Assignment 10
Urban geography (pt. 2)
In this assignment, you will use the data you gathered in the previous assignment but add more to it. You will select the following commute modes for each of the three locations and calculate the cost associated with each:
- Home location A: walking
- Home location B: bike/public transit
- Home location C: personal automobile
To calculate the cost associated with each mode, you will do two things:
Use Google Maps (or a similar mapping platform) to obtain the distance for each commute using the proper mode. Use a time of day representative of when most people commute to work (e.g., between 7:30 and 9:00 AM) and record both the time and distance of each commute (You’ll need to screenshot each of these for completing your questions to turn in).
Calculate the total cost of each commute per month using a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT. You will supply it with the following prompt but fill in the missing pieces (noted with underscores):
I need to calculate realistic total commute costs for various modes of transportation and distances. Include cost of parking, vehicle depreciation, insurance, gas, repairs, and any other indirect costs. Make the cost as location-specific as possible, but use reasonable estimations in the absence of specific locational data. I will supply the missing pieces noted with underscores.
City: ________
Location A:
Commute distance: ________
Commute mode: walking
Location B:
Commute distance: ________
Commute mode: bike/public transit
Location C:
Commute distance: ________
Commute mode: car
Explain the results, but in the end, return one value (total monthly cost) for each of the three commutes in this format:
Location A monthly commute cost: $….
Location B monthly commute cost: $….
Location C monthly commute cost: $….
Questions to turn in
After supplying information and retrieving it from ChatGPT, complete the following three questions:
Include a screenshot of each of the three commutes from Google Maps.
Fill in the table with the information for your city (Note: you’ll have to manually calculate monthly cost of housing plus transportation!):
| Address | Home details | Monthly cost | Commute distance | Commute time | Monthly commute cost | Cost of housing plus transportation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location A | 1 W Broadway Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85701 | 2 bd, 2 ba, 1116 sq. ft. | $2167 | 0.2 mile | 5 min. | $0 | $2167 |
| Location B | 1832 N Dragoon St APT 1, Tucson, AZ 85745 | 2 bd, 2 ba, 916 sq. ft. | $1395 | 3.2 miles | 19 min. (by bike) | $30.00 | $1425 |
| Location C | 752 W Rio San Pedro, Green Valley, AZ 85614 | 2 bd, 2 ba, 1112 sq. ft. | $1500 | 24.7 miles | 25 min. | $811.36 | $2311.36 |
- How does the total cost of housing plus transportation differ from the cost of housing alone? Does this influence your decision on which housing/commuting situation you would prefer? Why or why not? Also, did anything surprise you about the cost of housing plus transportation?