There is a large body of literature examining transportation impacts on population and employment growth. However, the possible impacts that transportation infrastructures have on socioeconomic statuses are less clear. This study fills the gap in the literature by associating education and income—two socioeconomic status measures—with transportation infrastructures. In specific, this study examines the associations of railroads, highways, and airports collectively with high school, Bachelor’s degree, graduate degree, and income change in the continental United States for the period between 1970 and 2010. Data come from various sources, such as National Transportation Atlas Database, Decennial Census, Cartographic Boundary Shapefiles, and Land Developability Index. Standard regression and spatial analysis are conducted at decade levels and at the entire study period to test the consistency of the associations between transportation infrastructures and education and income. The study shows that railroads have a distributive and highways have a facilitative association with both education and income. Airports behave as a growth factor with education and as a facilitator with income. The findings clearly show the increased complexity of the roles performed by transportation infrastructures and do not show straightforward behaviors as has been considered for a long time. This study provides new insights into the role of transportation infrastructures for transportation planning and decision making.

中文翻译：

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交通基础设施和社会经济状况：美国大陆县级空间回归分析，1970-2010

有大量文献研究交通对人口和就业增长的影响。然而，交通基础设施对社会经济地位可能产生的影响还不太清楚。本研究通过将教育和收入（两种社会经济地位衡量指标）与交通基础设施联系起来，填补了文献中的空白。具体而言，本研究调查了 1970 年至 2010 年期间美国大陆铁路、公路和机场与高中、学士学位、研究生学位和收入变化之间的关联。数据来自各种来源，例如国家交通地图集数据库、十年一次的人口普查、制图边界形状文件和土地可开发性指数。在十年的水平和整个研究期间进行标准回归和空间分析，以检验交通基础设施与教育和收入之间关联的一致性。该研究表明，铁路具有分配性，而公路对教育和收入均具有促进作用。机场在教育方面充当增长因素，在收入方面充当促进者。调查结果清楚地表明，交通基础设施所扮演的角色越来越复杂，并且没有像人们长期以来所考虑的那样表现出直接的行为。本研究为交通基础设施在交通规划和决策制定中的作用提供了新的见解。