Experience and How This Project Started
This project began from a personal frustration with living in a city that lacks walkability and meaningful public transit options. As someone who has spent years navigating environments built almost entirely around cars, I became increasingly aware of how isolating, limiting, and inequitable such systems can be. My long-standing interest in rail systems—and a broader curiosity about how countries like Japan, South Korea, and various European nations prioritize efficient transportation—pushed me to ask why the U.S. continues to struggle with adopting similar infrastructure. I wanted to understand not just what is missing, but why it is missing, and what cultural, political, and economic forces shape these gaps. This project ultimately grew out of that curiosity: a desire to connect personal experience with a larger national conversation about mobility, equity, and the future of transit in America.
Skills I Applied From School
Throughout this project, I relied heavily on the skills I’ve developed through my journalism coursework. Research and reporting were foundational—I had to gather credible sources, compare perspectives, and synthesize large amounts of information into something coherent and accessible. Interviewing planners, commuters, and experts helped me bring nuance and lived experience into the analysis, grounding the topic in real-world evidence rather than abstract policy debates. My editing and fact-checking training also proved essential, allowing me to refine complex ideas into clear, structured explanations. Additionally, I drew on methods for collecting and analyzing user perspectives, including surveys and guided discussions. These tools helped shape the direction of my findings and provided insight into how everyday people understand the barriers and possibilities of public transit.
Challenges
Time and funding posed notable challenges throughout the research process. Limited resources made it difficult to travel to additional transit stations or cities—such as Phoenix—where firsthand observations and expanded commuter interviews could have strengthened the project. Coordinating interviews while balancing coursework and work commitments also required careful planning and adaptability. Some experts I hoped to speak with were unavailable, and certain data sets were difficult to access without institutional connections. Despite these constraints, the process reinforced my ability to work within real-world limitations. It taught me how to prioritize effectively, maximize available sources, and craft meaningful analysis even when ideal conditions weren’t possible. In many ways, overcoming these challenges became part of the project’s value, demonstrating that curiosity, persistence, and thoughtful methodology can still produce strong work even in a restricted environment.
Overall Reflection
Looking back, this project pushed me to think critically about how transportation influences everyday life, community design, and national identity. It deepened my understanding of the systemic factors that shape mobility in the U.S. while also strengthening my confidence as a researcher and storyteller. It affirmed my belief that journalism has an important role in illuminating overlooked issues—like transit inequity—and in helping the public imagine alternatives. Engaging with commuters and experts reminded me that solutions are not purely technological; they require empathy, political will, and cultural openness to change. This project ultimately reinforced the importance of accessible transportation as both a practical necessity and a social good, and it highlighted how meaningful progress often begins with asking better questions about the systems we take for granted.