Steven Farber

I am a transportation geographer and spatial analyst. My research investigates the social and economic outcomes of transportation and land use decision making in urban areas.  I am currently working on projects related to the distributional aspects of transit accessibility, personal mobility, and participation in the activities of daily life. I have authored more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, am on the editorial board of three international geography and transportation journals, and I chair the Social and Economic Factors Committee at the Transportation Research Board, one of the US National Academies of Science.

You can follow Assistant Professor Steven Farber at @FarberSteven on Twitter

Teaching Interests

Undergrad Courses:

• GGRC42 – Applied Multivariate Analysis 
• GGRC12 - Transportation Geography

• JPG1554 – Transportation and Urban Form (Spring)

Research Interests

• transport geography
• spatial analysis
• accessibility
• public transportation
• equity and inclusion
• Geographic Information Science

Awards and Grants

2017-2021        Steven Farber (Co-Applicant), Michael Widener (Principal Applicant), et al.  Time, Geography, and Food: How time use, socio-spatial context, transportation options, and personal economics affect access to food in cities. SSHRC Insight.

2017-2022        Steven Farber. Accessibility and Participation: The Role of Transportation in Activity Making. Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science.

2016-2017        Steven Farber, Beth Savan, Nancy Smith-Lea (PI). Economic Impact Study for the Bloor Street West Bike Lane Pilot Project. Research contract for City of Toronto, Metcalf Foundation, Bloor-Annex BIA, Koreatown BIA.

2016-2017        Steven Farber (Principal Applicant), Michael Widener (Co-Application), Bruce Newbold (Co-Applicant). The Transportation Barriers to Refugee Participation and Settlement in Durham Region. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

2016-2018        Steven Farber, Zachary Taylor (Principal Applicant), et al. Place and Politics: Neighbourhood Effects and Political Behaviour in Canadian Cities. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

2016-2018           Steven Farber (Co-Applicant), Zachary Patterson (Principal Applicant), et al. The DataMobile Partnership: An Open Platform for Spatialized Data Collection and Analysis. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Publications

Selected publications: 

2017      

Moniruzzaman, M. & S. Farber. “What drives sustainable student travel? Mode choice determinants in the Greater Toronto Area”. Journal of Sustainable Transportation. (Accepted).

Howell, N., Farber, S., Widener, M., & G. Booth.  “Residential or activity space walkability: What drives transportation physical activity?”. Journal of Transport and Health. (Accepted).

Ledsham, T., Farber, S. & N. Wessel. “Dwelling Type Matters: Untangling the Paradox Of Intensification And Bicycle Mode Choice”. Transportation Research Record. (Accepted).

Fu, L. & S. Farber. “Bicycling frequency: A study of preferences and travel behavior in Salt Lake City, Utah”. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 101, 30-50.

Wessel, N., Allen, J. & S. Farber. “Constructing a routable retrospective transit timetable from a real-time vehicle location Feed and GTFS”. Journal of Transport Geography, 62, 92-97.

Farber, S. & L. Fu. “Dynamic public transit accessibility using travel time cubes: Comparing the effects of infrastructure (dis)investments over time”. Computers, Environment, and Urban Systems, 62, 30-40.

Farber, S. & M. Grandez. “Transit Accessibility, Land Development and Socioeconomic Priority: A Typology of Planned Station Catchment Areas in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area”. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 10(1), 1-24.

Widener, M., Minaker, L., Farber, S., et. al. “How do changes in the daily food and transportation environments affect grocery store accessibility? Applied Geography, 83, 46-62.

2016      

Li, X. & S. Farber. “Spatial Representation in the Social Interaction Potential Metric: an Analysis of Scale and Parameter Sensitivity”. Journal of Geographical Systems, 18(4), 331-357.

Farber, S., Ritter, B. & L. Fu. “Space-Time Mismatch between Transit Supply and Travel Demand in the Wasatch Front, Utah.” Travel Behaviour and Society, 4, 40-48.

2015      

Farber, S., O’Kelly, M, Miller, H.J. & T. Neutens. “Measuring segregation using patterns of daily travel behavior: a social interaction based model of exposure.” Journal of Transport Geography, 49, 26-38.

Fransen, K., Neutens, T., Farber, S., De Maeyer, P., Deruyter, G. & F. Witlox. “Identifying public transport gaps using time-dependent accessibility levels.” Journal of Transport Geography, 48, 176-187.

Patterson, Z. and S. Farber. “Potential Path Areas and Activity Spaces in Application: A Review.” Transport Reviews, 35(6), 679-700.

Farber, S., Ruiz, M. and A. Páez. “Testing for Spatial Independence Using Similarity Relations.” Geographical Analysis, 47, 97-120.

Widener, M.J., Farber, S., Neutens, T. and M.W. Horner. “Spatiotemporal accessibility to supermarkets using public transit: an interaction potential approach in Cincinnati, Ohio.” Journal of Transport Geography, 42, 72-83.

Liao, H. and S. Farber. “Compact Development and Preference Heterogeneity in Residential Location Choice Behavior: A Latent Class Analysis.” Urban Studies, 52(2), 314-337.

2014      

Farber, S., Neutens, T., Carrasco, J.A. and C. Rojas. “Social interaction potential and the spatial distribution of face-to-face social interactions.” Environment and Planning B, 41, 960-976.

Farber, S., Bartholomew, K., Li, X., Páez, A. and K.M. Nurul Habib. “Assessing social equity in distance based transit fares using a model of travel behavior.” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 67, 291-303.

Farber, S., Morang, M. and M.J. Widener. “Temporal Variability in Transit-Based Accessibility to Supermarkets.” Journal of Applied Geography, 53, 149-159.