avenue	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-DB-2258	Uphams Corner	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FR-3338	Wachusett	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WR-0099	Wakefield	["Rail","Bus"]	2	MA
place-FB-0191	Walpole	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-FR-0098	Waltham	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-CM-0493	Wareham Village	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-FR-0074	Waverley	["Rail","Bus"]	2	MA
place-NHRML-0073	Wedgemere	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WML-0125	Wellesley Farms	["Rail"]	2	MA
place-WML-0135	Wellesley Hills	["Rail"]	2	MA
place-WML-0147	Wellesley Square	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-WML-0340	Westborough	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-FR-0219	West Concord	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-GB-0296	West Gloucester	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-GRB-0162	West Hingham	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-NHRML-0055	West Medford	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-WML-0199	West Natick	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-WML-0091	West Newton	["Rail"]	2	MA
place-NB-0080	West Roxbury	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-GRB-0118	Weymouth Landing/East Braintree	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-PB-0212	Whitman	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-NHRML-0152	Wilmington	["Rail","Bus"]	1	MA
place-NHRML-0078	Winchester Center	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-FB-0166	Windsor Gardens	["Rail","Bus"]	2	MA
place-WML-0442	Worcester	["Rail"]	1	MA
place-WR-0062	Wyoming Hill	["Rail","Bus"]	2	MA

144 rows.

data/turn-1-query-3.csv

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stop_name	blocks	pop	hu	hh
Back Bay	227	28783	17490	15680
Ruggles	159	28180	8224	7228
Lansdowne	158	23328	9235	8393
North Station	184	21808	14158	12891
Four Corners/Geneva	148	20011	7045	6572
Porter	177	18455	8876	8393
Lynn Interim	115	18172	7548	7185
South Station	212	17212	10472	8580
Uphams Corner	151	16491	6067	5670
Talbot Avenue	120	15466	5497	5168
Morton Street	127	15085	5527	5157
Malden Center	124	14246	6849	6342
JFK/UMass	89	13019	6192	5664
Boston Landing	110	12094	5207	4910
Haverhill	118	11420	4969	4625
Chelsea	129	11337	4240	3975
Lowell	133	11111	4378	4030
Waltham	112	10907	5296	4955
Roslindale Village	96	10523	4612	4381
Lawrence	83	9516	3470	3285
Swampscott	108	9443	3753	3562
Oak Grove	76	9052	4084	3847
Blue Hill Avenue	96	9025	3576	3362
Wyoming Hill	98	8832	4140	3965
Salem	132	8457	4804	4462
Fairmount	105	8189	3316	3211
Quincy Center	91	8138	4290	4037
Bellevue	102	8116	3481	3374
Gloucester	111	8092	3958	3781
Bradford	79	7875	3225	3054
Beverly	111	7649	4247	3968
Fitchburg	140	7627	3429	3049
Hyde Park	95	7521	3098	2980
Forest Hills	78	7295	3667	3371
Brockton	91	7090	2849	2723
West Medford	109	6822	2905	2778
Melrose/Cedar Park	93	6791	3227	3089
Highland	98	6747	2832	2701
Framingham	68	6613	2758	2455
Waverley	83	6566	2797	2705
Worcester	127	6508	3174	2897
Melrose Highlands	85	6165	2699	2619
Newmarket	103	6112	2494	2171
Attleboro	108	6070	2883	2650
Campello	67	5903	2267	2126
Newtonville	82	5883	2683	2490
Norwood Depot	67	5800	2840	2758
West Roxbury	80	5746	2593	2443
New Bedford	105	5590	3115	2860
West Natick	45	5586	2535	2463
Fall River Depot	92	5439	2721	2408
Montello	61	5230	1875	1763
Weymouth Landing/East Braintree	82	5194	2247	2129
Wakefield	68	5110	2588	2467
Auburndale	74	4848	1699	1620
Natick Center	81	4805	2283	2142
Needham Heights	65	4722	1809	1761
Norwood Central	78	4610	2216	2119
Reading	79	4503	2020	1838
West Newton	84	4491	1710	1666
Windsor Gardens	28	4442	1933	1808
Stoughton	74	4344	1900	1763
Readville	63	4183	1668	1580
Bridgewater	24	4079	480	457
Brandeis/Roberts	45	4043	877	766
Endicott	60	4031	1502	1449
Belmont	66	3908	1359	1328
Franklin	43	3605	1324	1252
Hersey	56	3553	1140	1128
Wedgemere	61	3481	1191	1148
Mansfield	67	3378	1666	1591
Winchester Center	77	3378	1282	1235
Needham Junction	52	3296	1300	1230
Wellesley Square	54	3273	1580	1446
Ipswich	57	3252	1683	1598
Needham Center	69	3137	1145	1084
Greenwood	41	3127	1246	1219
Montserrat	49	3102	1299	1224
Church Street	62	2840	1229	1170
Canton Center	36	2775	1355	1282
East Weymouth	42	2766	1144	1102
Andover	45	2586	1307	1226
Islington	47	2550	906	840
Holbrook/Randolph	44	2506	824	802
Canton Junction	25	2474	1059	1036
Braintree	47	2422	1007	956
South Weymouth	23	2400	1198	1126
North Beverly	35	2306	884	840
Wellesley Hills	45	2174	746	724
Ayer	55	2166	1106	999
Whitman	33	2127	917	850
Rockport	28	2045	1187	979
Wellesley Farms	52	1992	672	638
Abington	25	1951	858	833
Concord	39	1935	863	812
Manchester	28	1917	967	866
Middleborough	29	1898	863	811
West Concord	41	1844	963	858
Hyannis	36	1770	848	759
Dedham Corporate Center	28	1708	823	783
North Billerica	25	1615	642	617
Hamilton/Wenham	39	1544	610	584
North Wilmington	16	1439	524	518
Sharon	26	1436	536	513
Ashland	11	1429	710	675
Wilmington	22	1381	559	544
Walpole	32	1335	931	663
Shirley	30	1322	622	571
Wareham Village	23	1206	669	599
River Works	22	1187	366	341
Beverly Farms	18	1174	547	521
Ballardvale	18	1166	436	411
North Leominster	35	1058	382	366
Halifax	11	1055	462	453
Buzzards Bay	53	1031	582	465
Southborough	17	968	326	319
South Attleboro	15	961	546	507
Silver Hill	19	957	325	319
West Hingham	11	949	343	325
Nantasket Junction	16	810	281	268
Route 128	20	622	377	355
Lakeville	21	613	344	300
Lincoln	5	613	278	265
Kendal Green	11	612	204	180
Newburyport	21	606	274	267
Norfolk	7	594	298	291
South Acton	14	540	211	207
Westborough	7	533	179	179
Anderson/Woburn	14	513	203	198
West Gloucester	11	513	203	194
North Scituate	13	473	211	199
Greenbush	12	384	153	151
Littleton/Route 495	11	365	86	85
Forge Park/495	14	315	121	110
Hanson	4	314	136	116
Foxboro	9	306	106	100
Rowley	11	287	116	109
Kingston	3	286	102	102
Bourne	19	247	153	119
Wachusett	16	215	108	108
Cohasset	8	152	60	52
Grafton	6	146	19	17
East Taunton	8	110	24	19
Freetown	10	57	24	24

