Grand Rapids: Bus Stop Shade & Climate Resilience Assessment
DOWNLOADSeptember 21, 2026 - Sean Monroe, Neha Sutar, Corey Fein, Zach Stinchcombe, Olivia Nedd, Ashton Gaishin, Austin Harrison, John Quinlan, Brody Keeley, Evan Tietema, Sam Durgy
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EmailThis project was conducted in partnership with the Office of Sustainability at the City of Grand Rapids to address the condition of bus stops in priority locations referred to as Neighborhoods of Focus (NOFs). These NOFs represent census tracts with a high percentage of black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) residents and the greatest disparities across all quality-of-life indicators such as education, wealth and employment. In summer of 2025, the City of Grand Rapids passed their Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP), which serves as a roadmap for the Grand Rapids community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change on people, the environment, and infrastructure. The goal of this project is to improve accessibility and comfort in public transit through the evaluation of the transit system, specifically bus stop conditions, and develop planning recommendations to support future decision making as the city commits to accomplishing the goals set forth in the CAAP.
In order to understand existing conditions and identify opportunities for improvement the project team conducted interviews with stakeholder groups including transit service providers, city staff, community advocates, bus drivers, and users. Through these interviews the team analyzed the findings into themes and key challenges. The project team conducted several site visits throughout the project area to understand the site context. Spatial analysis and policy review tools were also employed to inform the final recommendations and to create an index measure that allows for amenity improvement suitability analysis of all bus stops within the NOFs.
