Evaluating Residential and Employment Change Associated with the Portland Streetcar: Case Study with Planning Implications

摘要

Urban areas are experiencing a renaissance in public transit investments. Although heavy-rail investments seem to have stalled, investments in light rail, bus rapid transit and streetcars are expanding across the US. Research into employment and residential responsiveness to these investments remains sparse, however. In this paper, we report employment and residential responsiveness to one form of investment: the Portland, Oregon, streetcar during the 2000s serving Central Portland (the downtown and nearby areas). We find that within one-quarter mile of the streetcar alignment nearly 12,000 jobs may have been displaced by the addition of nearly 13,000 residents and about 9,400 new residential units. Within the next quarter mile jobs increased by more than 2,000 while population grew by about 3,000 and nearly 2,000 new residential units were added. Within the full half-mile distance jobs fell by nearly 9,000 but over the balance of Central Portland more than 10,000 jobs were created indicating jobs were displaced perhaps throughout other parts of Central Portland. But within the same half mile area population increased by nearly 13,000 or about a fifth of Multnomah County’s growth (the Portland metropolitan statistical area’s central county) and accounting for essentially all of Central Portland’s residential growth. While master land use planning for much of the Portland streetcar alignment seems to favor new residential over nonresidential development, its effectiveness has been demonstrated by the market’s responsiveness. We surmise that streetcars may facilitate residential redevelopment of existing developed urbanized areas though not necessarily job formation.