144 rows.

data/turn-1-query-4.csv

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blocks	pop	hu	hh	gq	college	state_pop	state_hu
8441	699167	307312	285192	42656	32140	7029917	2998537

1 row.

maps/turn-1-commuter-rail-half-mile-blocks.png

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provenance/ma_census_blocks.md

↑ Contents

Provenance: `ma_census_blocks`

This file describes how the rows in PostgreSQL table ma_census_blocks were obtained from an external source: where they were fetched and how fields were renamed and typed. Field meanings are in the mapping table below.

Identity

Table: ma_census_blocks
Family: Census
Display name: Census Blocks (2020, Massachusetts)
Source URL: https://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/ (TIGER<year>/TABBLOCK20/tl_<year>_25_tabblock20.zip); https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl; https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/dhc
Geometry (source / stored): polygon / geometry(MultiPolygon, 4326)
Update cycle: Manual

Pipeline (Census family)

US Census Bureau sources, one row per 2020 tabulation block of Massachusetts.

Outlines — the state's TIGER/Line 2020 tabulation block shapefile, from the newest TIGER/Line release that has one, read with GDAL. Coordinates are taken as published (NAD83) and labelled EPSG:4326. Invalid polygons are repaired with ST_MakeValid.
Redistricting counts — Census API 2020 P.L. 94-171 file, by block, a request per county: tables P1 (total population), P2 (Hispanic or Latino, and not Hispanic by race), P3 (population 18 and over) and H1 (housing units by occupancy).
Characteristics — Census API 2020 Demographic and Housing Characteristics file, by block, a request per county: P12 (sex by age), P18 (group quarters population by sex, age and major type), H4 (tenure) and H5 (vacancy status).

Counts are joined to outlines on the 15-digit block identifier. A block the API returns no row for has no people and no housing and is stored with zeros. Before the table is published the load checks that every count has an outline, that every block the shapefile gives people or housing has counts, and that the statewide population equals the published 2020 census total.

