Exploring the Importance of Transportation Infrastructure and Accessibility to Satisfaction with Urban and Suburban Neighborhoods: An Application of Gradient Boosting Decision Trees

Residential neighborhood characteristics, especially those related to transportation infrastructure and accessibility, enable the daily lives of residents and presumably enhance their satisfaction with neighborhoods. Using 2011 data in the Twin Cities, this study employs the gradient boosting decision trees approach to examine the impact on neighborhood satisfaction of transportation infrastructure and accessibility, as well as other neighborhood attributes. It also explores how residents living in urban and suburban neighborhoods value neighborhood features differently. The results show that urban residents value transportation and accessibility and suburban residents value affordability, safety, and school quality.