MUSA 5080 Portfolio
Welcome to My Portfolio
This portfolio documents my learning journey in Public Policy Analytics (MUSA 5080).
About This Course
Advanced spatial analysis and data science for urban planning and public policy.
Portfolio Structure
- Weekly Notes: My learning reflections and key concepts
- Labs: Completed assignments and analyses
- Final Project: Capstone modeling challenge
About Me
I am a Master’s student in City Planning at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in Sustainable Transportation and Infrastructure Planning. My work focuses on using GIS mapping and data analysis — including transportation surveys, ridership trends, and census data — to translate complex datasets into actionable planning strategies.
I am currently a Transportation Planning Intern at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), where I support safe streets and sustainable mobility initiatives across the Philadelphia region.
I am passionate about advancing accessible, efficient, and equitable mobility systems that strengthen community resilience and improve everyday urban life.
Contact
- Email: kavana@upenn.edu
- GitHub: @kavanaraju
Why I’m taking this class
I am taking MUSA 5080 because I want to strengthen my technical foundation in spatial analysis and data science for public policy. As a transportation planning student, I often work with complex datasets related to travel behavior, safety outcomes, and infrastructure investments. This course will help me build the coding, modeling, and analytical skills necessary to move beyond descriptive analysis and create actionable insights for policymakers.
I am especially interested in learning reproducible workflows in R and Quarto, applying advanced statistical models to real-world planning questions, and improving my ability to communicate results clearly through data visualization and reporting. My goal is to use these skills to develop tools and analyses that can inform decision-making in sustainable and equitable transportation planning.