A Census API key is required to fetch the tabular releases.

Field → column mapping

Source field	Column	Type	Description
GEOID20	`geoid`	varchar(15)	Block identifier: state+county+tract+block
GEOID20 (digits 1–2)	`state_fips`	varchar(2)	State FIPS, always `25` (Massachusetts)
GEOID20 (digits 3–5)	`county_fips`	varchar(3)	County FIPS code
GEOID20 (digits 1–11)	`tract_geoid`	varchar(11)	Census tract identifier
GEOID20 (digits 1–12)	`bg_geoid`	varchar(12)	Block group identifier
GEOID20 (digits 12–15)	`block_number`	varchar(4)	Block number within the tract
UR20	`urban_rural`	text	`U` → `urban`, `R` → `rural`
UR20	`urban_rural_code`	varchar(1)	`U` or `R`
UACE20	`urban_area_code`	varchar(5)	2020 census urban area code; NULL for a rural block
ALAND20	`aland_m2`	bigint	Land area, square metres
AWATER20	`awater_m2`	bigint	Water area, square metres
P1_001N	`pop_total`	integer	Total population
P3_001N	`pop_18_plus`	integer	Population 18 years and over
P2_002N	`pop_hispanic`	integer	Hispanic or Latino, any race
P2_005N	`pop_white_nh`	integer	White alone, not Hispanic
P2_006N	`pop_black_nh`	integer	Black or African American alone, not Hispanic
P2_007N	`pop_amind_nh`	integer	American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic
P2_008N	`pop_asian_nh`	integer	Asian alone, not Hispanic
P2_009N	`pop_nhpi_nh`	integer	Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic
P2_010N	`pop_other_nh`	integer	Some other race alone, not Hispanic
P2_011N	`pop_two_plus_nh`	integer	Two or more races, not Hispanic
H1_001N	`housing_units`	integer	Total housing units
H1_002N	`housing_occupied`	integer	Occupied housing units
H1_003N	`housing_vacant`	integer	Vacant housing units
P12_020N–025N + P12_044N–049N	`pop_65_plus`	integer	Population 65 years and over (the six oldest age groups of each sex)
P18_001N	`pop_group_quarters`	integer	Population in group quarters
P18_004N + 014N + 024N + 035N + 045N + 055N	`pop_gq_institutional`	integer	Institutionalized population (each sex's three age groups)
P18_010N + 020N + 030N + 041N + 051N + 061N	`pop_gq_college`	integer	Population in college or university student housing
H4_002N + H4_003N	`housing_owner_occupied`	integer	Owned with a mortgage or loan, plus owned free and clear
H4_004N	`housing_renter_occupied`	integer	Renter occupied
H5_006N	`housing_seasonal`	integer	Vacant, for seasonal, recreational or occasional use
INTPTLON20, INTPTLAT20	`internal_point`	geometry(Point, 4326)	The block's internal point
(shape)	`geom`	geometry(MultiPolygon, 4326)	Block boundary

Geometry

SRID 4326 (WGS84). GIST indexes on geom and internal_point.

Attribution

US Census Bureau. This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

provenance/ma_ntm_stops.md

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Provenance: `ma_ntm_stops`

This file describes how the rows in PostgreSQL table ma_ntm_stops were obtained from an external source: where they were fetched and how fields were renamed and typed. Field meanings are in the mapping table below.

Identity

Table: ma_ntm_stops
Family: NTM
Display name: NTM Transit Stops
Source URL: https://services.arcgis.com/xOi1kZaI0eWDREZv/arcgis/rest/services/NTAD_National_Transit_Map_Stops/FeatureServer/0
Geometry (source / stored): esriGeometryPoint / Point, 4326
Update cycle: Quarterly

Pipeline (NTM family)

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics National Transit Map: three national ArcGIS FeatureServer layers (routes, stops, agencies), each walked once by keyset on OBJECTID and stored as gzipped GeoJSON pages. Each state is cut from that national copy at build time: a feature whose bounding box meets the state's box is a candidate, and a candidate is kept when it touches one of ma_census_counties (TIGER outlines, water included). A route that crosses the state line is kept whole. Agencies are those based in the state or named by the ntd_id of a kept route or stop.

Changed from the source: cut to Massachusetts, empty strings and Null stored as NULL, GTFS codes typed as smallint, ;-lists split into arrays, download_date typed as a date, Shape__Length (degrees) dropped and length_m computed.

CC BY 3.0 US (the items' license); attribution to USDOT/BTS and to City of Lawndale and Via Mobility Services, whose feeds BTS holds under CC BY. Since Report Year 2023 the GTFS that NTD reporters submit enters the public domain.

