Planetizen Newswire
Keep up with essential planning news and commentary, delivered to your inbox every Monday and Thursday.
Research Casts Doubt on the Economic Development Clout of Streetcar Investments
New research is ambivalent about the potential for streetcar investments to reap promised economic development rewards.
A study designed to inform cities considering streetcars as a form of economic development catalyst finds inconsistent results.
"Cities considering investing in streetcar systems in an effort to bolster economic development should take caution, according to a study conducted by a University of Kansas urban planning researcher."
The University of Kansas published an article on PhysOrg to promote the new research by Joel Mendez, assistant professor of urban planning in the School of Public Affairs & Administration, and Jeffrey Brown, professor and chair in the Department of Urban & Regional Planning at Florida State University. The Transportation Research Record published the study.
The study examined development activity in Portland and Seattle from 2000 to 2017, to models of streetcar-driven economic development strategy.
"Development activity was compared between areas receiving development incentives located near streetcar stations and areas receiving incentives that were not," according to the article. "Outcomes were inconsistent within and between cities. Some areas near streetcar stations were observed to experience greater development activity than areas receiving similar incentives and located in non-streetcar service areas, and vice versa."
Published on Tuesday, February 12, 2019 in
Topics
- 'A Strange, Second-Wave Gentrification' in San Francisco
- The Rent Gap Theory
- Details of Austin's Big 'Project Connect' Transit Plan Emerge
- Houston Just as Expensive as New York City, Study Says
- Opportunity Zones Under Investigation by Treasury Inspector General
- Mapping the Land Uses of the United States
- Cuomo's LaGuardia AirTrain Plan has a High-Profile Skeptic
- Overcoming the Obstacles of Land Use for Renewable Energy
- U.S. Transit Ridership Growing Again
- Wyoming Legislation Would Add Tolls to Interstate 80
- Are Charter Cities Subject to California's Housing Laws?
- The Story Behind the I-30 Pedestrian Bridge in Dallas
- Gentrification in Houston Outpaces Other Texas Cities
- The High Costs of Housing Development: It's Complicated
- Toward a Vocabulary of Micromobility
- Trump Finally Comes for the 'Waters of the United States' Rule
- Breaking News: Leadership Change at New York MTA
- Legislation to Lift Local Prohibition of Middle Housing Proposed in Washington State
- The Latest Trend in Redevelopment: Parking Lot to Multi-Family Residential
- Action Needed to Match Vision Zero Ambition in Philadelphia