Field → column mapping

Source field	Column	Esri type	Description
OBJECTID	`objectid`	OID	BTS's row id
ntd_id	`ntd_id`, `ntd_ids`	String	NTD id(s), split on `;` for the array
feed_id	`feed_id`	String	GTFS feed
stop_id	`stop_id`	String
stop_code	`stop_code`	String
stop_name	`stop_name`	String
stop_desc	`stop_desc`	String
location_type	`location_type`	String → smallint
parent_station	`parent_station`	String
wheelchair_boarding	`wheelchair_boarding`	String → smallint
platform_code	`platform_code`	String
level_id	`level_id`	String
zone_id	`zone_id`	String
stop_url	`stop_url`	String
stop_timezone	`stop_timezone`	String
stop_type	`route_types`	String → smallint[]	split on `;`
stop_type_text	`modes`	String → text[]	split on `;`, quotes removed
download_date	`download_date`	String → date
stop_lat, stop_lon	(dropped)	Double	the point geometry carries them

Geometry

Source points, outSR 4326.

provenance/us_census_states.md

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Provenance: `us_census_states`

This file describes how the rows in PostgreSQL table us_census_states were obtained from an external source: where they were fetched and how fields were renamed and typed. Field meanings are in the mapping table below.

Identity

Table: us_census_states
Family: Census
Display name: Census States
Source URL: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/tigerWMS_Current/MapServer/80
Geometry (source / stored): polygon / geometry(MultiPolygon, 4326)
Update cycle: Yearly

Pipeline

One Census Bureau source, read once by the Census sync's national target (US):

Boundaries: TIGERweb tigerWMS_Current layer 80 ("States"), where=STATE IN (<the 51 FIPS codes>), GeoJSON, outSR=4326, keyset-paged on GEOID. The layer also holds Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and the US Virgin Islands; the filter leaves them out, as the national population tables do.

The sync fails unless exactly the 50 states and DC arrive, each once.

Field → column mapping

Source field	Column	Type	Description
TIGER `GEOID`	`geoid`	varchar(2)	state FIPS
TIGER `STUSAB`	`stusps`	varchar(2)	postal code
TIGER `NAME`	`name`	varchar(40)	e.g. `Ohio`
TIGER `REGION`	`region`	varchar(1)	Census region
TIGER `DIVISION`	`division`	varchar(1)	Census division
TIGER `AREALAND`	`aland_m2`	bigint	square meters
TIGER `AREAWATER`	`awater_m2`	bigint	square meters
TIGER `INTPTLAT`	`intptlat`	double precision	internal point
TIGER `INTPTLON`	`intptlon`	double precision	internal point
geometry	`geom`	geometry(MultiPolygon, 4326)	`ST_Multi(ST_MakeValid(ST_GeomFromGeoJSON))`

Geometry

Legal boundaries, the same TIGER vintage as every state's census_counties, so a state's outline is the union of its counties. They extend into the Great Lakes and coastal water; nothing is clipped to the shoreline.

Change detection

The check reads the layer's vintage from its description and counts the filtered rows. A new vintage or a changed count marks this table stale, and the next Census sync rebuilds it whole.

Attribution

US Census Bureau, TIGER/Line via TIGERweb.

Census Blocks Within Half a Mile of Commuter Rail

Layers

Data sets used

Ask your own question about Massachusetts

Transcript

State Planner chat · https://stateplanner.com

Prompt

Response

Exploratory Queries

Query 1 — See which feeds and stop types carry rail (route type 2) service.

Query 2 — List the MBTA commuter rail stations and check which fall outside Massachusetts.

Query 3 — Count 2020 census people and homes in blocks within half a mile of each commuter rail station.

Query 4 — Total the unique people and homes within half a mile of any station, without double counting overlapping catchments.

Map Layer Queries

Census blocks within ½ mile (homes per acre, 2020) — colored by "cls": No homes (#e6e6e6), Under 2 homes/acre (#fde0c5), 2–5 homes/acre (#facba6), 5–15 homes/acre (#f59e72), 15–40 homes/acre (#e05c5c), 40+ homes/acre (#8b1e5b)

½-mile (805 m) station radius

Commuter rail stations (MBTA)

Used Data Sets

Provenance: ma_census_blocks

Identity

Pipeline (Census family)

Field → column mapping

Geometry

Attribution

Provenance: ma_ntm_stops

Identity

Pipeline (NTM family)

Field → column mapping

Geometry

Provenance: us_census_states

Identity

Pipeline

Field → column mapping

Geometry

Change detection

Attribution

Provenance: `ma_census_blocks`

Provenance: `ma_ntm_stops`

Provenance: `us_census_states`